Cigar recipes

[JOE1977]

Let's here them. I have the Cremosa blend and the medium blend coming and then I will start this new adventure into rolling.
i am really interested to hear some of the experienced rollers receipts for their favorites.

ring ga.
leaf counts and leaf
any comparison to the big guys would be helpful to me.
Any other info

thanks

 

[deluxestogie]

There are many threads discussing cigar blending.

Bob

 

[webmost]

Try this thread, starting with this post: http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/4251-Whole-Leaf-Cigar-Blends?p=75446&viewfull=1#post75446

 

[JOE1977]

Bob, What about a sticky for us new guys and not so new guys?

A full, medium and Mild header.

Forum searches have their place but it still comes up pretty scattered and you really have to sift through a lot of rabble.

 

[deluxestogie]

We'll think about it. Each alteration of the forum structure requires that a moderator stop everything else, and spend often hours shuffling existing threads around, hoping not to break earlier links to those threads. Just creating the headings is simple, but doing just that would allow the vast resources of previously posted material to languish in limbo.

Bob

 

[Gdaddy]

Bob, What about a sticky for us new guys and not so new guys?

A full, medium and Mild header.

Forum searches have their place but it still comes up pretty scattered and you really have to sift through a lot of rabble.

Hi Joe, what's your preference as far as strength or flavor profile?

 

[JOE1977]

Hi Joe, what's your preference as far as strength or flavor profile?

Im a lover of all
For factory sticks I am a big Monte fan esp the afrique.
Ave Maria in robusto.
La Aurora 1495 (this is great with a good Pinot noir)
H. uppman Legacy
most PDR
AF Hemingway.
most Olivas like the O and V.

Dense, creamy body with medium pepper to let you know it's there.

 

[Gdaddy]

Im a lover of all
For factory sticks I am a big Monte fan esp the afrique.
Ave Maria in robusto.
La Aurora 1495 (this is great with a good Pinot noir)
H. uppman Legacy
most PDR
AF Hemingway.
most Olivas like the O and V.

Dense, creamy body with medium pepper to let you know it's there.

If you like it all, as I do also, you might consider getting an assortment of tobacco. Learning the mechanical side of rolling cigars is fairly easy imo the real challenge is coming up with your own recipes and blending them properly. This takes some experimentation.

I think many make a mistake of trying to make the cigar more flavorful by adding more flavorful tobacco. Seems to make sense but think about a chef making a recipe in the kitchen. If the same were true if you add more spices the food should taste better. We know it can become over seasoned and ruin the dish. The same applies true in a cigar.

A balance of three components should be present. Volado (little flavor but good burning qualities) Seco (flavor and aroma) and Ligero (for strength and flavor). A balance of mild with strong. A yin/yang. If you use all strong flavors(spices) they will be fighting with each other for the lead.

Here's my basic guide line without going through the whole list... Nicarauguan seco and ligero are the strongest.(like a powerful spice in the kitchen. A little goes a long way) Dominican is a step down and more mild mannered. The Piloto seco is mild as well and has a wonderful flavor profile. It's also a thin easy burning leaf (Volado-ish) a great choice.

So, to make a blend using this information in a practical sense you could use the following guide... ( there are other tobaccos listed but just as a guideline)

Mild... Piloto seco or Dominican seco or Flojo (thicker leaf not Volado-ish but great subtle accent flavor) or Criollo98 seco or Aleman seco
Medium... Nicaraguan seco being the strongest of the seco breed. Piloto viso being the mildest viso and is also a great choice.
Stronger... Again Nicaraguan viso is top of it's group. Corojo seco and viso (strong spice) most all viso fits here.
Strongest... Nicarauguan Ligero (powerful) Dominican ligero, Aleman ligero, and my favorite...Criollo 98 ligero.

Using this list as a guide pick one from the mild list, one from the medium list and one from the strongest list.

For example now let's make a simple blend picking one from each category...

Binder... Aleman seco (mild well aged)

Piloto seco (mild and good burn)
Criollo viso (medium)
Nicaraguan ligero (strong)

Wrapper... Criollo 98 (mild good burning and let's the other flavors come through)

Make a cigar using 1/3 of each filler. If the cigars is too weak then increase the amount of viso and ligero. If it's too strong then reduce the amount of ligero and viso.

This is blending from three basic categories and can yield excellent results. The problem arises when you start throwing in tobaccos without considering it's power profile hoping to hit a home run and I've found that backing things down a bit and using more mild tobacco has allowed the subtle flavors to come through. I find the subtleties in the ligero to be the flavor key so I like milder seco and more ligero and look for a balance.

Before you just go out and buy tobacco willy nilly you might want to ask the guys on this board what they think of a certain tobacco and try to categorize your selection accordingly.

Hope this helps!!

 

[webmost]

I LIKE GDADDY'S POST. That right there is putting out the effort to be helpful. I'm gonna re-read this twice, then think about it, then, when I get back from handball, pull out my leaves and put it to work.

 

[ArizonaDave]

If you like it all, as I do also, you might consider getting an assortment of tobacco. Learning the mechanical side of rolling cigars is fairly easy imo the real challenge is coming up with your own recipes and blending them properly. This takes some experimentation.

I think many make a mistake of trying to make the cigar more flavorful by adding more flavorful tobacco. Seems to make sense but think about a chef making a recipe in the kitchen. If the same were true if you add more spices the food should taste better. We know it can become over seasoned and ruin the dish. The same applies true in a cigar.

A balance of three components should be present. Volado (little flavor but good burning qualities) Seco (flavor and aroma) and Ligero (for strength and flavor). A balance of mild with strong. A yin/yang. If you use all strong flavors(spices) they will be fighting with each other for the lead.

Here's my basic guide line without going through the whole list... Nicarauguan seco and ligero are the strongest.(like a powerful spice in the kitchen. A little goes a long way) Dominican is a step down and more mild mannered. The Piloto seco is mild as well and has a wonderful flavor profile. It's also a thin easy burning leaf (Volado-ish) a great choice.

So, to make a blend using this information in a practical sense you could use the following guide... ( there are other tobaccos listed but just as a guideline)

Mild... Piloto seco or Dominican seco or Flojo (thicker leaf not Volado-ish but great subtle accent flavor) or Criollo98 seco or Aleman seco
Medium... Nicaraguan seco being the strongest of the seco breed. Piloto viso being the mildest viso and is also a great choice.
Stronger... Again Nicaraguan viso is top of it's group. Corojo seco and viso (strong spice) most all viso fits here.
Strongest... Nicarauguan Ligero (powerful) Dominican ligero, Aleman ligero, and my favorite...Criollo 98 ligero.

Using this list as a guide pick one from the mild list, one from the medium list and one from the strongest list.

For example now let's make a simple blend picking one from each category...

Binder... Aleman seco (mild well aged)

Piloto seco (mild and good burn)
Criollo viso (medium)
Nicaraguan ligero (strong)

Wrapper... Criollo 98 (mild good burning and let's the other flavors come through)

Make a cigar using 1/3 of each filler. If the cigars is too weak then increase the amount of viso and ligero. If it's too strong then reduce the amount of ligero and viso.

This is blending from three basic categories and can yield excellent results. The problem arises when you start throwing in tobaccos without considering it's power profile hoping to hit a home run and I've found that backing things down a bit and using more mild tobacco has allowed the subtle flavors to come through. I find the subtleties in the ligero to be the flavor key so I like milder seco and more ligero and look for a balance.

Before you just go out and buy tobacco willy nilly you might want to ask the guys on this board what they think of a certain tobacco and try to categorize your selection accordingly.

Hope this helps!!

I second this~!
I make "testers" or small cigarillos of each tobacco on how it tastes, then I'll make a corona of two blends to see how they go together, then another after it's been tested to adjust the flavors between the two. Then, if right, I'll add the Liguero, or two leaves viso on the flavor I want to be predominant.

To illustrate Gdaddy's point through a mistake I made the other day, but a good mistake, I rolled Criollo 98' seco with two habano viso leaves, I should have started with a cigarillo of Criollo (which I have never tested before).
Last night, I rolled 2 Criollo Seco to try tonight. I got an amazing flavor from the Criollo, but the different, but amazing flavor of the habano viso overpowered this amazing Criollo flavor. Once I test all this, I'm guessing I'll end up with habano seco filler with 2 L Criollo viso, at that point, I can add different wrappers or try different Ligueros 1st.

There was a guy on here who just gave up on rolling because 1) he didn't wait 2 days until the samplers came out before he made a purchase. 2) he ordered heavy visos and Ligueros that overpowered his Cigar. His thinking was, he knew what he liked (before trying any whole leaf), and he didn't want to take the time (2 weeks to a month) for motor skill training. He's the only example that I know of though.

Piloto Cubano Seco is a staple I keep in stock because 1) It's mild, and can be used to blend down a firecracker of a cigar 2) It's thin, giving an even burning quality.

Gdaddy's post is worth keeping and printing out to keep above your rolling station. It'll save a lot of heartache of blending too strong. PS. Yes, there is such a thing as too strong where you lose your flavors.

Just ask me! I tried to add too much Brazilian Mata Fina to a blend with Ligueros, and other strong tobaccos. Now, I only use 1 strip (⅛ of a leaf braz.) to a blend, just perfect to get the creaminess out. More, and you'll make the Cigar bitter.

 

[Gdaddy]

I second this~!
I make "testers" or small cigarillos of each tobacco on how it tastes, then I'll make a corona of two blends to see how they go together, then another after it's been tested to adjust the flavors between the two. Then, if right, I'll add the Liguero, or two leaves viso on the flavor I want to be predominant.

To illustrate Gdaddy's point through a mistake I made the other day, but a good mistake, I rolled Criollo 98' seco with two habano viso leaves, I should have started with a cigarillo of Criollo (which I have never tested before).
Last night, I rolled 2 Criollo Seco to try tonight. I got an amazing flavor from the Criollo, but the different, but amazing flavor of the habano viso overpowered this amazing Criollo flavor. Once I test all this, I'm guessing I'll end up with habano seco filler with 2 L Criollo viso, at that point, I can add different wrappers or try different Ligueros 1st.

There was a guy on here who just gave up on rolling because 1) he didn't wait 2 days until the samplers came out before he made a purchase. 2) he ordered heavy visos and Ligueros that overpowered his Cigar. His thinking was, he knew what he liked (before trying any whole leaf), and he didn't want to take the time (2 weeks to a month) for motor skill training. He's the only example that I know of though.

Piloto Cubano Seco is a staple I keep in stock because 1) It's mild, and can be used to blend down a firecracker of a cigar 2) It's thin, giving an even burning quality.

Gdaddy's post is worth keeping and printing out to keep above your rolling station. It'll save a lot of heartache of blending too strong. PS. Yes, there is such a thing as too strong where you lose your flavors.

Just ask me! I tried to add too much Brazilian Mata Fina to a blend with Ligueros, and other strong tobaccos. Now, I only use 1 strip (⅛ of a leaf braz.) to a blend, just perfect to get the creaminess out. More, and you'll make the Cigar bitter.

Great points Dave!

My favorite cigar and use as a base line is the Don 'Pepin' blue label. So, I smoked it side by side with my first rolled cigars (mostly Nicaraguan seco and ligero). The Pepin was MUCH more mild mannered. What an eye opening experience! My cigars were much too 'loud' in comparison.

So, I set out to do the opposite. My turn point was to make an effort to roll the lightest/weakest flavored cigar I could. Went to the other end of the spectrum and then just added more ligero to ramp up the power and bring out the flavor in a more subtle way.

Instead of using Nicaraguan seco leaves for binder... switched to... Aleman seco binder (mild)
Instead of Nicaraguan seco switched to... Piloto seco (mild) and added some Flojo (very mild)
" " Ligero switched to... Aleman ligero (mild with age for flavor) (Criollo98 ligero is a good one also)
Used one of the lightest, thinnest, most mild wrappers.... Criollo98 (mild)

To ramp up or down the flavor and power the amount of ligero was the only item that increased or decreased.

The result was a toned down cigar that I could actually taste the subtle flavors. This cigar was FAR better balanced and smoother. This was my 'aha moment'.