Deadwood Blends by Manabush
It is time to saddle up and ride out with the Deadwood Blends from Manabush
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Manabush have been my go to vape brand for tobacco e-liquids for years now, they always deliver the goods with their signature blends and complex flavour combinations that are genuinely unique. You can always instantly recognise a Manabush flavour, and I’d feel confident that in any blindfold taste test, I could spot the ‘bush. I’ve vaped loads of tobacco e-liquids, but Manabush are more than just replica smokes flavours, they are finely crafted vaping experiences which are refined to deliver an unparallel taste for the more particular vapers out there. In a world of strange coincidences, the day before this package arrived, I had been talking to a random vaper I met out walking my dog and we were talking about our gear and our juice, and he happened to say that he hates all these super sweet flavours, he likes tobacco flavours but was struggling to find ones that didn’t taste like the arse end of an ashtray. Well it doesn’t take much for me to start waxing lyrical and I quickly set about informing him of the virtues of Manabush, then as if the Juice gods were listening in, the next day my postie knocked on the door to deliver a mystery package which turned out to be the Deadwood Blends range from Manabush, talk about synchronicity!
Deadwood blends are described as a “sweet dessert tobaccos” but don’t be expecting unnaturally sickly flavours. The sweetness tastes very authentic and works as a flavour enhancement, it never takes over, but it lends itself to a specific style of tobacco, one that will make traditional tobacco vapers happy whilst also being easily accessible to non-tobacco vapers too. I tend to fall into the latter category, but I do like to mix things up sometimes, especially when I’ve had a run of reviewing super sweet flavours. For that purpose, Manabush always scratches that particular itch.
One of the big things I love about Manabush is that they cater for more than just the 3mg shortfill vapers, normally if you like something a bit stronger, you have to buy those daft little 10ml bottles and be happy with that. But Manabush customise their recipes to provide the same great flavour in several strength options whilst still giving you a minimum of 60ml e-liquid once you combine the shortfill with the required amount of nic shots. My sweet spot is 6mg, so I get 40ml of concentrated e-liquid and two nic shots. It is a great system which takes all the effort out of vaping at my chosen strength. They also some in 100ml shortfill, 50ml for 3mg, 40ml for 6mg, and 20ml for 12mg, but which every option suits you, you can be guaranteed to get the same great taste.
To make things even easier, the bottles the e-liquid come in are brilliant. Instead of having to pry off the lids and potentially messing up your fingernails, the Manabush ones come with a flip top so just a quick flick of the thumb gives you free access to pour in your nic shots. I am always going to be onboard with any juice that makes my life easier!
The Flavours
There are five flavours in the Deadwood Blends range. They all start with the original Deadwood flavour as a base but each other one has a different and delicious twist. This is something that Manabush does very well, I guess if you can get the foundations right and you know the base layer is strong, it is much easier to build a strong structure on top.
Deadwood
“Deadwood is a Sweet Tobacco E-liquid crafted with years of accumulated Manabush tobacco knowledge. Using a variety of tobacco flavours blended with sweet pastries to round out the edges of the tobaccos and create a smooth, moreish Tobacco Vape Juice”
Straight away, this tastes like Manabush, it really reminds of the original recipes with that distinct smooth tobacco mixed with sweet yet rich highlights. It is a mature flavour and is probably the easiest to categorize as a straight tobacco vape, and I mean that to separate it from a cigarette taste as this is fresh and organic with bright notes mingling with some darker hints. Because of this balance, I can see why it lends itself so well to being the Deadwood Blends base, each flavour added seems to enhance its own base characteristics.
Prairie Dawn
“Prairie Dawn is our Deadwood Sweet Tobacco E-liquid base overlayed with lashings of creamy vanilla custard to create a lovely creamy tobacco pastry custard flavour that is both different to our famous Powwow Sauce and yet similar”
They had me at custard! I have a very special love of the original Powwow sauce, it was a juice that I vaped when I was going through a particularly traumatic when my Dad was seriously ill, and each evening, I would make myself a coffee, grab a box of Monty Bojangles chocolate truffles, and load up my tank with some Powwow, and that was my special time to make some space just for me. Prairie Dawn really gives me the same vibes of being a me time e-liquid. It is rich with a creamy finish which makes it feel decadent without being ostentatious. Even if you don’t think you like tobacco vapes, give this a try, it might surprise you.
High Noon
“High Noon takes our Deadwood Sweet Tobacco E-liquid base and interplays the familiar blends of peanut butter and caramel - these flavours interact well with both tobacco and Pastry - and together create a sublime combination”
Woah that is nutty! I don’t know why I was so surprised as it clearly says it has nuts in the description, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so…well…nutty! Nuts is most definitely the dominant flavour, but it is so realistic which makes it really stand out. Personally I think more recipes should contain nuts, I love the interplay between the sweet caramel notes and the almost savoury feel. This was love at first taste for me.
Wild Bil
“Wild Bil is a foundation of Deadwood Sweet Tobacco E-liquid complimented with a robust Whiskey and Cream; this rich pastry and tobacco vape juice is an excellent decadent evening treat”
Another thing that Manabush have always done with exceptionally finesse is booze, so I was very excited to see a whisky cream with the Deadwood base. It is a great combination; the whisky somehow seems to lighten the flavour and really gives it a lift. It is impressive just how different each flavour is, and each one has me saying to myself that this is my favourite until I try the next one. Normally when a company brings out a family of flavours, the link is tenuous, but Deadwood really ties everything together whilst also retaining each bottle as a standalone variety. If you like whisky, you are going to love Wild Bil.
Calamity AM
“Calamity AM takes our Deadwood Sweet Tobacco E-liquid base and blends it with Toasted Almonds - Creamy Madagascan Vanilla, centred with a delicious centre of fresh fig”
Normally when you read a description, you can kind of imagine what you might be getting, but this one left me scratching my head. But once you take a vape, it all falls into place, it is exactly as it says on the tin. The almonds and vanilla taste almost like an amoretto flavour but with more refinement and less sickly sweetness, then you hit the fig which is a subtle flavour and yet it is unmistakable. It is a stunning combination, a total one of a kind.
Final Thoughts
Deadwood Blends represents everything I love about Manabush, they are unique but in all the right ways. Each individual flavour is strong enough to stand on its own but as a collection, this is a really strong range. Long term Manabush lovers will be in heaven, but if you haven’t joined the inner circle yet, I don’t think there is a better time than right now to jump on it.
If you want to give the Deadwood Blends range a try, you can pick them up from Manabush. The version I tested, the 6mg, is £12.99 plus your nic shots, and most of the other options are the same price but some include the nicotine. If you want to go big, you can even pick up 100mg for £19.99. For the bargain hunting connoisseurs, you can buy a bundle containing the full range for £41.99 in either 3mg or 4mg and that includes nicotine for both options.
Many thanks to Manabush for sending these over for review.
Michelle (Purplefowler)
Reviewer at POTVWhen her usual forum closed, Michelle found herself in a brave new world full of excitement that something fresh and new was happening. A few days later she somehow found herself on the moderating team and is still not really sure how that happened. Even stranger, she slowly worked her way up to admin and now helps behind the scenes, liasing with vendors and coordinating social media but she can still be found making smutty comments on the forum. If all that wasn't enough, she also is a proud member of the Potv review team specialising in E-liquid reviews for the discerning vaper.
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