Cotto’s Revenge is a strange one. On the one hand, Bourbon Custard is immensely delicious and a must-try juice for anyone who likes the core flavor notes, but all the other juices take a bit of a step down. The reason appears to be that after making a knockout juice with Bourbon Custard, Cotto’s Revenge sticks a little too closely to the winning formula, like a band with an excellent first album trying in vain to re-capture that spirit with subsequent releases but never quite getting there.
The unique ingredients added – like hibiscus or Acai berry – come off as an attempt to riff on the basic formula rather than really mixing it up. Vendetta, Ocean Peach and Sophisticated still stand-out as well worth a vape – and the others are ultimately good too – but it would have been a much more interesting line-up if some flavors stepped away from the creamy, custardy tones. Make no mistake: Cotto’s Revenge is awesome, overall; some variety would have just made the line-up a bit more interesting.
Vapers are hardly starved for choice when it comes to e-juice. There are the multitude of dime-a-dozen mixers offering huge selections of one-note blends with blunt, to-the-point names and a rapidly-growing selection of “premium” juice mixers, offering smaller selections of unique-named juices with multi-component flavors and flowery, food-porn descriptions. The former juices get the job done, but if you’re looking to explore some exquisite flavors, the “premium” brands are the only way forward, although you’ll pay a little more for the privilege.
Arizona-based Cotto’s Revenge is firmly in the “premium” e-juice camp, offering a range of unique e-liquids that have been aged in an oak barrel for two weeks prior to shipping to customers. It’s like pre-steeped e-juice using rustic, prohibition-era methods. The flavors themselves are vibrant and lovingly-crafted, made with the aim of satisfying owner Joe Cotto and his wife’s discerning tastes.
Since 2013 Cotto’s Revenge has been gaining popularity, particularly for the flagship flavor Bourbon Custard, but are the juices as good as they’re claimed to be? Our Cotto's Revenge review takes a look at all six juices to find out.
Packaging and Design
The juices from Cotto’s Revenge come in glass bottles, with child-proof dripper caps included and small labels in the center. The design is pretty basic but effective, with a cool cowboy-hat sporting skull beside the logo, with “Cotto’s” written in old west style lettering and “Revenge” scrawled across it in blood-red letters. The name of the flavor and your nicotine level are shown below the logo, and there’s a small warning beside the skull.
It’s straightforward, but definitely gets the job done.
Mixing Options
The juices from Cotto’s Revenge come in a choice of four nicotine levels: 0, 3, 6 and 12 mg/ml. This is absolutely fine for most vapers, and the addition of 3 mg/ml is a great option for vapers who drip. However, an 18 mg/ml option would have been a valuable extra for smokers just making the switch or vapers still quite nicotine-dependent.
The juices are all a 90% VG mix, making viscous e-juices that are lacking in throat-hit (aside from a nicotine-hit) but produce dense, thick clouds of vapor. This blend might make it less than ideal for wicking in some tanks and clearomizers (although modern sub-ohm tanks can ordinarily cope thanks to improved wicking abilities), but for those sensitive to PG this makes Cotto’s Revenge a fantastic choice of mixer.
Cotto’s Revenge Flavors
Ocean Peach – Rating 4/5
Accuracy: Ocean Peach is advertised as a pretty complex juice, mixing Chinese peach with mojito lime, butterscotch and sweet cream. The peach definitely comes through, having an authentic sweetness to it, but being supported and softened by the creamy notes throughout, which also undoubtedly adds even more sweetness to the juice. The lime may be detectable as a faint taste in the background, but the butterscotch is lost somewhere in the mix for me; the peach and cream are the core components you pick up.
Overall: Despite potentially missing the mark when it comes to the minor components of the flavor, overall, Ocean Peach is a very nice e-juice indeed. The fruit is pleasantly understated, and being enveloped in the milky, soothing flavor of the cream really helps the whole flavor go down smoothly. It’s definitely all-day-vape material thanks to the subtlety of the flavors. I’d have personally preferred the butterscotch dialed up just a bit more, but it’s a very enjoyable juice regardless.
Bourbon Custard – Rating 5/5
Accuracy: This is the most popular juice from Cotto’s Revenge and the “flagship” e-liquid, blending bourbon with a sweet vanilla custard, toasted almonds and just a hint of coconut – very similar to Castle Long by Five Pawns. The juice definitely accomplishes what it sets out to, offering a smooth but authentic bourbon flavor at the start of your draw, which is quickly accompanied by a creamy, sweet vanilla custard, with the almond and coconut coming through towards the end of your draw and leaving a faint taste in your mouth after you exhale. Every single component is detectable, and they all marry together beautifully.
Overall: This is an absolutely delicious flavor, and the best of the bunch from Cotto’s Revenge. Every element of the flavor is pulled off wonderfully, and they all come together to produce a soft, soothing, creamy and sweet e-juice that still carries the character from the bourbon to prevent it from getting bland or dull over time. The juice is an instant all-day-vape for me; there’s nothing whatsoever I’d complain about. Although it really is quite similar to Castle Long, it is easily as good – if not better – and costs a lot less too.
Vendetta – Rating 4.5/5
Accuracy: This is described as an Acai berry and sweet cream custard juice, topped off with a top-shelf brandy. The flavors come through clearly, with the Acai berry being strongest on the exhale – and offering a tart, light and slightly floral fruity flavor – but sweetened throughout by the creamy custard, with notes of the brandy largely coming through in the nose. It’s a well-balanced combination, with the different elements of the flavor all coming through prominently in different parts of your draw, but all merging together nicely.
Overall: The Acai berry makes this is a pretty unique juice, with the characteristic flavor providing floral fruitiness throughout, but being well-balanced by the creamy custard. This makes for a very enjoyable combination: an interesting taste thanks to the berry yet softened pleasantly by the creamy element, with the touches of brandy coming through to add another layer to the taste. It’s a fantastic juice, overall. The Acai berry holds it back from being an all-day vape for me, but it’s definitely a good flavor regardless.
High Life – Rating 3.5/5
Accuracy: This is advertised as a champagne citrus mix, with strawberry and cream thrown in there for good measure. The flavors here are a little difficult to pick up individually, with a definite taste of champagne being quite prominent throughout your draw, but the citrus, strawberry and cream settling into the background of the mix. The citrus is detectable through a slightly sharp edge to the flavor, and the general sweet, smooth and creamy backing is undoubtedly due to the elements of strawberry and cream, but they don’t come though prominently.
Overall: This is still a delicious juice, overall, but it’s one where the description sounds more appealing than the flavor actually is in practice. It’s one you can enjoy, but the champagne taking center-stage in the e-juice and being colored slightly by the citrus notes is slightly unusual: you feel like you’re enjoying it without being quite sure. It may be a case of personal preference – and again, the overall flavor has been pulled off well – but this one could use a touch more strawberry and cream for me.
Nani’s Kiss – Rating 3.5/5
Accuracy: This is described as a sweet rum and creamy toffee e-juice, mixed with a touch of hibiscus. For accuracy, the juice does a pretty great job: the notes of sweet rum and toffee come through immediately – although the toffee isn’t as strong as it smells when you sniff the juice itself – creating a very pleasant inhale supported by the cream. Although my memory of hibiscus is a little fuzzy, there’s a unique, slightly floral element to the flavor that rides in on top of this base.
Overall: For me, this juice came very close to being absolutely amazing. The rum, toffee and cream combination makes it a delicious blend overall, with the sort of soft, soothing sweetness that makes a perfect all-day-vape. However, the hibiscus – although it doesn’t come through all of the time – sours the experience, with the floral, slightly tart taste detracting from the beautifully mixed base. It seems to come through less at lower wattages, though. Nani’s Kiss is still enjoyable, but it’d have been so much better without the hibiscus.
Sophisticated – Rating 4/5
Accuracy: This is billed as a Kahlua, vanilla custard, toasted organic almonds (as if you could taste the “organic” part) and brown sugar flavor. The Kahlua and vanilla custard come though together, with a slight coffee note from the Kahlua being softened and supported by a creamy custard. The almond adds a definite touch onto the flavor, coming through notably on the nose, and the brown sugar isn’t really easy to pick out, but the mix is generally sweet so that’s to be expected. You definitely get what’s advertised here.
Overall: Sophisticated is a pretty tasty juice, with the combination of flavors working really nicely together and being pretty well-balanced overall. The soft nature of the flavors – with the subtle coffee undertones being the most prominent – makes it great all-day-vape material, and everything is as well-captured as I’ve come to expect from Cotto’s Revenge by this point. The only downside to this juice is the reliance on the custard – it works quite well, but this is one juice where it starts to feel like something of a crutch. If he’d left the custard out of this one and brought in another element – perhaps some chocolate or just a rich cream – the flavor would have been more distinct from the others in the line-up.
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