Smokeless Spotlight: Jasun Thompson & Black Sun

We sat down with Jasun Thompson, the master creator of Black Sun  eLiquid to learn a little more about him and his brand.

You’ve been making eLiquid for quite some time! Could you tell us about how you and Black Sun get started?

I spent about two years working on Black Sun, perfecting it over time. It was really popular within the local vape community. The process of making of Black Sun spawned about 100 different versions. Each one could have potentially been released but this one was the best of those.

Before it was even released there were a number of people that were waiting to buy it. I couldn't make enough of it! I had been giving it all away-- I never charged anyone and, It developed quite a large following.

That’s so cool! When was it finally released?

Funny story about the release date...the original plan was to release Black Sun in March of 2016 on the total solar eclipse-which is a black sun, of course. Well, the morning of I went to double check over all the finished eLiquid and it smelled funny to me. And I thought…”oh no..this can't be right.”

So, we’re looking at all the flavoring and trying to piece together what happened. Well, we come to find out that the flavoring company sent us blue raspberry flavoring by mistake in a bottle labeled as a coffee or something like that. So, we had to push back the release date.

Another funny thing that happened was, the night before the actual release of Black Sun Ethan Heidelbaugh, a local artist, came in serendipitously and asked to hang up a new painting of his-- which was a black sun! What a crazy coincidence!

So you’re saying the name is meant to be!

Oh yes, and the name can mean many things to many different people. The symbolism can be intense for some yet not for others. When I first came up with the name we were doing a giveaway-- which you could do those at the time. And, I had a gallon of it steeping across the room and it looked so black and dark. And, I picked it up and held it and looked through the bottle with the sun behind it at and the liquid was this beautiful golden brown color and I said, “Black Sun!”

So what does Black Sun taste like, exactly?

It’s coffee and tobacco with bakery notes and raisin to add a hint of sweetness-- I didn’t want to use any sweeteners at all. Part of this long process was extracting my own tobacco flavors-- finding the best tobaccos to use for my natural extracts.

One of my favorite pastimes used to be to smoke good cigarettes and enjoy black dark coffee, and you know...that’s a big thing for a lot of people. And, I wanted to make something that recreated that experience for people who quit smoking and now vape.

Tobaccos are typically my favorite vape flavors, although I like a little bit of everything. When I first started...I was a die-hard unrepented smoker. And, I tried this flavor by 503 eLiquid called Blend 4 I thought to myself...“OMG, I’m gonna stop smoking right now! Because I love this.” That was the first time I thought to myself that I could actually quit smoking. I still have a soft spot for Blend 4.

Where is Black Sun available for purchase? Can people pick it up in stores as well as online?

It started out being only available at Smokeless Smoking. It’s here because of Smokeless. The owners provided me with this opportunity. They gave me access to everything I needed to perfect my flavors. I couldn't have done it without them, their support pushed me immensely.

Now, a number of shops carry Black Sun and sell it both instore and online.

What it’s like being a flavor designer in current times with all the legislation going on?

It’s exciting and frightening at the same time. It’s exciting just being a part of this amazing, uhm, movement I guess you could call it. This industry. Yet it’s frightening knowing that there are forces out there capable of potentially destroying it. But, I continue to focus on the positive and the potential that vaping could continue to grow and reach everywhere. And be what it deserves to be: legitimized as a better, safer alternative to smoking. I focus on that potential that we could keep growing as an industry while keeping in mind that there are major changing coming.

Best of luck to you! You’re doing great. Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

One last thing! I still buy my own liquid. I buy every single bottle of Black Sun I vape….But, I get a pretty sweet discount. ;)