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The Ultimate Compliment

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FmGrowit

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A friend of a friend who lives in West Palm Beach ordered some cigar tobacco. A Cuban friend of his with 40 years of rolling experience made some cigars for him. Last week he sent me three cigars. One was a cigar from the leaf I sent him and the other two were from an Island about 90 miles off the Florida coast.

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Yesterday, he called me to make sure I got the cigars and to see if I had smoked the cigar he had made. I explained that I have commitment issues and that it's hard for me to find time to sit down and enjoy a cigar. He proceeded tell me how he can get all of the finest cigars he wanted and that the cigars he had made were better than anything he has smoked. The cigars he sent me were for testing purposes and he challenged me to smoke the cigar from my tobacco first and then compare it to the other two he sent me.

I'm going to try to get the blend he used so it can be reproduced. I'll let you know what I find out.
 

BarG

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You have out done yourself with the cigar wrappers and fillers you have been providing! I picked a great time to pick up cigar rolling and smoking.:cool:
 

deluxestogie

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FmGrowit's Friend said:
...the cigars he had made were better than anything he has smoked.
I've been telling you. When I have factory cigars (usually not Cuban) in my humidor, I find I prefer to take the time to roll a nicer one from my whole leaf. I'll reach for the factory cigar when I'm lazy--and I'm often disappointed.

Bob
 

FmGrowit

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Yes and I sincerely believe you, but I just always thought there was nothing better than Cuban cigars. I don't know where I got that impression...maybe the mystique of the Cuban Cigar precedes itself.

In all fairness though, the guy kept referring to the cigar he had made as "my blend" opposed to "your tobacco". So I'm going to try to get him to tell me what the blend is.
 

johnlee1933

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Yes and I sincerely believe you, but I just always thought there was nothing better than Cuban cigars. I don't know where I got that impression...maybe the mystique of the Cuban Cigar precedes itself.
Yes and maybe it's the millions of dollars spent on advertising to make you believe they are the best. You CAN train palates. Ask Twinkies or McDonald's. You get some blowhard who's willing to stand up and say over and over "This is the Best." and some people will believe it. Herr Gobbles did it and look how THAT turned out!
 

Knucklehead

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Ahhhh ... forbidden fruit is sweet ...
But I favor that Nicaraguan wrapped in the Maduro wrapper over anything.
 

deluxestogie

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Most Cuban cigars are excellent. Some are not. Some are low cost cigars for domestic consumption. Somehow, Cuban cigars have maintained a distinctive taste. (Only JBD's Vuelta Abajo seemed to capture it.)

The Cuban Embargo began in 1961. Ex-pats began the process of perfecting the varieties, locations and methods in Central America and elsewhere. For much of the next decade (1961 to 1971) most, then many, then some Tampa cigars contained bonded, pre-embargo Cuban leaf. By 1971, that was pretty much gone, but the Central American cigar factories were turning out very good cigars. That's 10 years of trail and error. Ten grow logs. Today, Central American and Caribbean cigars range from mediocre (much of the boutique stuff) to excellent. They still don't taste like Cuban cigars. I'm not saying that they are not as "good," but that they don't have that distinctive taste.

Enter WholeLeafTobaccollc.com. Don is now making some of that excellent Central American and Caribbean cigar leaf available for your own use (and the use of friends in Florida who have access to smuggled Cuban cigars). Plus there are the fabulous Ecuadorian wrappers now at your fingertips. And you don't have to spend good money on gold-leaf cigar bands depicting wreaths, eagles, pirate ships and fantasy women.

Bob
 

deluxestogie

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A beginning cigar factory roller will roll about 1000 cigars during the first week or two. The experienced rollers can crack 300 cigars a day. Practice, practice, practice.

Bob
 

FmGrowit

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Well, I got through about 1/5 of the custom made cigar before it kicked my ass. It was surprisingly smooth and I let that fool me. I'm willing to bet this whole "taste" thing is going to be very subjective. As I said, the smoke was very smooth with an almost Turkish like floral/perfumy note. I has a very slight bite and it sure makes my gas station coffee taste good. I think this guy is a well seasoned cigar smoker and went heavy on the Ligero.

I think I'll wait til tomorrow to test drive a Cuban for comparison.
 

darren1979

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Now that is something you should be proud of. Don if you do happen to get the percentage of leaf used, id be intrrsted in buying a bag of 'ftt cigar mix'
I can see a whole range of pre packaged cigar mixes in my crystal ball, and im excited :)
 

FmGrowit

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I guess I'll be sending out cigar samplers for test blends. The possibilities are endless. This could make the German tobacco all the more rare. Hmmm, maybe a cigar with some Latakia?
 

Knucklehead

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Oh, Lordy, my basement is already a miniaturized version of the WLT warehouse. What the hell, keep 'em coming, I still have some room in the attic. lol
 

FmGrowit

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Hey, at least you know it won't go bad ;)

This gig might not last forever

Someday your great grand children will be talking about how smart you were to buy tobacco when it was legal.
 

DonH

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I guess I'll be sending out cigar samplers for test blends. The possibilities are endless. This could make the German tobacco all the more rare. Hmmm, maybe a cigar with some Latakia?
I've been planning to put a strip of Latakia in the next cigar I roll. I'll report back. I think it'll either be really good or really bad.
 

Matty

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I've smoked many a cuban cigar and I as well prefer to smoke what I roll from Don's leaf instead. One thing about cuban cigars is that the blend of tobacco lends the flavor profile a little more complexity.
 
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