# Red Astaire and the Astaire Family, four cool fruits on the map > Red Astaire by T-Juice and its Blue, Pink and Black Astaire siblings placed on our flavour compass, based on the maker's and retailers' descriptions. Red Astaire is one of the cool fruit e-liquids most often listed by vape shops. It no longer travels alone. Three bottles in neighbouring colours, Blue, Pink and Black Astaire, now sit beside it under the Astaire Family label. Same family, same maker, but not the same spot on the flavour map. The question is which one suits your palate, and how much of the original each of them actually keeps. ## Red Astaire, a cool fruit on the edge of the herb garden **Red Astaire** is an e-liquid by T-Juice, a British brand. Its official product page lists ripe red berries, black grape and sweet eucalyptus, followed by what the maker calls a warm kick of aniseed and a cool menthol finish. On this site's flavour compass, that profile lands in the north-west, among the frosted orchards, but very close to the border with mints and herbs. The red fruit pulls it west, while the aniseed and eucalyptus pull it back north. That double identity is what gives it character, and what sets it apart from a plain iced red berry blend. The three members of the Astaire Family start from the same heading and each drift off in a different direction. ## The four bottles of the family side by side A note-by-note breakdown of the original matters less here than what each colour keeps of it. The table below sets out, for each bottle, the fruit listed, the coolness described and whether the green side that defines Red Astaire is there. | Bottle | Fruit listed | Coolness described | Aniseed and eucalyptus | Spot on the compass | |---|---|---|---|---| | Red Astaire | Red berries, black grape | Menthol finish | Yes, both | North-west, on the herb border | | Blue Astaire | Forest fruits, raspberry and blueberry on one listing | Cool note | Not mentioned | Deeper into the frosted orchards | | Pink Astaire | Strawberry and raspberry | Lighter, "less minty" on one listing | Not mentioned | Towards the fruit heartland, west | | Black Astaire | Grape, blackcurrant, black berries | Cool note | Not mentioned | Frosted orchards, no drift north | The columns follow T-Juice's official page for the original and French retailer listings for the three spin-offs. The last column places each bottle on this site's flavour compass. ## The Astaire Family, three variations on Red Astaire The Astaire Family brings together four 50 ml nicotine-free bottles, the original Red Astaire and three new colours. The French retailer listings we read present the original as the starting point of the range, with an unchanged formula. T-Juice's British online shop lists only the Red Astaire formats. ### Blue Astaire, the tart forest fruit Listings sum up Blue Astaire as forest fruits with a cool note. One of them adds that raspberry and blueberry lead the blend, and that it is sharper and livelier than the original. On the compass, that tartness pushes the bottle further into the north-west, towards the tart red berries with an icy finish that define the frosted orchards. It moves away from the herb border at the same time. ### Pink Astaire, the fruitiest of the family Pink Astaire is described around strawberry and raspberry with a cool effect. One listing presents it as less minty than the other members of the range. Less cold means a point that drifts towards the heart of the fruit family, in the west of the map. For a palate that finds the original too herbal, it is the version furthest from aniseed and eucalyptus. ### Black Astaire, the closest cousin Black Astaire pairs grape and blackcurrant with a cool note, with black berries mentioned on some listings. That is its strongest link with the original, since it keeps the grape, one of the two fruit pillars of Red Astaire, and swaps the red berries for darker fruit. One listing calls it sweet and full-bodied. On the map it stays in the frosted orchards, at roughly the same distance from the centre as **Red Astaire**, but without the northward drift that the herbs bring. ## What the spin-off descriptions leave out One detail stands out when the listings are read side by side. None of the descriptions we read for the three new colours mention aniseed or eucalyptus. All of them speak of a cool effect, without saying whether it comes from menthol or from a cooling agent. For a Red Astaire fan, that absence matters more than the colour. Based on the available descriptions, the green signature of the original is found only in the red bottle. The other three are more conventional cool fruit blends, each with its own lead fruit. Before buying a spin-off in the hope of finding the original, it is worth rereading the flavour list on the retailer's page rather than trusting the family name. ## Bottle sizes and ratio, what changes from one bottle to the next All four bottles in the range share the same format. Listings give 50 ml of nicotine-free e-liquid in a 75 ml bottle, leaving room for one or two nicotine shots. The arithmetic is worth redoing. Two 10 ml shots added to 50 ml make 70 ml of liquid, not the 75 ml that one listing states in its text, even though its own dosage table rightly shows 70 ml. The remaining 5 ml is simply empty space in the bottle. In the UK, shortfills are always sold without nicotine, and any nicotine shot added to them is capped at 20 mg/ml in a bottle of no more than 10 ml. The same rules apply to every nicotine-containing e-liquid. On ratio, several listings give 40 per cent propylene glycol to 60 per cent vegetable glycerine. Another retailer listing states 50/50 for the whole range. When in doubt, the label on the bottle is the only reference. A VG-rich blend suits an airy tank better than a tight-draw pod, and refillable tanks in the UK hold no more than 2 ml. ## Choosing your Astaire colour by palate The neighbouring families rule, set out in our [flavour map for finding your best e-liquid](/uk/best-e-liquid-by-flavour-profile/), works well here. Start from what you already enjoy, then move one step at a time. Anyone who likes aniseed or balsamic notes will stay with the original. Those who enjoy red fruit but not herbs should look at Pink Astaire. Fans of sharpness will head for Blue, and anyone after a dark, sweet fruit for Black. The same reasoning applies to other recipes sold in several versions, as our [guide to the Ragnarok versions](/uk/ragnarok-e-liquid-versions/) shows, where each label moves the dot across the map. ## FAQ Questions that keep coming up about the recipe and its spin-offs. ### Is Red Astaire available as a nic salt? Yes. The maker's catalogue lists a Red Astaire Nic Salt alongside the standard e-liquid, the nicotine-free shortfill and the concentrate. The Astaire Family colours do not appear in that format. ### Does Red Astaire contain mint? Its official page lists a menthol finish, on top of the eucalyptus. Retailers variously describe it as mint or menthol. Either way, it is a cool fruit, not a fruit blend without coolness. ### Do the Astaire Family colours come in 10 ml bottles? The listings we read only show the three new colours as 50 ml nicotine-free shortfills, to be topped up with one or two shots. The 10 ml format remains specific to the original Red Astaire. ### Where is Red Astaire made? The maker's official page states that it is manufactured in the UK. For the Astaire Family, retailer listings disagree, one of them stating that every bottle in the range is made in France. ### Can you mix two bottles from the family? Nothing technically prevents it if the ratio is the same, but the result no longer matches any recipe described by the maker. It makes more sense to get to know each colour on its own before attempting a blend. ## Red Astaire, still the only one to blend fruit and herbs **Red Astaire** keeps a place of its own within its own family. Its red berries and black grape make it a cool fruit, its eucalyptus and aniseed bring it close to the herbs, and according to their listings none of the three spin-offs carries over that green side. Red Astaire and its three cousins are not stronger or weaker versions of the same liquid, they are four different points on the map. Reading them that way helps you choose, and shows how a cult recipe grows into a family of flavours. ## Next stops - [Best e-liquid, finding your flavour family on the map](/uk/best-e-liquid-by-flavour-profile/) - [Ragnarok e-liquid, the versions of the recipe compared](/uk/ragnarok-e-liquid-versions/) - [Cush Man, the Cushman mango and the recipe's variations](/uk/cush-man-mango-e-liquid/) Travel notes for adult readers only. Vaping products can contain nicotine, which is addictive, and vaping products are not for sale to anyone under 18 in the UK. Nothing here is a buying recommendation.