Pics of your sticks!! 2021

[FrostD]

It’s been a little busy here. Cracked open the Terroso Profundo Kit.
The Habano 2000 wrapper, looks & smells fantastic. The elasticity is top notch (in my newbie/humble opinion. I need to get a little better at casing for sure.
CV PA Binder- very earthy (almost manure) type smell. Very easy to work with. Very intrigued on how the flavors will merry together with this binder.
Used 4 whole (various) leaves of the filler provided and molded them up last night, with a few rotations to help get more of a rounded cap area.
Started casing the wrapper about 24 hours ago with a few sprays of distilled water in a plastic grocery bag, with an additional ziplock with a piece of paper towel soaked in distilled water. Added the ziplock with paper towel (slight opening in ziplock) to try to help increase the humidity. Very dry ambient temps here still.

Current little mold doing the trick, but need to eye up something with 5-10 slots eventually. Out of curiosity does anyone know how often WLT gets an update to their molds inventory? I’ve noticed a 60 ring gauge (wooden available). Then for plastic molds a few less than 40 ring gauge then we jump up to 52+ Ring gauge. If it’s best to call and find out the most up to date inventory, I can definitely do that. Im really in no rush and am enjoying the little mold and seeing how I do without a mold!

 

[MarcL]

View attachment 34852View attachment 34853View attachment 34854
It’s been a little busy here. Cracked open the Terroso Profundo Kit.
The Habano 2000 wrapper, looks & smells fantastic. The elasticity is top notch (in my newbie/humble opinion. I need to get a little better at casing for sure.
CV PA Binder- very earthy (almost manure) type smell. Very easy to work with. Very intrigued on how the flavors will merry together with this binder.
Used 4 whole (various) leaves of the filler provided and molded them up last night, with a few rotations to help get more of a rounded cap area.
Started casing the wrapper about 24 hours ago with a few sprays of distilled water in a plastic grocery bag, with an additional ziplock with a piece of paper towel soaked in distilled water. Added the ziplock with paper towel (slight opening in ziplock) to try to help increase the humidity. Very dry ambient temps here still.

Current little mold doing the trick, but need to eye up something with 5-10 slots eventually. Out of curiosity does anyone know how often WLT gets an update to their molds inventory? I’ve noticed a 60 ring gauge (wooden available). Then for plastic molds a few less than 40 ring gauge then we jump up to 52+ Ring gauge. If it’s best to call and find out the most up to date inventory, I can definitely do that. Im really in no rush and am enjoying the little mold and seeing how I do without a mold!

It seems that wrapper wasn't able to absorb enough water. Is there air in that casing chamber?

What molds do you want?

 

[FrostD]

It seems that wrapper wasn't able to absorb enough water. Is there air in that casing chamber?

What molds do you want?

Hey @MarcL!
I use plastic grocery bags for casing. Zip lock open with distill water soaked paper towel in it. Then spritz the inside of the bag. I don’t close the grocery bag all the way, I leave some of an opening to allow air movement. However, while trying to do this over night, I’ve noticed the last 3 nights that I’ll wake up to dry leaf or fairly soaked in spots. I’m trying to keep an eye on it. I struggle with trying to keep an ambient RH in my apartment to even get to 30% RH. So, I have a pretty good feeling that here is more moisture leaving the plastic grocery bag than being absorbed into the leaf. It’s been interesting trying to prep binder & wrapper in the right case. No giving up though! Each time I learn and adjust.

As far as molds, I’m not that picky. I like the robusto or Corona sizes length ~4”-6”, RNG 45- 50 ish. I’ve been tossing around in the noggin the molds available on WLT. Length is an easy fix. I can just use a guillotine cutter to make whatever length I want as long as it’s smaller than the mold size. Ring gauge... I’m open to any tricks if I need to get a larger ring gauge on getting the ring gauge down. Lastly, I’ve been pondering on a torpedo mold to use to help get a rounded cap area, but not go “full torpedo”.

 

[FrostD]

#37 & #38 are from yesterday. A couple more today. 1 with a slight variation of filler from #37 & #38. The small unbanded is Habano 2000 wrapper & CV PA Binder. However, added scrap filler. First time trying to apply the binder and wrapper within a few hours of each other.

 

[Snowblithe]

I don’t why I haven’t made more of these. Latakia is such a great little ‘condiment’ tobacco.

 

[deluxestogie]

why I haven’t made more of these

Because it is heretical, according to the priests and prelates of Cigar.

Bob

 

[Snowblithe]

Funny that some of the best things are heretical... I wonder what that hell would look like?
Edit: that said, fear of heresy hasn’t stopped me yet.

 

[FrostD]

I don’t why I haven’t made more of these. Latakia is such a great little ‘condiment’ tobacco. View attachment 34862View attachment 34863

How’s it taste with that Latakia? I have a bunch of pipe tobacco from 4-5 years ago and some pipes. Haven’t broken them out for some time. Blends pretty well in cigar form over pipe?

 

[GreenDragon]

Hey @MarcL!
I use plastic grocery bags for casing. Zip lock open with distill water soaked paper towel in it. Then spritz the inside of the bag. I don’t close the grocery bag all the way, I leave some of an opening to allow air movement. However, while trying to do this over night, I’ve noticed the last 3 nights that I’ll wake up to dry leaf or fairly soaked in spots. I’m trying to keep an eye on it. I struggle with trying to keep an ambient RH in my apartment to even get to 30% RH. So, I have a pretty good feeling that here is more moisture leaving the plastic grocery bag than being absorbed into the leaf. It’s been interesting trying to prep binder & wrapper in the right case. No giving up though! Each time I learn and adjust.

As far as molds, I’m not that picky. I like the robusto or Corona sizes length ~4”-6”, RNG 45- 50 ish. I’ve been tossing around in the noggin the molds available on WLT. Length is an easy fix. I can just use a guillotine cutter to make whatever length I want as long as it’s smaller than the mold size. Ring gauge... I’m open to any tricks if I need to get a larger ring gauge on getting the ring gauge down. Lastly, I’ve been pondering on a torpedo mold to use to help get a rounded cap area, but not go “full torpedo”.

I like to use 2 gallon ziplock bags for casing my leaf for rolling, and I seal them after squeezing out much of the air. Much better control. Also, if the temperature in the room swings significantly you will get condensation inside the bag causing dry/wet spots. Try wrapping the bag in a towel to moderate the temperature differences.

 

[Snowblithe]

How’s it taste with that Latakia? I have a bunch of pipe tobacco from 4-5 years ago and some pipes. Haven’t broken them out for some time. Blends pretty well in cigar form over pipe?

It adds some subtle woody spice notes on the palate, but the bigger difference is in the aroma. It adds the classic camp-firey, spicey scent. I'm using unprocessed Latakia from WLT and have never used shredded pipe tobacco in a cigar blend. I can't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

 

[MarcL]

Hey @MarcL!
I use plastic grocery bags for casing. Zip lock open with distill water soaked paper towel in it. Then spritz the inside of the bag. I don’t close the grocery bag all the way, I leave some of an opening to allow air movement. However, while trying to do this over night, I’ve noticed the last 3 nights that I’ll wake up to dry leaf or fairly soaked in spots. I’m trying to keep an eye on it. I struggle with trying to keep an ambient RH in my apartment to even get to 30% RH. So, I have a pretty good feeling that here is more moisture leaving the plastic grocery bag than being absorbed into the leaf. It’s been interesting trying to prep binder & wrapper in the right case. No giving up though! Each time I learn and adjust.

Staging the casing increases readiness and absorption time.

As far as molds, I’m not that picky. I like the robusto or Corona sizes length ~4”-6”, RNG 45- 50 ish. I’ve been tossing around in the noggin the molds available on WLT. Length is an easy fix. I can just use a guillotine cutter to make whatever length I want as long as it’s smaller than the mold size. Ring gauge... I’m open to any tricks if I need to get a larger ring gauge on getting the ring gauge down. Lastly, I’ve been pondering on a torpedo mold to use to help get a rounded cap area, but not go “full torpedo”.

It is nice having a nice mold. Out side of newish, ePray is where I look for mold availability. It sounds like you might end up with more then one. I don't know if there has ever been availability like we have with WLT.

Cigar Molds. I have what you're looking for and some you didn't know you wanted.

EDIT (10-31-19) This Promotion expires today at midnight Eastern Time. I will not be editing this post anymore. Just because there is a picture of a specific mold or size does not mean it is available. Please send a pm or email (preferred) to don@wholeleaftobacco.com to verify the availability...

fairtradetobacco.com

#37 & #38 are from yesterday. A couple more today. 1 with a slight variation of filler from #37 & #38. The small unbanded is Habano 2000 wrapper & CV PA Binder. However, added scrap filler. First time trying to apply the binder and wrapper within a few hours of each other.

I will guess you do figure you can get more coverage out of that leaf and you'll get to that soon enough.
2 San Andres and Bronceado Wrappers. .. I think

 

[GreenDragon]

It adds some subtle woody spice notes on the palate, but the bigger difference is in the aroma. It adds the classic camp-firey, spicey scent. I'm using unprocessed Latakia from WLT and have never used shredded pipe tobacco in a cigar blend. I can't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

I frequently put a small amount of Red Virginia in a blend if it is lacking in flavor. The subtle sweetness seems to enhance overall flavor. Also, when I'm rolling short scrap cigars I like to sprinkle in a small amount of a cherry (Blood Red Moon) or vanilla (Dobbie's Foursquare) flavored pipe tobacco. They work surprisingly well with cigar tobaccos.

 

[FrostD]

I like to use 2 gallon ziplock bags for casing my leaf for rolling, and I seal them after squeezing out much of the air. Much better control. Also, if the temperature in the room swings significantly you will get condensation inside the bag causing dry/wet spots. Try wrapping the bag in a towel to moderate the temperature differences.

I’ll try wrapping the bag in the towel. It makes perfect sense now that you mention it! Lol.

 

[FrostD]

Staging the casing increases readiness and absorption time.

It is nice having a nice mold. Out side of newish, ePray is where I look for mold availability. It sounds like you might end up with more then one. I don't know if there has ever been availability like we have with WLT.

Cigar Molds. I have what you're looking for and some you didn't know you wanted.

EDIT (10-31-19) This Promotion expires today at midnight Eastern Time. I will not be editing this post anymore. Just because there is a picture of a specific mold or size does not mean it is available. Please send a pm or email (preferred) to don@wholeleaftobacco.com to verify the availability...

fairtradetobacco.com

I will guess you do figure you can get more coverage out of that leaf and you'll get to that soon enough.
2 San Vicente and Bronceado Wrappers. .. I think

That’s a nice casing chamber there @MarcL! I’m getting close to building one. I know it won’t take much. I saw some old forum posts on some tips and tricks. I think I need to revisit in a couple weeks... could be sooner. Lol. I like to geek out here and my buddies tell me I can get a little obsessive when I dive into things. I have quite a few coolerdors, humidors, and cabinet for the premium sticks, which I’ve debated offloading some of those to setup more space and coolers for whole leaf. I like to get a little geeky on climate stuff too. I actually work for a dehumidifier manufacturer and my division works in the gardening/indoor gardening markets.

As far as molds, I am planning on having a few eventually. I know I’m going to order some from WLT as well. I’ve been dissecting what the inventory is on the website and trying to think through if I can make em work for what I want to accomplish. On top of the fact I like to support those who help or in this case provide a platform like this to allow knowledge to be learned. The ePray seems like some diamonds in the rough based on my research. Just trying not to go over zealous at once. Que Sera, Sera

Those 3 amigos look splendid! I’m imagining chocolate bomb that’s a good med nic strength with some full flavor? ( A pic for my sticks to aspire to look like!)

 

[MarcL]

That’s a nice casing chamber there @MarcL! I’m getting close to building one. I know it won’t take much. I saw some old forum posts on some tips and tricks. I think I need to revisit in a couple weeks... could be sooner. Lol. I like to geek out here and my buddies tell me I can get a little obsessive when I dive into things. I have quite a few coolerdors, humidors, and cabinet for the premium sticks, which I’ve debated offloading some of those to setup more space and coolers for whole leaf. I like to get a little geeky on climate stuff too. I actually work for a dehumidifier manufacturer and my division works in the gardening/indoor gardening markets.

As far as molds, I am planning on having a few eventually. I know I’m going to order some from WLT as well. I’ve been dissecting what the inventory is on the website and trying to think through if I can make em work for what I want to accomplish. On top of the fact I like to support those who help or in this case provide a platform like this to allow knowledge to be learned. The ePray seems like some diamonds in the rough based on my research. Just trying not to go over zealous at once. Que Sera, Sera

Those 3 amigos look splendid! I’m imagining chocolate bomb that’s a good med nic strength with some full flavor? ( A pic for my sticks to aspire to look like!)

That sounds really good.

The ePray market seems for older and less $ with a steadily occasional populous availability. I will repair a damaged one.

Yes. That sounds plenty solid and, (my pleasure. Looking forward to that I do)

 

[FrostD]

It adds some subtle woody spice notes on the palate, but the bigger difference is in the aroma. It adds the classic camp-firey, spicey scent. I'm using unprocessed Latakia from WLT and have never used shredded pipe tobacco in a cigar blend. I can't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

Sounds like something I should add to my “rolling to do list”. I’ll make sure to pick some Latakia up from WLT to try out. I always liked Latakia in my blends when I smoked pipes more back in the day.

 

[MarcL]

 

[webmost]

Marc, I like your pics.

 

[FrostD]

Wooohoo! Got a chance to smoke a couple home rolls during the Packers vs Rams game yesterday. GO PACK!

#37- WLT-Terroso Profundo kit
W-Habano 2000
B-CV PA Binder
Filler-Corojo viso- ( 2 whole leaves)
-Criollo ‘98 Ligero- (1 whole leaf)
-CV Dom Seco- (1 whole leaf)
Rolled: stacked leaves on top of each other and rolled as 1.
Mold: Used little 2 slot wood mold.

PROS: Outstanding flavor! This blend definitely hits on some sweet, yet dry flavors a little earthy and bakers chocolate. I don’t know any other fancier way to describe it. Nub worthy blend for sure!

CONS: Only cons were with my rolling. Filler was loose in the head and other certain spots. Had to relight a couple times. Overall, the cons I look at as learning opportunities for next time.

#8- “Medium Combo”
W-(wrapped-12/18/2020=about 1 month in humidor) Aged Pennsylvania Broadleaf
B-CT 2LS
Filler- Dominican Criollo ‘98 Ligero (3 whole leaves)
-Nicaraguan Seco Jalapa (2 whole leaves)
-Dominican Criollo ‘98 Seco (1 whole leaf)
Rolled style: stacked leaves and rolled all as 1.
Mold: Used 2 little 2 slot mold.

PROS: Decent flavors. Enjoyable, but didn’t have that extra kick I was expecting out of wrapper/ binder combo.

CONS: very soft in spots and could only smoke about 1/2. I got tired of touching up and tunneling.

Side notes: WLT tobacco blend had more of a “dang this is good”! Quality tobacco for sure that is better than most premium cigars I’ve tried. Top notch!

Areas of improvement:More consistent bunching of filler to have less soft spots. Also, needing to make sure the head stays a little more solid throughout smoking.

 

[Jim D]

So this one ran a bit further out of the mold than usual and it made me smirk the way the overhang ballooned out....so I left it. It'll probably be easier to light this way....