Leaf by Manabush
It is always special when Manabush release a new range so we were very excited to check out the fantastic new Leaf range of tobacco e-liquids
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Everyone who knows me knows that I am not really big on tobacco flavoured e-liquids, if I wanted to vape something that tastes like the old floor from my local pub before the smoking ban came in, I’d go and lick the pavement outside where the filthy smokers congregate. But there is one big exception to my no tobacco rule and that is Manabush! Historically they have managed to take a bespoke tobacco and twist it into some truly wonderful flavours that flip the genre on its head. I don’t vape them often but when I do, they really hit the spot like no other tobaccos.
So when I saw they were releasing a new range, the Leaf line, I was very excited as it is always a bit of a special event. I didn’t hesitate and ordered myself the complete range before dropping Martyn a message asking if he minded me doing a review. He was cool with that, but he did say “you won’t like them, these are straight tobaccos”. Well you can’t knock that for honesty, but I’m pig headed so I carried on anyway, but I have to admit I was a little more nervous as I waited for my delivery. The next day they arrived, there was no turning back!
The big thing for me is that my preferred strength is 6mg so usually I have to make up my own nicshots from my dwindling supply of pre tpd nicotine and some ready mixed base. I hate maths and working it out is a pain in the butt. But Manabush are one of the few companies who cater for us 6mg vapers. The 6mg option has 20mg of e-liquid which has been specially formulated so you get the maximum flavour at the right strength. I really don’t understand why more juice companies don’t do this as I know I am not the last 6mg vaper left and it is fantastic that they cater to us. For the 3mg vapers, you can still buy 50mg bottles too and there is also a 12mg option, so everyone is covered. Mixing it up is simple, you just add a nic shot and end up with 30ml of 6mg of juice, so it is basically a mini shortfill.
The next thing I love is the bottles they use. Instead of having to pry off the lid or unscrew the nozzle which invariably rolls off to a dark recess of my kitchen work surface, these have hinged lids which flip back easily to reveal the hole to squirt your nic in to. Once done, just flip the hinge back the other way and push it down to secure it. These have to be some of the best bottles I’ve been sent and make the process mess and faff free.
There are three flavours in the range so far, Sweet Blonde, Café Cigarillo, and Gran Corona. Now if you were a cigar aficionado in in your pre vaping days, you will have some idea what to expect. But I was just a ciggie/roll up smoker. I always loved the smell of cigars but that was as far as my knowledge went, so this was all a new adventure for me. As with all great adventures, there were a few surprises along the way…
Sweet Blonde
“This is a lovely leafy sweet tobacco E-liquid with overtones of caramel and slight notes of honey. This blonde tobacco vape juice is a very easy and moreish all day vape.”
I decided to start with the lightest flavour and work my way up, and honestly I thought this would be the safest place to start as I do have a sweet tooth. Often the blurb is full of wonderful imagery and then you taste the juice and wonder what planet the writer was on, but this time it proved very accurate. Straight away the sweet notes come in and there is a lovely natural honey richness. The tobacco is light but still strong and it has a fantastic throatiness to it which gives it a really accurate feel and flavour. This tasted the most familiar to me, it was the closest to a good quality rolling tobacco and I would definitely recommend it to any new vaper who wants to stay safe with the closest proximity to smoking as possible. It still has that Manabush magic with the depth of the flavours and the sweet notes are just perfect for the tobacco flavour style. It was definitely a strong start.
Café Cigarillo
“A Cigarillo is a shorter thinner cigar, and more mild than its Maduro wrapped big brother Gran Corona E-liquid. This easy all day cigar tobacco vape juice still has that cigar style leafy flavour - but is less dark and a bit less sweet.”
Now we go up a level into cigar territory. This reminds me of my dad at Christmas. Every year I would buy him a tin of Cigarillos (well my Mum would buy them and stick my name on the label), it was the only time he smoked them and it was a real treat for him. This juice tastes like Christmas should smell like. It still has a sweetness which really lightens the flavour and makes it incredibly moreish, and that throat feel is superb. It is smoky, raspy and yet still tastes really fresh and clean. The tobacco is stronger, but not overpowering as the balance of all the parts is just so good. Now I promised there would be surprises along the way, I absolutely love this juice and have actually finished the bottle. I get sent so much juice that I rarely get to finish any bottles no matter how good they are, so for me to finish a tobacco blend juice really says a lot about the quality here. It is fantastic stuff and is now one of my favourite ever e-liquids.
Gran Corona
“A Gran Corona is a very big cigar! and this is a very big, flavoured cigar tobacco e-liquid. Sweet, deep, smoky and leafy with under notes of a dark sweet Maduro ripe cigar wrapper.”
Now we get to the big guns! This was the one which I really thought I might struggle with. It is a full on, beefy great hand rolled Cuban cigar in a bottle. It is rich and complex, still with hints of caramelised sweetness which you get from burning real tobacco leaves, but it is so much more. It feels like it should be kept in a humidor and brought out after dinner to impress your less successful friends. Whilst Café Cigarillo is my favourite of the three, this is a very close second, the sheer depth of flavour is immense and ultimately incredibly satisfying.
Final thoughts
I never thought I would love a tobacco range as much as I love these three e-liquids. Although they are all tobacco flavours, they are very different whilst still being unmistakeably Manabush. I have always had a special love for the original Manabush flavours, but I think they have been knocked off the top spot by this range. If you love tobacco flavours, you are in for a real treat here, and if like me, you aren’t a tobacco fan, you really should give these a go as you may be very pleasantly surprised.
There is one more trick up the Leaf range’s sleeve. These are the cleanest tobaccos I have every had. Usually I find tobacco is a dead cert for being a coil killer and I am very sensitive to burnt wicks, but I managed a good few days on each flavour before I could taste any changes and even then, my coils didn’t look too bad. I often change my wicks a few times a day, so this is exceptional. But what about vapers who don’t use rebuildables? Well the icing on the cake is that they all work in pod kits…yes you heard me right! If you want to convert a smoker, get them a basic pod kit and fill it up with some Café Cigarillo, you won’t get a more authentic easy tobacco vape than this and this could be just the steppingstone they need to make the switch.
If you fancy giving the Leaf range a try, the 6mg range is £7.49 a bottle and will give you 30ml of top-quality e-liquid. You will need to buy a nic shot for £1 but if you order them from Manabush at the same time, you can be assured of the best quality nicotine. The 3mg 50ml shortfills are £9.99 a bottle excluding nic shot and the 12mg 50ml is £7.49 too. Keep an eye out as we will be reviewing many more Manabush e-liquids in the coming weeks too.
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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