Few British e-liquid names carry the weight that Vampire Vape does. While trends in vaping have come and gone, this is a brand that has quietly stayed relevant by doing one thing consistently well: mixing flavours that people remember and keep coming back to. For many UK vapers, the brand is shorthand for a single, era-defining blend, yet the wider range runs far deeper than its most famous bottle. With refillable kits now the standard way to vape, more people are looking closely at established liquid houses rather than reaching for whatever sits nearest the till. This guide sets out what Vampire Vape offers, how its formats differ, and how to match a bottle to the way you actually vape.
The Vampire Vape story
Vampire Vape is a long-running British e-liquid brand that helped shape the early UK market rather than simply riding its growth. In a period when most available liquids were either thin tobacco imitations or oversweetened experiments, the brand stood out by producing blends with a clear identity. Its juices tasted of something specific and deliberate, and that consistency earned a following the slow way, through word of mouth rather than marketing noise.
That reputation has proved durable. Ask a long-time vaper to name a homegrown liquid brand and Vampire Vape tends to surface quickly, usually alongside a story about the first time they tried its signature blend. Reliability is a large part of the appeal: a bottle bought today is expected to taste the way it did years ago, and for the most part the brand has honoured that expectation across countless batches.
Over time the catalogue widened from a handful of hero flavours into a broad library covering fruits, menthols, desserts and the aniseed-tinged profiles the brand is known for. It is worth being plain about what the brand is, though. Vampire Vape produces nicotine e-liquids for adult vapers and nothing more. It is not a wellness product or anything that should be read as a way to change your habits, and nothing here should be taken that way. You can see where it sits within our wider selection on the dedicated Vampire Vape brand page.
Heisenberg and the signature flavours
No account of Vampire Vape gets far without Heisenberg, and with reason. It is not only the brand's most famous flavour but one of the most recognisable e-liquids the UK scene has produced. Understanding what it does is the clearest way into the brand as a whole, because the qualities that made it a fixture run through much of the range.
Heisenberg is best described as a cool, layered mixed-berry blend carrying a distinct edge of aniseed and a clean menthol chill beneath. The first impression is a wave of dark and red berries, ripe and faintly tart rather than candied, the sort of fruit that reads as juicy without tipping into sickliness. Sitting just behind the fruit is a subtle aniseed note that lends an unexpected depth, a faintly liquorice-like complexity that lifts it well above a simple fruit mix. Then comes the cooling, a crisp finish that sharpens everything and leaves a refreshing clarity on the exhale. People rarely describe Heisenberg by listing its parts; they describe how it makes a vape feel, which is cool, moreish and difficult to mistake for anything else.
That success opened the door for the brand's other signature blends. Pinkman is the name most often mentioned alongside it: a brighter, zingier fruit medley built around sweet and tart berries with a citrus lift, sharper and more sweet-leaning than Heisenberg yet just as easy to keep vaping. Where Heisenberg is cool and brooding, Pinkman is sunny and lively, and between the two they cover a large share of what most fruit vapers are after. The brand has also released iced and remixed takes on its hero flavours over the years, which tends to happen only when an original is strong enough that people start asking for variations on it.
The range: nic salts, 50/50 and shortfills
Before choosing a flavour, it helps to understand that Vampire Vape liquids come in several formats, and the format matters as much as the blend. The same flavour might be sold as a nic salt, a freebase liquid or a shortfill, and each suits a different device and a different style of vaping. Match it correctly and the liquid behaves exactly as intended; get it wrong and even a fine flavour can fall flat.
Nic salts
Nic salt liquids use a smoother form of nicotine that allows higher strengths to be vaped without the harshness you might expect on the throat. In the UK these come in 10ml bottles at strengths up to the legal maximum of 20mg/ml, usually offered at 10mg and 20mg. Salts are designed for small, low-power pod and MTL devices, where they deliver nicotine quickly and discreetly. They are the natural choice for anyone who has moved across from disposables and wants a similar tight, mouth-to-lung draw. A 10ml salt typically sits around three to four pounds.
50/50 freebase
The brand's traditional 50/50 freebase liquids carry an even balance of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine. That ratio keeps them thin enough to wick well in smaller coils while still producing a satisfying amount of vapour, which makes them a versatile middle ground. They suit MTL kits and pod systems and are a sensible pick if you want freebase nicotine in a familiar 10ml bottle rather than the salt format.
Shortfills
Shortfills are larger bottles of nicotine-free liquid, sold with headroom so you can add a separate nic shot if you want nicotine. They are higher in vegetable glycerine, which means thicker vapour and a fuller flavour aimed at sub-ohm, direct-to-lung devices. Because the law restricts nicotine-containing bottles to 10ml, shortfills are how the market offers liquid in bigger volumes. Expect to pay somewhere between eight and fifteen pounds depending on size, with 0mg in the bottle and a nic shot added at home.
The flavours
The range is broad enough that it helps to group it by character. The notes below describe the general style of each family in our own words; exact availability shifts over time, so treat them as a guide to what the brand does rather than a fixed list.
Fruit
Fruit is the heart of the catalogue. Alongside the berry-led signatures, you will find brighter single-fruit and mixed-fruit blends spanning orchard fruits, tropical notes and sharper citrus profiles. The house style tends to favour fruit that tastes ripe and rounded rather than artificially sweet, with enough tartness to keep things lively across a long day of vaping.
Menthol and ice
Cooling is something the brand handles with a light touch, which is part of why Heisenberg works. Beyond it, there are cleaner menthol options and iced fruit blends for vapers who want a frosty edge without losing the flavour underneath. These suit anyone who finds plain fruit a little flat and prefers a crisp, refreshing finish.
Dessert and sweet
The dessert and sweet side covers richer, more indulgent profiles, from creamy and custard-style notes to confectionery-inspired blends. These tend to be all-day flavours for people who like something warmer and rounder than fruit, and they pair naturally with the higher-VG shortfill format where a fuller body shows them off.
Aniseed
Aniseed is the thread that gives the brand much of its identity. It appears as a supporting note in the signature blends and as a more pronounced character in others, lending a faintly liquorice-like depth that few rival ranges lean into so confidently. For vapers who enjoy that distinctive edge, it is one of the things that sets Vampire Vape apart from more conventional fruit houses.
Nic salt or shortfill: which to choose
The decision usually comes down to your device and the kind of draw you prefer, not the flavour itself. If you vape a small pod or MTL kit and want a tight draw that mirrors a cigarette, nic salts are the right format. They deliver nicotine smoothly at higher strengths, last well in a low-power coil and slip easily into a pocket, which is why they suit former disposable users so neatly. The trade-off is that they are not designed for big, airy clouds.
If you have moved to a sub-ohm, direct-to-lung kit and enjoy a warmer, more open draw with plenty of vapour, shortfills make more sense. The higher VG content carries flavour richly and produces the thicker clouds those devices are built for, and the larger bottle works out cheaper per millilitre once you account for the added nic shot. The main consideration is strength: shortfills with a single nic shot land at lower nicotine levels, which fits the lower intake of higher-power vaping but may not satisfy someone who needs more. If you are unsure where you sit, our nicotine strength guide walks through how to choose a level for your setup.
The right device for it
Matching the liquid to the hardware is what makes any of this work. Nic salts and 50/50 freebase liquids belong in pod systems and MTL kits with higher-resistance coils, the compact devices most people now use day to day. These run at modest power, sip liquid slowly and give the controlled, mouth-to-lung draw that salts are formulated for. If you are coming from disposables or buying your first refillable, this is the category to look at, and our roundup of refillable vape kits for beginners is a good starting point.
Shortfills, with their higher VG, need a sub-ohm kit with low-resistance coils and more airflow. These devices run hotter, vaporise the thicker liquid properly and reward you with the fuller flavour and bigger clouds that high-VG juice is made for. Putting a shortfill into a tiny pod tends to clog the coil and mute the flavour, while running a thin salt through a powerful sub-ohm tank can feel harsh and burn through liquid quickly. Get the pairing right and the experience is far more rewarding than chasing the most expensive kit on the shelf.
How Vampire Vape compares
Vampire Vape does not exist in isolation, and it is fair to ask how it stands against other respected British names. Against a brand like Riot Squad, the contrast is largely one of tone. Riot leans into bold, modern, often punchy fruit and sweet combinations with loud branding, whereas Vampire Vape feels more measured and rooted in its heritage, trading on recognisable house flavours rather than constant novelty. Both are well made; the choice is really about whether you want something familiar and considered or something brasher and more contemporary.
Against Dinner Lady, the comparison shifts to flavour territory. Dinner Lady built its name on dessert and confectionery profiles, the lemon tart in particular, and excels at sweet, bakery-style liquids. Vampire Vape, by contrast, is strongest in cool fruit and aniseed-edged blends, with dessert as a secondary strength rather than its calling card. A vaper chasing pudding flavours might lean to Dinner Lady, while one after a refreshing, fruit-forward all-day vape with a distinctive twist is better served here. You can weigh these names side by side in our overview of the best e-liquid brands of 2026, and browse the wider selection across our full e-liquids range.
Questions, answered
What does Heisenberg taste like?
It is a cool mixed-berry blend with a clear aniseed note and a clean menthol chill. The result reads as fruity, faintly liquorice-like and intensely refreshing, which is why it became so widely recognised.
What is the difference between a nic salt and a shortfill?
Nic salts are 10ml bottles with nicotine already in them, smooth at higher strengths and made for small pod and MTL devices. Shortfills are larger nicotine-free bottles, higher in VG, designed for sub-ohm kits, with a nic shot added separately if you want nicotine.
What nicotine strengths are available?
UK nic salts are capped at 20mg/ml and are usually sold at 10mg and 20mg. Shortfills start at 0mg, and adding a single nic shot typically brings them to a lower strength suited to higher-power vaping.
Why are bottles only 10ml?
UK regulations limit nicotine-containing e-liquid bottles to 10ml and pods to 2ml. Shortfills get around the volume limit by being nicotine-free until you add a shot, which is why they come in larger sizes.
How much does Vampire Vape cost?
A 10ml nic salt generally sits around three to four pounds, while shortfills usually fall between eight and fifteen pounds depending on bottle size. Prices are approximate and vary by retailer.
Which format suits a beginner?
Most people starting out, particularly those moving from disposables, are best served by a nic salt in a small pod or MTL kit. It gives a familiar tight draw and steady nicotine without the bulk or expense of a sub-ohm setup.
Is Pinkman similar to Heisenberg?
They share the brand's knack for a drinkable fruit blend but differ in mood. Heisenberg is cool and berry-led with aniseed depth, while Pinkman is brighter, sharper and more citrus-forward, with no menthol chill at its centre.
How does the new Vaping Products Duty affect prices?
From 1 October 2026 a Vaping Products Duty of £2.20 per 10ml applies to e-liquid in the UK, which is likely to raise shelf prices across all brands. You can find the current range and pricing in our store.
Vape EU sells to over-18s only. Nicotine is an addictive substance. This article is general information, not health or medical advice. Prices are approximate and vary by retailer.