Five Pawns E-Liquid Review

Five Pawns is well-known among vaping enthusiasts for their ultra-premium, “craft” e-juice products.

They don’t offer a ton of options and their e-liquid certainly isn’t cheap, but you’re unlikely to find such rich and flavorful blends anywhere else.

Their products are well-crafted and extremely complex, with unique and interesting flavor profiles that will keep you satisfied and intrigued.

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About Five Pawns E-Juice

Five Pawns has been creating a lot of buzz lately and is an “Oldie but a Goodie” on our list of Best E-Juice / Liquid Brands. Their premium, handcrafted products have quickly made their way into high-end, boutique vape shops, and some of the top online suppliers, including Breazy, Vapor DNA and Vapor Kings carry their full line-up of artisan-style e-juice.

Based in Irvine, CA, Five Pawns currently offers two separate e-juice lines, the Mixology Edition and Signature Series, each consisting of five unique and complex flavor choices. The company appears to be following the lead of the beer and liquor industries, branding itself as a sort of microbrewery, or craft distiller of e-liquid. Not only is every glass bottle individually numbered and dated, they’re packaged in rustic-style cardboard tubes with Five Pawns branding and product specs.

Due to the “craft” nature of their e-juice, Five Pawns doesn’t offer a huge range of options when it comes to their products. Each blend consists of 50/50 PG/VG and is only available in standard 30ml bottles (unless you buy a hard-to-find sampler of smaller 4ml bottles.) They do offer a full-range of nicotine strengths, though, from zero to 24mg.

Our Complete Five Pawns Review

With only 10 different flavors to choose from it was relatively easy for us to complete a full review of Five Pawns’ e-juice.

Since 4ml samplers weren’t going to cut it for all three members of our team, we purchased each 30ml option from their Mixology and Signature lines.

It did cost us a pretty penny when compared to other e-juice reviews ($27.50 per bottle minus a 10% discount), but we were glad to have the bigger bottles after everything was said-and-done 🙂

Before getting into the specifics of each, it’s probably worth mentioning that this was some of the richest, most complex e-juice we’ve ever tried.

Between the three of us, we’ve experimented with a variety of complex mixtures, but Five Pawns takes it to a whole new level with their creativity and layered approach.

Some of these flavors were tough to put down, and even the ones that seemed questionable from their description were surprisingly good.

Let’s get into the specifics….

Five Pawns Signature Series

• Absolute Pin (4/5) – Complex and interesting like most of Five Pawns’ products, it’s tough to point to a specific flavor (or group of flavors) to explain Absolute Pin. It’s described as an elaborate blend of Irish cream, cinnamon and caramel, with an underlying tone of absinthe. It smells a lot like black licorice, with a creamy caramel inhale, followed by a spicy cinnamon, absinthe exhale. Think of it like a cream-filled, cinnamon licorice candy – if that was actually a thing! Definitely a rich and tasty dessert flavor, even for those of us who aren’t fans of black licorice.
• Bowden’s Mate (3.5/5) – Andes mint chocolate candies – that about sums it up! Bowden’s Mate is a rich and flavorful blend of chocolaty mint with a soft vanilla finish. This is a refreshingly smooth vape and a perfect after dinner treat! We felt like the chocolate could have been a little more pronounced, but it was still one of the best chocolate / mint flavors we’ve tried.
• Gambit (5/5) – Quite possibly the richest and most complex flavors from Five Pawns. Extraordinarily tasty with an authentic apple-y pie crust inhale, followed by a soft, creamy caramel exhale. This is a flavor that needs to be savored! Gambit is the closest thing to puffing on a fresh, homemade apple pie, with hints of flaky pie crust, cinnamon and vanilla ice cream.
• Grandmaster (5/5) – Grandmaster is right up there with Gambit in terms of flavor quality, an outstandingly rich dessert vape that starts off smooth and peanut butter-y, then finishes off with a creamy banana, caramel exhale. Another complex dessert blend that seems to change with each puff! Elements of vanilla and possibly some chocolate are thrown into the mix. Perfectly blended, well-balanced and super delicious! All three members of our team were blown away by Gambit and Grandmaster.
• Queenside (4/5) – Shifting things to the slightly fruity side, Five Pawns’ Queenside is a creamy vanilla / citrus blend that would be most comparable to an orange creamsicle, with a tiny bit of spice thrown into the mix. This one is definitely sweet, and the authentic blood orange flavoring carries through from beginning to end. Smooth, creamy and very flavorful, it might be just a little too sweet as an all-day-vape, but it’s certainly a delicious treat.

Five Pawns Mixology Edition

• Castle Long (5/5) – Although Castle Long may not be the sweetest of Five Pawns’ flavors, it’s quite possibly the BEST! Initially the idea of “dark, refined Kentucky Bourbon” didn’t sound very appealing to us, but it’s much more than a traditional liquor or beverage flavor. Castle Long is a smooth, succulent, and amazingly rich blend of vanilla, coconut and caramel followed by a mild bourbon finish. Similar to an authentic German chocolate cake, this super complex and delicious dessert variety is just plain outstanding! Everyone on our team agreed… CASTLE LONG ROCKS!
• Fifth Rank (3.5/5) – Fifth Rank is kind of a strange concoction, a citrus-y, lime and cream mix with a mint-like aftertaste. It’s hard to describe the horehound herb flavor Five Pawns threw in to this e-juice, and we had mixed feelings about it. Although it certainly wasn’t unvape-able, the combination of sweet, tangy lime and cream, with a strange minty aftertaste wasn’t for everyone. Chris was the only one of us that give this flavor high marks.
• Lucena (4/5) – The best way to describe Lucena… peach rum cobbler. It tastes rich and flavorful just like your favorite after dinner dessert, with soft spiced rum flavor notes. If you’re into peach flavors, Lucena is definitely worth a shot. Although the peach is a bit toned-down, it’s complimented well by the hazelnut, cream and rum – a complex and fruity dessert blend. Not our favorite Five Pawns flavor, but still an excellent option we all enjoyed.
• Perpetual Check (3.5/5) – Perpetual check is a unique and flavorful berry blend that’s a bit hard to describe. The black currant is definitely the most noticeable ingredient, giving it an almost wine-like taste with a bit of fig and a cinnamon thrown into the mix. It’s described as being tart, although it wasn’t bitter with just a mild bit of lemony kick on the exhale. Very sweet and flavorful, but probably too strong as an all-day vape for most vapers. Definitely an interesting and complex option.
• Sixty-Four (2/5) – Along the same lines as Fifth Rank, Sixty-Four is a tangy, citrus-y mint variety, but less sweet and even more confusing. It’s described as being reminiscent of a “chilled mojito hybrid,” combined with cucumber, lemon zest, muddled mint, and just a hint of dill. We were expecting more lemony zing like a refreshing summer drink, but the dill seemed to overpower the other flavors and it was definitely our least favorite flavor. Might be a good break from sweet, dessert varieties if you’re looking for something different, but Sixty-Four wasn’t for us.

Five Pawns is known for their ultra-premium “craft” e-juice, and even though we weren’t huge fans of every flavor they offer, they undoubtedly have some of the most complex and interesting products around. Yes… the the price tag is high, but we think it’s well worth it; especially for our biggest winners: Gambit, Grandmaster and Castle Long. These certainly aren’t your average dessert blends – some of the richest and most flavorful products available on the market!

There are other excellent flavors in the bunch, but no matter which option you choose, expect a unique and flavor-filled experience that will have you craving more.

For many vapers, some of their selections may be too rich and flavorful for every day use, but like a fine wine or aged liquor, they’re meant to be savored and appreciated – a special treat to enjoy when your average e-juice won’t cut it.

* ALSO AVAILABLE AT: Vapor Kings

Expert Flavor Feedback…

This was my first experience with Five Pawns and I gotta admit I was a little bit skeptical. With all the hype about their e-juice, I figured it was just a big gimmick to sell ridiculously overpriced e-liquid.

Boy I was wrong! I’ve tried creamy banana blends like Grandmaster and apple pie flavors like Gambit, but they don’t even compare! This stuff is good! Expertly formulated, rich, tasty and full of unique and interesting flavors.

It seems like I notice something new with every puff. A couple of their products were a bit odd, like Fifth-Rank and Perpetual Check, but I can’t knock them for trying to be different. Five Pawns definitely lives up to the hype! – Christopher Arthur