I’ve been sent five classic American dessert flavours from King Kong Vape Juice, a manufacturer based in Manchester, UK. They’ve been busy working on their current creations since 2018.
It’s an interesting premise. I used to be a massive fan of US juice. It may sound controversial but everything’s changed since the removal of diacetyl. That ‘classic’ dessert taste became lost to the ravishes of regulation.
Even the King Kong flavour card shows nostalgic images of glass bottles complete with administering pipette.
Ah for those days of vaping past – It’s enough to get me all misty eyed.
What Can We Expect From The King Kong Vape Juice Range?
Reminiscence is one thing. Replication is another. King Kong tell us that their flavours are the result of months of sourcing and testing the finest ingredients from across the world.
So given what I know I assume that predominantly means the good ‘ole US of A.
At the time of writing, King Kong are working on a smoothie range.
The five I’m reviewing are available in 50ml short fill bottles. Chubby Gorilla bottles.
That would make perfect sense!
The juice ratios are 70VG/30PG and it looks like a 10ml nicotine shot also needs to be applied for overall volume to reach 50ml. Don’t quote me. It’s hard to see inside the heavily tinted bottles.
King Kong Vape Juice – Presentation
It’s good. The labels have been rolled on evenly and straight with no signs of air bubbles or tearing. The main ape logo has even been embossed which gives it a nice professional touch.
Each bottle is colour themed to represent the main ingredient with the ratio, sell by date, warnings and ingredients all present and correct.
The lids are fully tamper proof in compliance to regulations and the needle tip nozzles always makes life that little bit easier when filling.
Ok. It’s time to test these out while releasing my inner vApe.
..Stomping around, beating my chest. That’s really not a healthy image to conjure up!
Disclaimer
The following opinions are based on my own experiences using an individual set up of choice. Your experiences are likely to differ due to your own choice of vaping device.
Since this range has a 70VG/30PG juice ratio they will be highly suitable for sub ohm devices, RDA and RTA’s as well as pod kits that make use of lower resistance coils.
You’re not likely to get the full benefit when using low wattage mouth to lung (MTL) kits.
Please note my scores are based on the flavour descriptions attached to each profile. How authentic they are and how they mix with other ingredients to produce texture, depth and consistency.
Originality seems hard to find these days so if anything out of the ordinary is experienced it will also have an impact on the final score.
What Device Did I Use?
I used the Vaporesso Forz RDA with a single 0.3ohm Wotofo Ni80 fused Clapton coil. It was sitting on top of the Voopoo Drag 3 dual 18650 Mod and running at 45W.
This is my go to set up and the power settings always offer clean and well defined flavour notes with airflow adjusted for a semi restrictive lung hit.
The RDA was cleaned, cotton was replaced and the coil dry burned before moving on with each successive flavour.
King King Vape Juice – Bamboo Cola Float Low Mint
King Kong Says:
A delightful combination of classic cola with deluxe vanilla ice cream with a hint of mint to keep you cool.
I Say:
My hopes were kind of dashed smelling the juice. It has that dreaded artificial, chemical aroma reminding me of a toiletry product.
However, it was a different experience altogether during the vape itself. The first thing I picked up on was the cooling blast on the inhale. That was a little unexpected but it doesn’t take long before other complexities start pouring out of the exhale.
As much as the juice contains a healthy amount of sweetness, the cola content is never really over played and somewhat flattened by smooth vanilla tones that underscore it.
The Cream content works best when the RDA is soaked with juice. After around five or six pulls it tends to flatten off.
The mint is quite natural tasting, combining with the cola to offer up some originality. Neither of these two concentrates jostle for attention so I’m impressed by the way they’ve been blended.
Bamboo is a vibrant and uplifting flavour. However, I don’t feel it lends itself to the dessert category. This one tastes more like a beverage profile and will be highly suited to those hot, summer months.
It’s not one I would personally vape all day because I’m not the biggest fan of cola vapes but King Kong have certainly done a good job with the complexities here.
King Kong Vape Juice – Titano Apple Pie
King Kong Says:
King Kong Says:Handpicked fresh juicy apples mixed with cinnamon and topped with a thin layer of pastry crust.
I Say:
This recipe has been a personal favourite for many years now. Because it’s been mixed by so many manufacturers it takes something special for any given rendition to stand out.
Have King Kong created a spin on a tried and tested formula? No. They haven’t if I’m totally honest.
What they have managed is to retain all the nuances that makes Titano Apple Pie a great tasting juice.
The cinnamon is omnipresent, just as it should be and invades the palate long after the exhale. The apple has a succulent sweetness and highly reminiscent of those Granny Smith varieties.
As with other versions of this profile, the pastry base tends to merge with the fruit content. Titano falls a little short because it should’ve been given more attention. It fails to pull out bakery notes even with an increase in wattage and warmth.
What Titano lacks in originality it makes up for with a very flavoursome take on a familiar dessert vape. Is this an all day vape for me? Hell yeah. It’s not bad at all!
King Kong Vape Juice – Gorilla Blueberry Pancakes
King Kong Says:
Homemade tasty pancakes topped with juicy hand picked blueberries.
I Say:
This is quite a subtle but pleasant vape. The blueberry content is indeed authentic tasting and is accompanied by plenty of sweetness and it’s the sweetness that keeps the overall end product driving along.
Those blueberry subtleties remain on the tip of the tongue and linger on the palate post vape indicating a good mix ratio. This could have easily become sickly sweet – fast.
Gorilla has a fair degree of depth and richness, no doubt provided by the pancake concentrate. I’ve never really thought that pancakes add much to an e juice mix but in this case there’s more of a syrup like back note or two.
This helps to give the exhale a little more complexity and certainly retains interest levels.
Because King Kong have created a very consistent, natural tasting vape with Gorilla it’s one I could happily return to again and again.
King Kong Vape Juice – Kikonga Key Lime Pie
King Kong Says:
Zesty lime, cream and buttery biscuit base makes a refreshingly delicious vape dessert.
I Say:
I honestly do not know where to start with this one. There’s a slight sourness on the inhale to suggest citrus content but the exhale is a complete mess. I get a very washed out, shallow taste of Lime that’s constantly overwhelmed by what can only be described as warm rubber.
Whatever attempts were made to produce a biscuit base have been completely lost to that over riding taste. Something seems to have gone badly wrong during the mixing stages.
There’s really not much more I can add with Kikonga. I’ve even tried it in other set ups to no avail.
When an e liquid sets off my gag reflex it generally leads to coughing fits. It’s no good beating around the chest – this really didn’t do it for me.
King Kong Vape Juice – Rampage Campfire S’mores
King Kong Says:
King Kong Says:Succulent mallows toasted on campfires in the jungles of Congo.
I Say:
It looks like I’ve saved the best for last! A S’mores snack is a profile I’m highly familiar with. I’ve tried a few but King Kong have smashed it out of the park with their own interpretation.
Rampage has so many complexities and I love it. The inhale tantalises with the bitterness of the cracker base and assists with a pleasing throat hit. Vapour production is dense and chucks out plumes of thick white cloud.
It’s the creaminess of the marshmallow that elevates Rampage beyond other iterations.
The bitterness of the inhale makes way for a smoothness during exhale which really gives Rampage an added dimension.
The toasting of the marshmallow collides with a very authentic milk chocolate that’s so good you could almost feel like you’re biting down on the real thing.
As the vape ends I’m left with a sugary sweetness on the tip of the tongue. Bonus!
..This bottle won’t last long.
Final Review Verdict
All flavour descriptions end with ‘Made from the finest ingredients sourced from all around the world’.
..I’d like to know what part of the world the buttery biscuit of Kikonga Key Lime Pie came from.
I just needed to get that out of the way first.
Overall, the flavour concentrates applied are very authentic and natural tasting. It’s great that King Kong haven’t over-applied them and that makes them pleasant and enjoyable to vape.
Cloud production in each case was satisfactory given I was only using a single coil. A slow exhale really gave me the opportunity to assess how well some of the range was put together in terms of blending and consistency.
Originality is hard to find these days and again here it’s lacking but King Kong have at least done well on this front with their Bamboo Cola Float. It’s just a bit ironic that I don’t feel it belongs in the dessert category.
That’s my opinion, anyway. As always, taste remains subjective.
Have you tried the King Kong juice range? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
