Five Pawns Reviews

Five Pawns is another one of the big names in the vaping community, perhaps the most notable for their Castle Long Reserve... What makes it special? Like all of their juice, it is made in small batches. But Castle Long Reserve is steeped for three weeks in a treated oak barrel and sold for $37.50 for a 30ml while their non-"Reserve" juice costs $27.50 per 30ml.

They have two lines: The Signature Series, which includes their original five juices; Grandmaster, Absolute Pin, Gambit, Queenside, and Bowden's Mate. They also have their Mixology Edition line which has another five flavors, based on alcoholic beverages; Castle Long, Lucena, Sixty-Four, Fifth Rank, and Perpetual Check.

All of their juices are a 50% VG / 50% PG blend and only come in 30ml bottles. And their nicotine strengths are 0mg, 6mg, 12mg, 18mg, and 24mg.

They use clear glass bottles with black dropper caps and classy off-white labels, even their 4ml samples. I believe that they all come in the Five Pawns cardboard tubes as well. (While smart for shipping, it has no other purpose but to add to that novelty of the product once it arrives, in my opinion.)

I was given the chance, by a close friend, to try four flavors from the Signature Series, and give my opinion on them. They are as follows:

Bowden's Mate:
This kind of smells like a very minty, Andes mint. Wow, just on inhalation, my mouth and the back of my throat are hit with a minty blast. There is a hint of chocolate, but it does not taste like a nice, dark chocolate. It is more of a subtle milk-chocolate with a light vanilla finish. The mint aspect is very powerful, which I like, but to me, it is too powerful to be an Andes mint.

Queenside:
It has a light, citrusy smell. This has a distinctive, yet muted "orangey" flavor with an equally strong, distinctive, french vanilla follow-through. There is no citrus "tang" to it that I am looking for, more of a "warm" orange. I honestly do not like this one, but to each, their own.

Absolute Pin:
I catch a few different scents, that seem muddled together. Cinnamon, an aromatic, herbal scent (Absinthe) and a little bit of a warm caramel. The dominant flavors are the absinthe and cinnamon, which are quickly and smoothly followed by caramel and Irish cream. The Irish cream seems to provide a smooth and creamy (as well as refreshing) follow-through.
(I actually kind of like this one...it is an odd one for sure, but it is not bad.)

Grandmaster:
This has a very soft, peanut butter smell and not much else. I think that I catch a whiff of a faint banana or caramel, but it quickly dissipates. The tastes I get are very light and disappointing. There is a peanut butter tone upfront, mixed with caramel notes and followed through by a cream with an almost non-existent banana. This one is too weak for me and I am disappointed by it.

Personally, I highly doubt that I would spend nearly a dollar or more an ml on any of it. I chalk this one up as another one raised on "Hype". I do not love it, and I can certainly live without this juice in my life. If you like their juice, more power to you....It is just not for me.