member's blends

[Knucklehead]

Overall satisfaction with the wrapper in various blends.

Strength: the LOWER the nico, the better, the more subtle the effect on the overall blend, the better. But something that brings something to the blend is preferred to something that is just not there.

Aroma/flavor.

Smoothness/lack of huge veins

Your above criteria instantly brings to mind the CT Shade, Ecuadorian Shade, and Besuki. My preferences may not be your preferences but those three meet the low nicotine, subtle effect, smoothness and lack of huge veins that you ask for.

 

[waikikigun]

Thanks. Was Ecuadorian Shade ever available at WLT?

Your above criteria instantly brings to mind the CT Shade, Ecuadorian Shade, and Besuki. My preferences may not be your preferences but those three meet the low nicotine, subtle effect, smoothness and lack of huge veins that you ask for.

 

[Knucklehead]

Thanks. Was Ecuadorian Shade ever available at WLT?

Yes. I still have nearly a pound of it in my stash. It is CT Shade seed grown in Ecuador. The CT Shade at WLT now is extremely thin and stretchy with very small veins. The difference between sun and shade grown. Very light, very subtle, it allows the filler to come through with little influence from the wrapper which has a very neutral mouth taste. I think in terms of intensity and strength, the Maduro is close to the top end of the spectrum and the Shade is at the opposite end. It makes a great change of pace smoke from the Maduro, Corojo, and Criollo wrappers. I think Besuki falls somewhere between those three and the Shade.

 

[waikikigun]

Thanks, KH.

My experience is that the WLT CT shade is sweet/creamy and lends sweet/creamy notes to a blend.

My experience with Ecuador shade is that it's the easiest wrapper to make a beautiful stick with. Its general flavor is "wet skanky hay."

Besuki I love because it's beautiful and a joy to wrap with. It gives what I experience as an almost-menthol flavor, more than any classic earth/tobacco/leather/chocolate/spice. Intriguing stuff.

Thanks again.

Yes. I still have nearly a pound of it in my stash. It is CT Shade seed grown in Ecuador. The CT Shade at WLT now is extremely thin and stretchy with very small veins. The difference between sun and shade grown. Very light, very subtle, it allows the filler to come through with little influence from the wrapper which has a very neutral mouth taste. I think in terms of intensity and strength, the Maduro is close to the top end of the spectrum and the Shade is at the opposite end. It makes a great change of pace smoke from the Maduro, Corojo, and Criollo wrappers. I think Besuki falls somewhere between those three and the Shade.

 

[juan carlos]

i have really been enjoying a blend from a few weeks ago, it keeps getting better so tonite i was just bunching up another ten. one leaft corojo viso with one leaf nic habano seco in a double nic habano seco binder. i added in 1/4 leaf san vincente seco, it is the aroma that i'm enjoying in this blend. if you want some barnyard in your mix, this is the stuff.

any suggestions for a wrapper tomorrow? maybe CT shade?

 

[juan carlos]

i wrapped 8 in a CT shade and 2 in maduro.
i love that maduro wrap scent, it is so strong in raisins, it makes for wanting to chew em, not smoke em!

 

[waikikigun]

Juan Carlos, okay, I'll try your blend, minus the San Vincente, since I have none, and maybe 1.5 habano seco and .5 leaf corojo viso, for variety. and .5 leaf something else, probably something light for combustion. I'll try both those wrappers, tambien. I'll call it the KJC, King Juan Carlos. Or maybe the FVI: Felipe VI.

 

[juan carlos]

the san vincente is where that fresh barnyard aroma is coming from.

LOL the KJC, i'm gonna have to roll up some 64RG and make a label!!!

 

[Smokin Buffalo]

today i smoked my first ever blend. I looked at blends on this site and put together some things I have seen work together in other blends. It worked. I loved it!!

1 1/2 Criollo Viso
1 Corojo Seco
1/2 Corojo Viso
single Dominican Binder
PA Oscuro Wrapper

I loved this blend.

 

[juan carlos]

i tried a
2 leaf criollo 98
1/2 dom ligaro
dom binder
ecu maduro wrap

the flavour was fairly plain, with a bit of spice. it gathered some complexity about 1/2 way in, but i had to put it down for a while, it had a pretty strong nic hit to it. half hour later i gave it a second match and enjoyed the flavour a bit more.
summary is small flavour big nicotine buzz. i think i'm going to pass on this one for future rolls.

 

[waikikigun]

Was that with those little tiny Criollo Viso leafs? Would you rate this as a medium or a medium-strong blend? Congrats! How long ago did you roll it? It sure is exciting when you come up with a blend that works, isn't it....It's like finding gold coins in the weeds.....

today i smoked my first ever blend. I looked at blends on this site and put together some things I have seen work together in other blends. It worked. I loved it!!

1 1/2 Criollo Viso
1 Corojo Seco
1/2 Corojo Viso
single Dominican Binder
PA Oscuro Wrapper

I loved this blend.

 

[waikikigun]

That does look like a powerful blend. Not even a shred of seco or volado!

i tried a
2 leaf criollo 98
1/2 dom ligaro
dom binder
ecu maduro wrap

the flavour was fairly plain, with a bit of spice. it gathered some complexity about 1/2 way in, but i had to put it down for a while, it had a pretty strong nic hit to it. half hour later i gave it a second match and enjoyed the flavour a bit more.
summary is small flavour big nicotine buzz. i think i'm going to pass on this one for future rolls.

 

[Smokin Buffalo]

Was that with those little tiny Criollo Viso leafs? Would you rate this as a medium or a medium-strong blend? Congrats! How long ago did you roll it? It sure is exciting when you come up with a blend that works, isn't it....It's like finding gold coins in the weeds.....

I would definitely not categories the criollo viso as large so yes they are somewhat small. I let it sit outside in a box for 2 days until it was dry enough to smoke. I couldn't wait any longer so I gave it a go. I'm waiting for more Corojo viso so I can roll some more and let some age a while. I'm also going to try some other wrappers. It is very exciting finding a blend that works. I'm extremely lucky being it my first blend ever. I'm not just pumping up my own first blend either, it's actually good. I would say on the medium strong side by the way.
I can't wait to tinker with it to see if I can improve it. The excitement over creating your own blend is really addicting. I can't wait to try others.

 

[waikikigun]

Actually I realized that I was probably thinking of some other really tiny leaf, maybe Dom ligero... not sure.... I just happened to use some of the Criollo 98 viso in a bunch sesh today; I guess I'd say those are medium-sized leaves. They do taste really good. I'd be surprised if you can improve on the PA oscuro for that blend, frankly. Chocolate on chocolate is hard to beat.

My mom's side of the family is from Buffalo, NY, if that's where you're from. They were there from about 1860 to 2010. Maybe you'd have bumped into one of them if you've been around a while. The McRobb family.

I would definitely not categories the criollo viso as large so yes they are somewhat small. I let it sit outside in a box for 2 days until it was dry enough to smoke. I couldn't wait any longer so I gave it a go. I'm waiting for more Corojo viso so I can roll some more and let some age a while. I'm also going to try some other wrappers. It is very exciting finding a blend that works. I'm extremely lucky being it my first blend ever. I'm not just pumping up my own first blend either, it's actually good. I would say on the medium strong side by the way.
I can't wait to tinker with it to see if I can improve it. The excitement over creating your own blend is really addicting. I can't wait to try others.

 

[juan carlos]

That does look like a powerful blend. Not even a shred of seco or volado!

the C98 is described by WLT as a seco. it is a good sized leaf. it needs a different blend than this tho...tried with other leaves with more success, i'll see if i can find notes.

I have not been able to find any volado to add to the collection yet. suggestions?

Waikiki, are you classing the dom binder and ecu maduro as viso or ligaro?

 

[waikikigun]

I'm not really classing the binders as anything, in terms of the blend recipe. If I had to I'd say both the Dom and ecu maduro are secos. I'm not too experienced at classifying something like that maduro. Seems to be a CT Broadleaf ground in Ecuador, and it's not super thick and dense like most higher primings I'm familiar with.

the C98 is described by WLT as a seco. it is a good sized leaf. it needs a different blend than this tho...tried with other leaves with more success, i'll see if i can find notes.

I have not been able to find any volado to add to the collection yet. suggestions?

Waikiki, are you classing the dom binder and ecu maduro as viso or ligaro?

 

[Smokin Buffalo]

My mom's side of the family is from Buffalo, NY, if that's where you're from. They were there from about 1860 to 2010. Maybe you'd have bumped into one of them if you've been around a while. The McRobb family.

I've lived all around Buffalo but never really in Buffalo. I currently live in Lockport, which is on the Erie Canal. I wish I had heard of your family because it would really have made the world feel small. I'm not sure how much shipping is to Hawaii, but if you PM me your address, I will send you a couple of this blend for you to try. Just keep in mind that I am still very new at rolling. My sticks are usually good draw though.

 

[webmost]

Smokin Harley sent me this stick*:

First, let me say his band has got me inspired. I've been trying bands that I buy from a printer, but the stickum they use tends to yank patches of habano off the stick, even tho it's not strong enough to hold the band on. His band is printed as blurry as you see there, tho. I gotta find a way to make a clearer image. I have a color printer her, but I nearly never print anything. It's a digital age, right? He appeared to use scotch tape. I wonder what kinda mucilage would hold a band on?

Look at the round head on that stick. Perfect hemisphere. If you clipped two of them and glued them together you could make a perfectly round basketball for a hamster. Or rather a gerbil -- gerbils jump higher. I have no idea what's in this stick. The wrapper is obviously maduro. Rough textured. The shape is grand. Perfectly cylindrical, even head to foot. Tho the foot is left summut shaggity. Not much odor ... sticks without cello tend to lose their wrapper odor. But it tastes distinctly salty sweaty leather. Not much more than that from the unlit draw.

Once I lit it, I got a cool scanty smoke, tasting of dark chocolate, sweet coffee, and a hint of woody char. It reminds me quite a bit of an Alec Bradley Black Market. I settled back in the porch rocker with a bottle of rum and Bob's Uses of History book. But I never needed the rum. This stick did not clog my tongue at all -- never needed a mouthwash. Probably because the smoke volume remained scanty and the smoke remained cool. But also because it mellowed out about fifteen minutes in. Burnt right, burnt straight, for the longest time. Just would not put out much. It may be this cigar would benefit from more girth. It was only, I'd say, about a 47 ring gauge; where I would estimate the Black Market is more like 52. Makes it stingy. Made a black ash that fell easily.

The biggest surprise was on the retrohale: a distinct mushroom odor would fill my head. I don't mean I smelled mushroom; I mean it filled my head. ... and that retro would make me dizzy, too. Long about 2/3 of the way down, It started to tunnel, and I was so dizzy by then I let it go out. Hadn't eaten dinner yet, so, dizzy.

No much stinkfinger, last night.
This morning, sweet coffee morning mouth. No wheeze.




* wish I took better focused pictures. Some day I'll get a cell with a better camera in it.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Thanks very much for that nice review. I give a few out here and there to my buddies and all I get is a "that was a good cigar" but no one can taste the flavors or notes in it. So, I'm glad you took the time to break it down . Did you remove the band and see if I wrote the blend anywhere?
Yeah , that bands image is from the guy that made the custom shirt my wife bought me last year. I just copy/pasted the image off the proof he had sent (might have been a little fuzzy intentionally to discourage copying,OR my printer doesn't have the detail I'd need ...oh well right? ) to my document file ,resized it to cigar band scale and duplicated the heck out of it to make about 12 on a standard sheet of paper . I didn't have any cigar glue in the container when I banded it so thats why it ended up with tape.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Today while I putz around on this cool Saturday I'm breaking in the new tiller motor and a few other outdoor activities before rain comes ,so I sat down to throw a quick stick blend together and I'm still waiting for it to set in the churchill mould a few more minutes before I roll on the wrapper. Going outside my normal -
1 Nic Habano Viso filler
1/2 San Vicente seco filler
1 Dom seco
1 Nic Habano Viso (really nice filler leaf used as double binder)
Ecuador Maduro wrapper.
I'm going to light it up as soon as I finish rolling it ...so in just a short while I will fire it up and later post what I think of it .