Tired of the same 10ml flavours on the shelves? Then the Kuro E-Liquid range from Riot Labs might be for you, read on to find out more!
Kuro E-Liquid is produced by UK-based Riot Labs, who are a true heavyweight in the e-liquid market and a go-to brand for UK vapers with their in-your-face marketing that backs up their punchy and tasty flavours!
They are also past Ecigclick Vape Awards winners!
Since their inception, Riot Labs have been on a mission to change the status quo of smoking cessation.
Riot were founded in the UK and are headquartered there too, with their own in-house flavour development operation called Fantasia Flavour House manufacturing their e-liquids.
Riot have an pretty extensive portfolio, which includes Riot X, Riot Bar Edtn and Riot Classics.
They are a member of the UKVIA and even have a campaigning arm, Riot Activist, that fights misinformation and disproportionate regulation that harms adult smokers rights to switch to less harmful alternatives.
Riot Labs’ mission statement is as follows-
“We’re here to help people liberate themselves from the choking grasp of cigarettes without giving up the things they love.
The truth is vaping works, and we want the world to know. Armed with our products, millions of people are transforming their lives and leading the charge to a more socially and environmentally responsible society.
No one does vaping like Riot. We’re different because we create our flavours from scratch, replicating the profiles of ingredients precisely down to the bonds between molecules. For quitters, we offer a better way.
For longer-term vapers, the best experience around. As we’ve grown, so we’ve evolved – from a rebel raging against the machine into a hero leading a movement – and our brand reflects this maturity”
Their extensive flavour line-ups are designed to satisfy any vapers taste preference, and you’ll find them stocked at almost every physical and online vape retailer in the UK.
What Can We Expect From The Kuro E-Liquid Range?
Kuro is marketed as a premium range of e-liquid that targets sophisticated vapers that have become tired of bright bottles and boring flavours, with Kuro deliberately rejecting the bright packaging and predictable profiles that currently dominate the 10ml e-liquid category.
This is evident from the bottles of Kuro e-liquid themselves, which are matte black featuring neon accents and kanji typography, evoking that Japanese neon aesthetic popularised by anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop.
And it’s not just the bottle design that carries a Japanese influence, but the e-liquid blends do too, with never before seen blends giving you a taste of Japan like no other…
Fantasia Flavour House are the brains behind the Kuro range, and Kuro is the first brand to emerge from Riot’s in-house flavour development facility.
Premium e-liquids are too often reserved for shortfills, but Kuro breaks the mould by crafting sophisticated, top-tier blends specifically for MTL pod systems.
Two formats under a single brand are available, as the eight flavours that comprise the Kuro range are available as 10ml nicotine salts (5mg/10mg/20mg strengths available) for MTL pod users and as zero nicotine 100ml shortfills for sub-ohm vapers.
Matt Crann, Sales Director at Riot Labs, had the following to say about the Kuro range-
“Walk down any 10ml aisle and you’ll see the same bright bottles, the same safe flavours, the same lazy design work.
Kuro exists for vapers who’ve outgrown that. We’re not trying to please everyone- we’re targeting people who want their e-liquid to reflect some actual sophistication”
Yep, this range is speaking directly to me already! Watermelon Ice your days are numbered…
Many thanks go to Riot Labs for sending the Kuro range in for review, let’s have a deeper look at this exciting e-liquid range!
And as always, all views are my own…
Kakigori Blood
They say
“Blood orange, shaved ice, sweet syrup”
We say
Kakigori is a Japanese dessert that is made up of shaved ice, syrup and a sweetener, which is what the Kakigori Blood blend is based upon, and a dessert that I have tried out myself on a few occasions!
The interplay between the blood orange, shaved ice and sweet syrup flavour notes is remarkable- the sharpness and tang from the blood orange is counteracted by a sweet syrupy note, with a mouthfeel akin to the syrup found in tinned fruit.
A cooling sensation in the background represents the shaved ice, holding the blend together, and it adds that authentic feel of a cold dessert boasting a ton of depth and flavour.
Kakigori Blood is an exceptionally well crafted blend that straddles the line between dessert and fruit, offering wide appeal here.
Ryu Berry
They say
“Dragon fruit (pitaya), lychee, blackcurrant”
We say
Right from the start, the dragon fruit and lychee are the two flavours that immediately stand out for me, with creamy notes from the dragon fruit blending in with a subtle, floral note from the lychee.
I haven’t usually got on with lychee when vaping it, as I find I am a bit sensitive to floral notes in e-liquids, but with Ryu Berry I had absolutely no issue whatsoever as it blends in very well with the dragon fruit.
The blackcurrant notes also help out here too, as these seem to dart in about halfway through the puff, providing a bright and juicy berry blast that just seems to slot in perfectly alongside the dragon fruit and lychee.
Matcha Latte
They say
“Sweet matcha, condensed milk, vanilla”
We say
When I first received the Kuro range through the post and read through the flavour descriptions provided, Matcha Latte was screaming out at me as I do drink quite a fair amount of matcha!
Matcha Latte has also got to be the first time I’ve experienced matcha in an e-liquid blend, so I was really excited to give this one a go.
Kuro have nailed the vibe of a matcha latte here too, with a mouthfeel that is scarily close to the real thing, but blended perfectly for vapers tastes.
One of my worries was that matcha can taste quite earthy, and there is definitely an earthy note here alongside the matcha tea flavouring, but the thick and creamy condensed milk backed up with a teasing note of vanilla sweeps in to stop this from becoming really noticeable.
This is a very easy going vape that offers a rewarding, creamy flavour profile that I found to be immensely satisfying.
Sakura Nights
They say
“Dark cherry, sakura (cherry blossom), crushed ice”
We say
Sakura is the Japanese term for cherry blossom, and the cherry tree that produces the cherry blossom, and is renowned for it’s beauty.
So as you may have guessed, the theme here is definitely floral…but it’s floral with a twist!
The blend is done superbly as well, there’s a floral taste throughout as expected, but the dark cherry adds some thick and mysterious notes here, with the cooling crushed ice rounding the blend off.
Those floral notes also elevate the thick, sweet vibes from the dark cherry, and give this a real summery vibe throughout.
Tokyo Mule
They say
“Zesty lime, spicy ginger, crushed ice”
We say
A Tokyo Mule is a Japanese take on the famed Moscow Mule cocktail, and is usually made up of sake, cucumber, ginger syrup and lime!
Obviously Kuro are forgoing the sake in this blend, I can’t imagine it would be too nice to vape…
Kuro’s Tokyo Mule seamlessly blends lime and ginger together, delivering a blend that contrasts zesty notes with tangy spice, and honestly the lime and ginger are a match made in heaven!
The cooling crushed ice notes really give this the feel of a high-end cocktail ordered in an expensive Tokyo bar, and at the same time it stops both the zest from the lime and the spice from the ginger from becoming too overwhelming. The balance just feels perfect.
Genuinely, this is an absolutely exceptional cocktail-styled blend that has now become my new all-day vape, it is complete perfection in my eyes!
Umeshu Plum
They say
“Japanese plum (ume), brown sugar, green apple”
We say
Ume (Japanese plum) slightly deviates from the usual sweet plum, in that there is a sour note to it, which delighted me as I could detect this almost immediately- an impressive layer of authenticity here!
Even more bite is added by the crisp green apple flavouring, which seemed to elevate the sour notes here even more, making for quite a tangy vape!
Brown sugar provides the contrast, delivering a rich and sweet undertone that is present throughout each puff from start to finish.
A really impressive level of depth to this blend, you won’t find this in a bar salt!
Akiba Grape
They say
“Japanese grape (kyoho), blackcurrant, ice”
We say
A Kyoho grape is a dark Japanese grape that is the most planted grape in the world by area, proving extremely popular in East Asia! And Akiba is shorthand for Akihabara, which is the famed Tokyo district for electronics, gaming and manga…
Akiba Grape captures that with a beautifully authentic dark grape flavouring that tastes like the actual fruit itself, combining wonderfully well with another dark fruit in blackcurrant without being too overwhelming.
These two fruits have been paired perfectly together, and the icy cooling element sweeps in right at the end to refresh my palate ready for another long puff on this!
Momo Fuji
They say
“Japanese white peach, Fuji apple, shiso leaf, crushed ice”
We say
Alongside Tokyo Mule, this was my pick of the bunch and another blend from the Kuro range that is all day vaping perfection for me!
The Japanese white peach is sweeter than a traditional peach flavour, but in Momo Fuji this feels natural and authentic rather than artificially sweetened. I was amazed at just how authentic the peach flavouring was compared to the artificial ones in other e-liquids!
You might be wondering what shiso leaf is, and this adds in a herbal note to the blend. Don’t be put off by this, it is more of a background note and it ties the mixture off superbly, adding an authentic Japanese vibe!
Fuji apple elevates the sweetness even more but also adds in that crisp apple bite. The crushed ice note in the background adds in a cocktail-like experience, much like Tokyo Mule, but also acts as a refreshing palate cleanser.
This is a truly outstanding e-liquid and the depth on offer here really does need to be experienced, Momo Fuji is definitely one of my favourite blends of all time!
Final Verdict
I think we all have realised that the e-liquid market has become a bit stale, with the same takes on disposable styled bar salts dominating the shelves with seemingly little in the way of innovative blends…
The market has needed a company like Riot to take a risk and shake things up, and they have absolutely done so in some style with the Kuro E-Liquid range!
Riot are showcasing their expert skill and masterful blending with this line-up, with the end result delivering a range of e-liquids that offer some truly original and innovative flavour experiences.
And that is across every single flavour that makes up this range too, there is no let up in quality here- every single one of these blends really does stand out from the crowd.
The depth on display here is truly masterful, and it has been a long time since a range of e-liquids truly blew me away like this. From the very first puff, I was completely hooked, and excited to jump into the next Kuro e-liquid to try out!
Plus, the Japanese-influenced blends paired superbly well with the new, Japan-based Forza Horizon 6 racing game that I have been addicted to at the time of writing, making me feel even more immersed in the game whilst puffing away!
Unfortunately, in 2026, it’s rare to describe an e-liquid range as ‘ground-breaking’ however I can assure you that the Kuro E-Liquid range truly deserves this label, and this is without a doubt one of the best ranges of e-liquid that I have tried in my entire 13 years of vaping.
Kuro is a range that I’ll be keeping in permanent rotation for the foreseeable future, and I’m already in the process of weighing up my next order!
This may well be the best e-liquid range that I have reviewed to date!
What are your thoughts on the Kuro range, do these Japanese-influenced blends tickle your fancy?
