Johnson Creek Smoke Juice Marcado E-Liquid
Click the link above to view this product at the manufacturer’s website.
Strength: 18 mg
Size: 15 ml
Price: $9.95 ($19.95 for 30 ml)
I was beginning to worry a bit about Johnson Creek Smoke Juice. They have some of the best marketing of any electronic cigarette-related company. However, having purchased and tried nearly every e-liquid they make, I was unable to give anything a really glowing review. Everything just seemed, well, above average. Marcado was a surprise for me, completely surpassing my expectations. As far as I am concerned, Marcado is Johnson Creek’s signature flavor. If you try anything from Johnson Creek, this needs to be the one.
Marcado is from Johnson Creek’s Red Oak series, which means that it uses 100-percent vegetable glycerin as a base liquid rather than the more common propylene glycol or a mix of the two. I have found in general that all-VG liquids tend to be very viscous and don’t always wick to the heating element of the atomizer very well. Marcado doesn’t have this problem, and it is probably the best all-VG liquid I have tried to date.
Johnson Creek’s product description states that Marcado contains the flavors of clove, cinnamon and cigar tobacco. On the inhale, the flavor that I detect is a little strange — almost like the burned taste that you get in the mouth when you let your atomizer become too dry. The flavors don’t really come through until you exhale; the cinnamon and clove notes are powerful and taste entirely natural to me.
I think there is a strong possibility that Johnson Creek used real extracts of clove and cinnamon to flavor Marcado. My wife, who has a better nose than mine, disagrees slightly; she believes the clove flavor is natural and the cinnamon is artificial. Either way, the taste is completely unlike any clove or cinnamon e-liquid I have ever tasted — it’s like smelling whole cloves and cinnamon sticks. It would be a great companion for a mug of hot cocoa on a chilly day. The cigar tobacco flavor that’s supposed to be present, I really can’t taste at all. The other flavors are so good that I don’t miss it.
Alcohol is commonly used as a solvent to make extracts from herbs and spices, and I wonder if the use of natural extracts might be a reason why Marcado doesn’t have the wicking problems I am accustomed to with all-VG e-liquids; the alcohol in the extract would thin the liquid very slightly.
Among clove-flavored liquids, it is very difficult for me to pick a favorite between Marcado and Ares Black Clove. While Marcado has an amazing authentic flavor, Ares Black Clove has the eugenol that makes smoking a clove cigarette feel so unique. I tried combining the two, and didn’t really achieve the effect I was hoping for. If you are a clove lover, I suggest that you buy both and come to your own conclusion. The two e-liquids have very different takes on what a clove e-cig experience should be, and both produce excellent results.