IVG Intense Salts Review

Intense Salts is the new range of bar salts from IVG, hot on the heels of their Bar Favourites and IVG 6000 ranges of nicotine salt e-liquids. I’m a fan of IVG, and they’re one of the UK’s better e-liquid manufacturers.

But three ranges of bar salts in about a year is a lot of output, and I’m keen to see whether IVG can keep things zesty, flavoursome and unique, or if this is a case of them returning to well-trodden ground to put a new label on an old flavour. I have tried ALL THIRTY of the IVG Intense Salts e-liquids and am ready to go into them in detail!

Review Disclosure: IVG sent me all 30 of their new e-liquids so that I could get a good sense of the range. They also provided me OXVA NeXLIM Pods that I could use to get the clearest flavours possible. While generous, this won’t impact my review, and rest assured, I don’t pull punches when it comes to vape reviews.

Video Review

Packaging and Labels

The IVG Intense Salt range comes in TPD-compliant bottles inside short cardboard boxes.

The boxes display the IVG Intense Salts logo above an embossed chevron. The flavour of the juice within is listed below the TPD health warning. The front of the box also lists the nicotine strength, with 10mg and 20mg available.

Each box comes in a different, slightly holographic colour based on the flavour within. 

One side of the box features an authenticity QR code, while the other highlights that IVG is an “award-winning British brand.”

The back of the box lists ingredients, health warnings, and information.

Inside the box, the bottles resemble the box designs, with ingredients listed on the back.

Flavour 

Score: 4.7 out of 5

Banana Ice (Our Favourite!)

Score: 5 out of 5

Okay, there it is—that’s the best banana ice I’ve ever tried. And I know that’s a bold statement, but this is the exact taste of a chilled banana milkshake. There’s a mellow pleasure that doesn’t quite crack through to candy levels (a good thing, in my opinion!), and the ice is perfectly measured. This is incredibly tasty, and I will be purchasing it for myself as soon as I can.

Blue

Score: 4 out of 5

Blue is quite an interesting flavour that’s hard to define. I’m getting notes of menthol and blueberry, but there might be the faintest edge of bubblegum flavour in there, too. While I can’t fully tell, I can say it’s delicious!

Blue Raspberry

Score: 4 out of 5

It’s a classic and familiar take on sour raspberries. It doesn’t particularly stand apart from the crowd of other blue raspberry e-liquids, but it holds its own as a strong contender with a well-balanced sour note and clear fruity flavour.

Blue Razz Lemonade

Score: 3 out of 5

I wanted to enjoy this one more, but it was too intense. The blue raspberry and lemonade flavours blend well, but there’s a touch of that ‘perfume’ note I’m picking up in some blueberry juices that makes it just a little too cloyingly sweet for session vaping.

Blue Sour Raspberry

Score: 4 out of 5

As expected, it’s very similar to the Blue Raspberry flavour. However, there’s a touch of perfumed berries in there that feels a lot like the Forest Berries Ice flavour. It’s tasty, though not wildly different from the other Blue Raspberry.

Forest Berries Ice

Score: 3 out of 5

This is a unique taste. The berry collection is quite distinct, and a gentle perfume is added to the overall profile and scent. I found it a little too subtle for my enjoyment, but those into gentle flavours they’ve never tried before are likely to find this vape juice enchanting.

Fresh Mint

Score: 4 out of 5

It was way sweeter than I expected! The herbal mint flavour is very present, but there’s an extra touch of sugar that gives it the taste of soft mints in hard candy shells. While I enjoyed this, pure mint fans will likely find it far too sweet.

Fizzy Cherry

Score: 5 out of 5

This is a sweet and slightly tart take on cherry flavour, with an extra layer of fizziness that makes it very reminiscent of a sparkling glass of cherryade. I was particularly pleased with this juice, as so many cherry flavours lean into that botanical direction, and this is far nicer to me.

Frozen Cherries

Score: 3-5

Ah, there’s that botanical addition to the cherry flavour, haha. The ice is a bit weak, and the overall taste is closer to a classic ‘cherry drop’ hard-boiled sweet. It’s tasty and nostalgic for some but not quite up to some of the other fantastic cherry flavours in the range.

Grape Ice

Score: 4 out of 5

This is a strong, luscious burst of sweet grape juice with a just-pressed freshness. The ice is more gentle than in some other juices from this range, which benefits the sweet but slightly delicate profile.

Kiwi Passion Guava

Score: 4 out of 5

It’s a sweet, watery tropical trio with a powerful, enjoyable guava note. This is lovely, as guava usually takes a backseat in this mixup.

Lemon Lime

Score: 5 out of 5

Delicious. A tangy, sweet lemon is coupled with a sour, rindy lime in a strong-tasting take on a classic citrus duo.

Pineapple Ice

Score: 4 out of 5

This is a tasty and somewhat syrupy pineapple treat. The fruit taste has some additional sweetness to back it up, while the ice serves well to cleanse the palate, making this a very session-friendly e-liquid.

Pink Lemonade

Score: 3 out of 5

A sweet and tart burst of flavour with a hint of what tastes like sherbert to simulate the sparkling soda sensation.

Pro Blue

Score: 4 out of 5

Pro Blue is very similar to the Blue flavour; however, there’s another note of what tastes like raspberry. It’s not distinct enough to justify an entirely new flavour, but it’s still delicious!

Retro Cola

Score: 5 out of 5

This is a spiced and sugary take on the classic taste of cola. The ice adds to the beverage note, and there’s a slight gassiness that prevents it from straying into candy territory.

Retro Orange

Score: 5 out of 5

This is a gorgeous orange soda vape juice that’s frankly unlike anything I’ve tried before. The orange citrus flavour is incredibly clear and distinct, and the extra soda sugariness really works with the zesty flavour. It’s an immediate favourite for me.

Riberry Lemonade

Score: 4 out of 5

It has a tangy lemon taste at first that then transforms into a familiar berry beverage flavour. Perhaps too tangy for some, it is very moreish for the sweet-toothed vapers out there.

Sour Green Apple

Score: 4 out of 5

This is a lovely tart apple flavour with a sharp taste reminiscent of fruity sour candies. This could have used some ice to attain a perfect score, but it’s still a standout sour fruit vape juice.

Spearmint

Score: 4 out of 5

Powerful and sharp! The mintiness has a little heat, which is immediately overwhelmed by the frosty menthol notes, resulting in a unique and moreish contrast of taste sensations.

Strawberry Ice

Score: 5 out of 5

This is a jammy treat! The strawberry flavour is very clear and natural, and the ice doesn’t impact the clarity of flavour at all. It’s a lovely one to return to, as the simple taste just works extremely well. Tasty and uncomplicated!

Strawberry Kiwi

Score: 4 out of 5

A sumptuous strawberry profile with a cheeky touch of tangy kiwi, a classic pairing.

Strawberry Raspberry Cherry

Score: 5 out of 5

A rich and delicious explosion of red fruity flavours. The strawberry, raspberry and cherry are all distinct and notable, which is rare for a trio vape juice!

Strawberry Sensation

Score: 3 out of 5

It has a sugary strawberry flavour with an edge of candy. It’s pretty reminiscent of red liquorice or strawberry lace candies.

Strawberry Watermelon

Score: 2 out of 5

This is a slightly subdued blend of summery flavours. Watermelon adds a round sweetness, but the strawberry is a bit muted.

Summer Blaze

Score: 2.5 out of 5

Summer Blaze is a mixed-fruit flavour with a touch of lemon for an edge of sourness. Sadly, the flavours in Summer Blaze are very indistinct and hard to identify. It’s sweet and pleasant, sure, but other fruit tastes in the range are far tastier.

Triple Mango

Score: 4 out of 5

Rich and moreish with just a touch of natural creaminess, something that comes across often in super-concentrated mango mixes. It stands out as particularly natural and doesn’t rely on additional sweeteners, which is a bold and wise choice.

Tropical Ice

Score: 4 out of 5

This is a raw and fiery fruit blend with a unique profile. It tastes like dragon fruit or cactus fruit, but whatever it is, it’s very moreish and distinct, the kind of flavour you keep puffing just to try and identify it. The ice could be stronger, but perhaps at the cost of flavour clarity, so I respect the choice to keep it restrained.

Vanilla Biscuit

Score: 2 out of 5

It was a bit of a letdown for me, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to trying the vanilla juice from a range that’s mostly fruits. But the creaminess doesn’t even match that found in the banana ice, and it’s just a bit indistinct and muddled, to me at least.

Watermelon Ice

Score: 5 out of 5

This is a remarkably natural-tasting watermelon profile—actually, it’s kind of shocking. There’s a mellow, savoury quality to the taste that adds a rindy edge, really bringing home the fruity flavour. The ice is well balanced and elevates the tropical tastes nicely.

Throat Hit 

Score:  4 out of 5

Thanks to the nicotine salt content, the throat hit is very smooth, so you can session away without worrying about any discomfort.

A few of the juices have an icy component that gives them a little more shock when inhaled, but never to an unpleasant degree. All ice used in the Intense Salts range has been remarkably well balanced.

Vapour Production 

Score: 3 out of 5

The IVG Intense Salts range doesn’t produce an obscene amount of vapour. It’s more like the amount of smoke that would come off a cigarette. This is because of the balanced 50VG/50PG base mixture, which prevents excessive vapour from being produced.

The result is a nice, moderate amount that doesn’t irritate but still informs your senses that something is happening. This is often the most important aspect of tobacco replacements! It all adds up to satisfaction.

Summary

The IVG Intense Salts range delivers precisely the kind of vibrant juice flavours I’ve come to expect from IVG. As expected, the range didn’t wildly stray from IVG’s familiar territory, but why change up the program when you’re that darn good at fruit and candy vapes?

The MIST Favourite: 

• Banana Ice: So, I was totally ready to name Retro Orange my favourite, but whew, I cannot say it loudly enough: This is the best banana ice vape I have ever tried in over ten years of vaping!