Alfaliquid FR4 review, the right kit for a dry nutty blond

A dry classic blond lifted by nuts is judged on the kit as much as on the recipe. The same bottle of Alfaliquid FR4 can taste precise in a pod, then dull or pasty in a poorly matched atomiser. The maker offers two ratios, up to six nicotine strengths and resistance guidelines that few shops bother to repeat. What matters is knowing how to read them before you fill a tank.

Alfaliquid FR4, a dry blond made for a tight draw

FR4 is a classic from Alfaliquid built in two stages, with a dry classic blond as the opening note and nuts at the heart. The 10 ml ready-to-vape bottle comes in 70/30 or 50/50 PG/VG, and that choice of ratio decides the kit.

Alfaliquid FR4 is at its best in 70/30, in an MTL pod or tank, on a standard coil above 0.8 ohm or a mesh coil above 0.6 ohm. Below those values, the 50/50 takes over. There is no VG-rich version, so this liquid is not chasing big clouds.

On the classics shade card on our home page, FR4 sits on the border between the dry blond and rounded blond families. The opening keeps the crispness of a dry blond, while the nutty heart rounds off the middle of the draw.

Its place in the range, in two reference points

The full decoding of the FR codes lives in our note on FR-K and the codes of the range. Two reference points are enough here to place FR4 without rebuilding the whole table.

The first compares it with FR-K, whose blond is not described as dry and whose peanut only arrives as a base note. FR4 brings its nutty side in earlier, at the heart of the draw, behind a crisper opening.

The second brings it close to FR5, which shares the same nutty heart. FR5 opens on a bold blond and only comes in 70/30, whereas FR4 keeps a dry opening and leaves you the choice of ratio.

How the Alfaliquid FR4 ratio behaves from kit to kit

Alfaliquid sums up the difference in a single line, with 70/30 favouring flavour and 50/50 balancing flavour against vapour production. What that means in practice depends on what you vape it in.

In an MTL pod, 70/30 at its best

An MTL pod heats a small amount of liquid through a higher-resistance coil with a tight draw. A thin 70/30 soaks into the cotton without trouble and lets propylene glycol carry the flavour.

This is the setting in which the structure of FR4 reads most clearly. The dry opening lands crisply, then the nuts take over in the middle of the draw, with no excess vapour to blur the handover.

In the UK, pod cartridges and refillable tanks hold no more than 2 ml. A 10 ml bottle therefore covers five fills.

In an MTL tank, check the coil value

An MTL tank takes coils of various values, and the coil settles the question. Above 0.8 ohm for a standard coil, or 0.6 ohm for a mesh one, the maker advises 70/30. Below that, it points you towards 50/50.

Wattage matters too. Set too high, it can harden the dry opening and flatten the move towards the nuts. Start at the bottom of the range printed on the coil and step up gradually.

The 50/50 for lower-resistance coils

On a lower-resistance coil, the 50/50 wicks better and copes with higher power. Its share of vegetable glycerine, which the maker says adds roundness to flavours, shifts the profile slightly.

Expect a slightly less dry opening and a more rounded nutty heart. It is a softer FR4 rather than a different liquid, best kept for people who vape on that kind of coil.

Why FR4 is not a sub-ohm liquid

For a sub-ohm mod running a coil below 1 ohm, the maker recommends the 50/50. That is an option rather than the purpose of the liquid, because no version of FR4 goes beyond 50 per cent glycerine.

A dry blond also loses a great deal under very open airflow, where plentiful vapour dilutes the finer notes. Sub-ohm fans will get more out of recipes designed around a VG-rich base.

Alfaliquid FR4 nicotine strengths

The strengths on offer depend on the ratio, a detail that shop pages often muddle. The page from the maker lists 0, 3, 6, 12, 16 and 19.6 mg/ml, but its published labels only show 19.6 mg/ml in 70/30.

In 50/50, the labels stop at 16 mg/ml. If you vape at 19.6 mg/ml, you are limited to the 70/30 and the MTL kit that goes with it, and that strength stays just under the UK cap of 20 mg/ml.

The ratio also affects the sensation in the throat. Alfaliquid credits propylene glycol with a role in the throat hit of nicotine, which is why a 70/30 feels sharper than a 50/50 at the same strength. At 12 or 16 mg/ml, moving to 50/50 softens the draw a little as well as rounding the profile.

The 50 ml format completes the range. It is sold nicotine-free, in 50/50, in a 70 ml bottle. One 10 ml nicotine shot at 20 mg/ml gives 60 ml at about 3.3 mg/ml, and two shots give 70 ml at about 5.7 mg/ml.

FAQ

The practical questions that tend to follow the choice of kit.

Does FR4 come with nicotine salts?

Yes, in a 10 ml bottle on a 50/50 base, at 10 or 20 mg/ml. The 20 mg/ml bottle sits exactly at the UK limit, and its page describes the opening as a classic blond without the word dry used for the standard version.

Does FR4 contain caramel?

The detailed recipe from the maker only lists the dry classic blond and the nuts. The short summary that Alfaliquid publishes for search engines does add caramel, and some shops repeat it. When choosing, the detailed recipe remains the better reference.

Should you shake the bottle before filling?

Yes, Alfaliquid recommends shaking the bottle well before use. It also advises keeping it closed, somewhere dry, away from light and out of direct sunlight.

Can you switch from 70/30 to 50/50 without changing coils?

It depends on the coil value. Above 0.8 ohm (0.6 ohm for mesh), the 50/50 still works but may wick a little more slowly, so draw more gently. Below those values, the maker actually recommends the 50/50.

Does the 50 ml FR4 have the same recipe?

Yes. Its page lists a dry classic blond as the opening note and nuts at the heart. Only the base changes, since that format comes in 50/50 alone.

Getting the set-up right for Alfaliquid FR4

FR4 is a classic that reads in two stages, a dry opening and then nuts, and that structure only shows well with a tight draw. A 70/30 on a higher-resistance MTL coil remains the reference set-up, with the 50/50 serving lower-resistance coils without turning it into a sub-ohm liquid.

Choose the ratio from the coil value, then set the wattage in small steps, and you will get the best out of Alfaliquid FR4, as you would from most dry classics.

More classics to read

• Jolie Blonde e liquid, what dry really means in a classic blond
• Alfaliquid Gold, how vanilla rounds off a classic blond
• Alfaliquid FR-W, the smooth blond often mistaken for FR-M

Tabatière Royale is written for adult readers only. Vaping products usually contain nicotine, which is addictive, and they are not for sale to anyone under 18 in the UK. This note describes a flavour and is not a buying recommendation.