Pics of your sticks!!

[waikikigun]

Wow look at that razor burn line!!! Awesome roll too.

Thanks. Yeah I agree, that's a fine line.

 

[tullius]

It took me 5 years and 1250 blends to figure that one out, and it's the most obvious thing ever!

So obvious it took you doing all those iterations over that length of time to come up with it. Seems simple now, but someone had to put in the leg time. This is an absolutely outstanding blend. And you shared it with the rest of us, shaving years off others' time getting there. Big thanks owed.

 

[waikikigun]

So obvious it took you doing all those iterations over that length of time to come up with it. Seems simple now, but someone had to put in the leg time. This is an absolutely outstanding blend. And you shared it with the rest of us, shaving years off others' time getting there. Big thanks owed.

I came so close to figuring it out years ago, because I once did almost-puros of all (WLT and LO) the secos, bound in Habano seco and wrapped in Corojo Oscuro, and the Corojo was by far my favorite. Here's a video of me enjoying that stick:

"Corojo Gelato" video;

and my all-time great blend used Corojo viso (no longer reproducible because the wrapper is no longer available and a couple of the other leaves didn't pan out in later batches). And as a major fan of Cuban cigars, which just use different primings of the same corojo-related plant in different combos, I had it right in my face. But I was dazzled by the choices and the idea that complexity in blending must equal complexity and goodness in flavor. And then one day I went, Wait a minute.... what if I just added Corojo ligero to these things?

 

[deluxestogie]

From 2017. Grown from seed collected in Cuba.

Some folks may harrumph when I ramble on about my home-rolled cigars, made from home-grown tobacco often being more enjoyable than most commercial, premium cigars. For the coming season, nearly half of my crop will be Corojo 99 (Robaina), though I also grow Piloto Cubano and Olor.

Bob

 

[BigDave4321]

From 2017. Grown from seed collected in Cuba.

Some folks may harrumph when I ramble on about my home-rolled cigars, made from home-grown tobacco often being more enjoyable than most commercial, premium cigars. For the coming season, nearly half of my crop will be Corojo 99 (Robaina), though I also grow Piloto Cubano and Olor.

Bob

Wow! I've always wondered about growing your own tobacco. But my biggest thing was how to ferment it. How do you cure and ferment your leaves? How much crop do you usually grow?

 

[GreenDragon]

Wow! I've always wondered about growing your own tobacco. But my biggest thing was how to ferment it. How do you cure and ferment your leaves? How much crop do you usually grow?

Well, that's pretty much what 1/2 this forum is about. Check out the Key Forum Threads link at the top of the page for tons of growing goodness.

 

[deluxestogie]

And, of course, look at the New Growers' FAQ (link also in menu bar).

A typical plant of a cigar-type tobacco may produce between 16 and 20 leaves of various sizes. My Corojo 99 gives me 24+ large leaves per plant. My 2019 grow log is here: https://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/deluxestogie-grow-log-2019.8472/

I grow between 100 and 200 plants per year.

This whole process is conceptually easy (that is, anybody can do it, because it's not complicated), but a lot of tedious, grubby work. On the bright side, my Toro-size cigars cost me about 35 cents each. If you roll your own from purchased whole leaf, you're looking at maybe $1.25 each cigar--for premium quality tobacco.

Bob

 

[waikikigun]

These robustos are my final rolls of 2019. I bunched and wrapped them live over the last two nights on my YT channel.

The binders are Nica habano seco; the fillers are Nica Habano seco and viso, Sumatra wrapper leaf, Corojo (Traditional) viso and Ligero. The wrappers are Corojo Oscuro, Ec. Habano maduro, and CT Shade.

YouTube channel

 

[GreenDragon]

These robustos are my final rolls of 2019. I bunched and wrapped them live over the last two nights on my YT channel.

The binders are Nica habano seco; the fillers are Nica Habano seco and viso, Sumatra wrapper leaf, Corojo (Traditional) viso and Ligero. The wrappers are Corojo Oscuro, Ec. Habano maduro, and CT Shade.

YouTube channel

I dunno, they don't appear to be up to your usual high standards... Tell you what, I'll PM you my address. You send them to me and I'll quietly dispose of them. No one will ever know your shame

 

[waikikigun]

I dunno, they don't appear to be up to your usual high standards... Tell you what, I'll PM you my address. You send them to me and I'll quietly dispose of them. No one will ever know your shame

You make me laugh, boy!

 

[tullius]

nos. 142-147, last night's fresh work. 1 coro seco 1 coro viso 1 coro ligero, sumatra bind, dominican binder as wrap, all tobaccos WLT.

46 x 5-6

 

[waikikigun]

nos. 142-147, last night's fresh work. 1 coro seco 1 coro viso 1 coro ligero, sumatra bind, dominican binder as wrap, all tobaccos WLT.

46 x 5-6
View attachment 29278

I almost know exactly what that'll taste like, except for how the wrapper'll affect the mix.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Quick 1x CV Corojo viso, bound and wrapped with 1/4 (x2) Nicaragua Rosado.



Coyotes crossing the North Saskatchewan River.

 

[GreenDragon]

@ChinaVoodoo I think I got frostbite on my toes just looking at those pictures. You must have pure anti-freeze running through your veins.

I do like those Rosado wrappers.

 

[zacRock]

Number 3, thanks to all the good info here.

 

[tullius]

no. 87 test burn: 1 cvva seco 1 piloto viso 2 coro ligero, coro bind, coro wrap, hand roll, 13 week rest

49 x 4.5

 

[tullius]

result: good draw, excellent burn, dark spiced plum/prune light, apricot/dark fruit/spicy wood w/some citrus mid, excellent complex finish. solid medium strength, full flavor. would've sworn there's perique in this thing, but I know there's none. interesting cigar.

 

[Mathaious12]

No. 5. I don't think I'm getting the wrapper leaf in a high enough case to get it really smooth. Also next time I'm going to try flattening the leaf with a rolling pin.

It's almost a puro with olor seco, I added in a ligero to see what that brought to the seco. The bunch was close to being right, the draw was a little looser than I like.


It burned even almost all the way to the end. The parts that didn't burn well, were where the wrapper wasn't tight.

 

[CobGuy]

Nothing wrong with that ... I'd smoke it!

~Darin

 

[GreenDragon]

@Mathaious12 Veins can vary a lot between leaves and between varieties. Some are just easier to work with than others. Rolling pins and molds help. Also, if you want a very pretty finish, you have to apply the wrapper very slowly, so you can really concentrate on stretching the wrapper as much as possible without ripping it. Practice makes perfect, etc. All that said, it looks like a fine cigar to me!

I rolled these last night. I forgot to grab the rolling pin, so they're a little "veiny". But that's OK, cause they'll smoke well and taste great (They're also still wet, so the color will even out after they dry.)