Zeus Juice has been casting down bolts of flavour from Olympic heights since it commenced operations in 2011. A UK local with a different approach to flavour concentrates than some of the more sugar-centric Asian manufacturers, Zeus Juice quickly developed a cult following thanks to their balanced sweetness and natural fruity flavour.
Well, it’s been twelve years, and we here at MIST, a UK vape store, are keen to discover whether Zeus Juice’s flavours are still a godly ambrosia. They believe so and have been kind enough to supply us with juices for on-the-spot taste impressions.
MIST’s Methodology
Zeus Juice has supplied MIST with vape juices from across their many ranges.
For this review, we’ve narrowed it down to:
- Zeus Juice Boreas Nic Salt 20mg
- Bolt – Cola Ice Nic Salt 10mg
- Zeus Juice Pomona Nic Salt 5mg
- Zeus Juice ZY4 Nic Salt – 10mg
- Proper Vape Raspberry Sherbert 3mg
- Zeus Juice Black Reloaded Shortfill
- Bolt Vanilla Custard Shortfill
- Zeus Juice Death By Bunny Shortfill
- Bolt White Chocolate Mocha Shortfill
- Zeus Juice Immortals Phoenix Tears
The nicotine salt and freebase e-liquids arrived in a wide selection of strengths, from 3mg to 20mg. We’ve used an Innokin Klypse with 0.8ohm pods to test these due to the device’s convenience.
The shortfills were all mixed at a 70 VG / 30 PG ratio, and we used a Vaporesso LUXE X with 0.4ohm GTX40 GO Coils for each. We did not add nicotine to the shortfills because we wanted to receive the purest flavour possible.
Our resident vape reviewer, Aiden, will give each e-liquid his flavour predictions, followed by instant taste reactions, with a final score out of 10 for each vape juice sampled. Notable favourites will receive additional mention at the end of the review.
With that out of the way, let’s try some Zeus Juice!
Zeus Juice – Boreas Nic Salt 20mg
Score: 8/10
Zeus Juice promises the taste of mango juice with crushed ice, which led us to anticipate a rather frosty and sugary arrangement of flavours.
I was, however, surprised to find that Boreas had a remarkably subtle flavour profile. I can’t detect any excessive or even additional sweetness added to the mango flavour, which is permitted to stand alone with a naturally tropical profile.
The ice surprised me as well; many, many ‘Mango Ice’ vape juices will send a freezing cascade of chill down to the lung, but the ice used for Boreas is just enough to refresh the vaper and cleanse the palate after each puff, preventing lingering sweetness. A delightful and session-worthy start to this taste-off!
Bolt – Cola Ice Nic Salt 10mg
Score: 7/10
The Bolt line of e-liquids seeks to attract a wider audience who may be apprehensive of Zeus Juice’s more famous, inventive blends like the intimidatingly botanical Black Reloaded.
I’m on a personal quest to find the best-tasting cola vapes, so this was an exciting one for me! Right off the bat, I could tell that this cola vape juice strayed in more of a ‘gummy sweet / candy’ direction rather than capturing a pure beverage flavour.
However, this isn’t a criticism, as cola flavouring works excellently as a pick’n’mix sweet flavour. It’s one of the better ones I’ve tried in terms of cola-candy vapes, with a decent balance of sugar that emphasises candy without becoming cloying.
Like Boreas, the ice was very laid back and didn’t impact the taste profile. I wonder if this will be a recurring characteristic among the iced Zeus Juices.
Zeus Juice – Pomona Nic Salt 5mg
Score: 9/10
Learning that Pomona carries the flavour of apple and elderflower had me expecting another effort at a beverage vape, as this isn’t an uncommon blend of vape juice flavours.
What I hadn’t expected was quite how botanical the flavour would be! A strong note of herbal sweetness is the first thing you encounter, rather than the usual ‘apple juice with a floral note’ profile this mix usually results in.
The apple is also surprisingly restrained and natural in its sweetness. Many apple vape juices go all in on sweetness, but this apple flavour genuinely collaborates with the elderflower notes, resulting in a rather sophisticated but deeply delicious bouquet of flavours.
Zeus Juice Tobacco Flavour Blends – ZY4 Nic Salt 10mg
Score: 10/10
If you’re familiar with some of vape juice’s history, you may be aware of RY4, a classic blend of tobacco and caramel that many new vapers latched on to thanks to its nostalgic tobacco taste.
Zeus Juice’s ZY4 is their own effort, and in my opinion, it’s one of the better variants. Zeus Juice’s tobacco flavouring is extremely interesting, as it forgoes the usual sweet and earthy flavours to deliver an honest-to-god SMOKY profile instead! I’m really not sure how they pulled that off!
The tobacco taste is a bit cigar-esque, with the caramel doing an uncharacteristically muted dance in the background. Many RY4 efforts lean too much into pudding tastes, but I can say with some certainty that thousands of smokers would instantly make the switch after one taste of ZY4. An absolute smash!
Proper Vape – Raspberry Sherbet 3mg
Score: 6/10
Proper Vape is a budget range from Zeus Juice, though one wide enough to offer a 3mg 50/50 freebase e-liquid (quite a rarity!) I wondered if the notably lower price was likely reflected in the flavourings.
The truth is that I did detect a specific ‘synthetic’ note from the raspberry flavouring, which felt more like a candy flavour than one of the natural fruit tastes I’ve noted from the other juices so far.
However, it works very well with the sherbet flavour. This zesty pairing manages not to stray into outright ‘sorbet’ territory as some sherbet vapes are prone to.
Those more into a ‘pure fruit’ profile may wish to look elsewhere. Still, for a vaper on a budget, it’s not a step down in terms of taste quality. The strength selection alone makes Proper Vape an attractive line of e-liquids.
Zeus Juice – Black Reloaded Shortfill
Score: 9/10
We’ve gone with a notorious one for the first of this review’s high-VG shortfills! Zeus Juice’s Black e-liquid is a long-beloved mixture of mixed berries, blackcurrant, aniseed and menthol, which later saw an even cooler variant in Black Ice.
Black Reloaded is the flavour’s latest and supposedly greatest iteration, and let me tell you, only the bold tread here. This is, without question, one of the *coldest* vape juices I’ve ever sampled.
The fruity flavours are undoubtedly present and vibrant, but they feel like secondary attractions compared to the ice wall that hits you.
The aniseed also sails through with a rich liquorice profile, elevating the cool fruity notes into something altogether more sophisticated. I feel I must stress that those who only like a hint of cool might want to avoid it, but genuine menthol/ice enthusiasts will be completely bowled over by Black Reloaded.
Bolt – Vanilla Custard Shortfill
Score: 7/10
I anticipated a simple creamy plunge as I filled my LUXE X pod with the 70 VG juice, but what sweetness! Perhaps I was unprepared after the notably balanced use of sweeteners in the previous e-liquids, but the sugar onslaught was quite something!
First and foremost, this is a custard vape juice with a full, eggy, creamy, sumptuous mulch of flavours. The vanilla is there, but it’s being used more delicately than usual, allowing a hint of spice without dominating the profile with heapings of velvet.
Some may find the sweetness a little overpowering, but if you’re attracted to vanilla custard vape juices, that’s likely to be precisely what you want!
Zeus Juice – Death By Bunny Shortfill
Score: 8/10
This bizarrely named e-juice promises the taste of “sweet summer strawberries” and “freshly whipped cream.” As such, I went into this expecting a contrast of juicy fruit and thick creams to bat back and forth Wimbledon-style.
Instead, I found it more reminiscent of a strawberry milkshake, with the fruit and dairy notes melding perfectly, but as a result, it felt less individual and distinct.
The cream takes on a more dominant role within the combo, a thick and indulgent note of rounded flavour accompanying every puff. The strawberry flavour is pleasant yet plays within the dairy’s space, making this more of a creamy vape with hints of summery fruit.
Honestly, it’s pretty darn delectable, a must-have for pudding fans, though fruit purists may want to look elsewhere.
Bolt – White Chocolate Mocha Shortfill
Score: 9/10
Chocolate has long been a white whale for vape juice manufacturers. Getting the taste across is hard without a ‘musky’ note. Still, I’m anticipating the ‘white’ aspect of the chocolate to soften that, to say nothing of the coffee flavours.
Happily surprised to confirm that this is definitely a coffee vape juice more than anything else. The coffee is dark and bittersweet, which is very welcome considering how many coffee juices go in a ‘latte’ direction.
The white chocolate aspect is gentle, adding a velvety layer of pleasure that robs the coffee of any excessively acrid notes, leaving only the pleasant blend of earthy, toasted and creamy flavours.
Maybe not the chocolate vape I was hoping for, but it’s one of the better breakfast vapes I’ve ever tried!
Zeus Juice Mortals – Phoenix Tears Shortfill
Score: 10/10
When I read the blurb for this lemon, peppermint and menthol juice, I would not have anticipated a colder hit than I got from Black Reloaded.
Friends, this is the coldest vape juice today by far. The most assertive flavour in play is, without question, the peppermint, which carries a really herbal, just-picked taste of natural botanicals.
The lemon comes through gently, with a hint of zest on the tip to elevate and expand upon the minty waves. They could have used a touch more citrus flavour, but honestly, the choice to let the peppermint do all the talking was a bold one, which paid off.
Highly reminiscent of a particular brand of sparkling fruit juices with an Italian name, Phoenix Tears is an absolute bucket-list must-try for anyone who likes cold vapes. It’s one of the most unique and frosty vape juices I’ve ever tried.
The MIST Verdict
This Zeus Juice sampling revealed a frankly unheard-of level of flavour mastery. The creams were indulgent, the fruits natural, the menthols freezing and the tobaccos smoky. A stunning degree of taste understanding, coupled with a fantastic degree of choice regarding VG content, nicotine strength and style.
There were undoubtedly some standout favourites from the batch:
- Zeus Juice Tobacco Flavours Blends – ZY4 Nic Salt: This provides a smoky flavour that few e-liquids can match, with the caramel note that harks a freshly rolled cigarillo.
- Bolt – White Chocolate Mocha Shortfill: A rich, dark coffee fragrance with delicate hints of white chocolate that blends luxuriously with the java without overwhelming the bitter notes.
- Zeus Juice Mortals – Phoenix Tears Shortfill: A herbal assault of freezing cold botanical flavour, with just the right amount of lemony zest to elevate the overall bouquet of flavours. One of the coldest vape juices I’ve ever tried.
Overall Score: 9/10