Wrapper perfection .

[Jason C]

hope you guys are well and blessed, and thank you for your time. My question is besides casing and proper rolling technique what do the pros do to have such a wrinkle free wrapper?

I see videos of these cigar rollers and their wrappers “Before” the roll are so smooth I’m curious as to what the prep of the wrapper looks like before they use the wrapper


Do they lay them flat in a towel or roll them or something else pherhaps? Maybe some tobacco leaves make better wrappers than others?

I read a post here talking about when cutting the wrapper the top portion has less pronounced veins than the lower half?

 

[jclif43]

I suspect the biggest secret is they reject all but the most perfect leaves. When you consider most of the major factories grow and process their own leaf, they can be more selective and reject something that we would be thrilled to have access to.

 

[Jason C]

I suspect the biggest secret is they reject all but the most perfect leaves. When you consider most of the major factories grow and process their own leaf, they can be more selective and reject something that we would be thrilled to have access to.

Thank you. I was coming to that same conclusion my friend. I suppose we do the best we can with what we get. Blessings

 

[Skafidr]

Yes, one has to keep in mind that big cigar/tobacco producers may have access to proprietary varieties (e.g. using genetic selection) that exhibit very specific characteristics that would give them an edge over competition.

Also given the high volume of raw product and the amount of staff which job is just to sort the leaves, everything is geared towards getting "the best" leaves for binders and wrappers.

 

[deluxestogie]

I can say with confidence that if you purchase cigar leaf from WLT, you are getting the same stuff that the cigar factories are getting. No secret bio-labs are sneaking extra special leaf into the factories. Same leaf; just a matter of scale. And many of the factories seem to have rather permissive quality control.

I am a lazy and casual cigar roller, since I care entirely about how it smokes, rather than how it looks. But below is a quick sample of the quality of my home-grown and home finished wrapper leaf—rolled by this lazy torcedor. And none of them have been squeezed in a mold. If you are patient with hydrating any wrapper, you can get the wrinkles out.

Machu Picchu Havana

Corojo 99

Bob

 

[Skafidr]

I must have misunderstood what the fellow says in this video then. That may also be only marketing stuff. (I'm not saying all producers do what is stated there.)

 

[deluxestogie]

That may also be only marketing stuff.

That's my vote. An hour and 35 minutes to justify an unconscionably high price. I have purchased Davidoff cigars (the real, Cuban ones) from Zino's own tobacco store on rue de Rive, in Geneva, Switzerland. Very nice cigars.

Bob

 

[Skafidr]

They have moved their production from Cuba to Dominican Republic in 1991. I don't know enough to judge the difference between before and after (nor am I old enough ). And I don't think I even had a Davidoff cigar, period..!

 

[Jason C]

I can say with confidence that if you purchase cigar leaf from WLT, you are getting the same stuff that the cigar factories are getting. No secret bio-labs are sneaking extra special leaf into the factories. Same leaf; just a matter of scale. And many of the factories seem to have rather permissive quality control.

I am a lazy and casual cigar roller, since I care entirely about how it smokes, rather than how it looks. But below is a quick sample of the quality of my home-grown and home finished wrapper leaf—rolled by this lazy torcedor. And none of them have been squeezed in a mold. If you are patient with hydrating any wrapper, you can get the wrinkles out.

Machu Picchu Havana

Corojo 99

Bob

Bob those are beautiful. Can you give a brief explanation of your casing process? Thank you

 

[deluxestogie]

Thank you for the kind words. (I left out all the many, many ugly ones I've photographed over the years.)

• filler in low case
• binder in medium case
• wrapper in high case

For thinner wrappers, I mist them the evening before, and place them into a plastic bag. For thicker wrappers, I simply keep the misted wrappers in the bag for an extra day, which allows the thicker secondary veins to stretch.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Here's a wrapper from a close relative of one of Nicotiana tabacum's ancestors:

Bob

 

[Damanadaplaya]

Searching for an answer, haven’t found it so I’ll ask under this thread. I have home grown that I have made OK cigars using the best leaves I can find for wrapper, havana 608, criollo 98. Then, I decided to google what percentage does the wrapper play in a cigar. Google (AI) said 60-90% of cigar flavor comes from wrapper. Well how am I just now learning this? So what percentage of flavor, is the wrapper?

 

[deluxestogie]

Google (AI) said...how am I just now learning this?

Because it is BS. There is no meaningful formula. A flavorful wrapper will dominate. A mild wrapper will merge into the background. AI results (as I have repeatedly pointed out on this forum) will smoothly provide you with an average-ish opinion of correct and flat-out wrong.

Bob

 

[Damanadaplaya]

Bob- this is a dumb question but instead of a spritz of distilled water for the wrapper at cigar rolling time, has anyone tried a “tobacco tea”? I took a couple of my scraps, boiled and steeped in very little distilled water, wondering if it will improve the wrapper. I’m trying use the leafs I grew for wrapper.

 

[TigerTom]

Bob- this is a dumb question but instead of a spritz of distilled water for the wrapper at cigar rolling time, has anyone tried a “tobacco tea”? I took a couple of my scraps, boiled and steeped in very little distilled water, wondering if it will improve the wrapper. I’m trying use the leafs I grew for wrapper.

Years ago, I saw a video from inside a factory where the wrapper leaves were being destemmed and soaked in a brown liquid (leaf soakings, if I recall) to help give a consistent color. I'm not certain of what factory it was, so I'm not going to name names. I mention this just to lend a bit of credence to your idea.

 

[WillQuantrill]

hope you guys are well and blessed, and thank you for your time. My question is besides casing and proper rolling technique what do the pros do to have such a wrinkle free wrapper?

I see videos of these cigar rollers and their wrappers “Before” the roll are so smooth I’m curious as to what the prep of the wrapper looks like before they use the wrapper


Do they lay them flat in a towel or roll them or something else pherhaps? Maybe some tobacco leaves make better wrappers than others?

I read a post here talking about when cutting the wrapper the top portion has less pronounced veins than the lower half?

Just a couple techniques I know, seems like the only time I get to roll is the winter, and inside my house is pretty dry, 25-30%RH. It kills me because I am not very patient but I will destem and spritz my wrapper leaves and let them come into case overnight. This allows for the leaf to be humidified more uniformly. Also you can spritz whatever flat surface you are rolling on and as you gently spread the leaf it will stick to the surface still spread out. At this point you still need to make use of the leaf's elasticity with gentle tension but the leaf upstream stays in place. Spritz the board also tends to bring out a shine in the wrapper. If I were shooting for "perfect" though I would probably sort through the leaf much closer. As it stands now I trust the sorters before me and just grab the next one in the pile. Unless it has obvious damage or holes of course.

 

[deluxestogie]

spritz my wrapper leaves and let them come into case overnight

Yes. With water.

I took a couple of my scraps, boiled and steeped in very little distilled water, wondering if it will improve the wrapper.

I would discourage your doing that. It can be quite hazardous.

Bob

 

[Damanadaplaya]

It looks like it could produce nicotine poisoning, if my Google capabilities did not fail me. Thanks Bob.