Pics of your sticks!!

[ciennepi]

Very nice cigar. You must be a top roller. Can you give me some hint to achieve more regularity. I roll with a mold because I smoke few cigar and can dedicate all the time that deserve to them and the final result seem good. But when I try to roll freehand the results are not good. I know they smoke the same but ever the visual pleasur is part of enjoing a cigar.

 

[waikikigun]

Very nice cigar. You must be a top roller. Can you give me some hint to achieve more regularity. I roll with a mold because I smoke few cigar and can dedicate all the time that deserve to them and the final result seem good. But when I try to roll freehand the results are not good. I know they smoke the same but ever the visual pleasur is part of enjoing a cigar.

Thanks. One way to find hints is to watch some of my rolling videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKQPvIbslAFFDYDGi-EivRQ/videos

Another way is to study my playlist of videos I studied when I was developing my style: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsK4rSXjrO7vT5nnv99mR9yjEc7t08LAl

There are more photos of my cigars at my IG: https://www.instagram.com/blisscigarco/

Buano Fortuna!

b

 

[col555]

How do you like Big B's Pa Wrapper? Any idea what strain? Looks nice.

Dan

No idea of the strain, the wrapper is nice to work with though some of the veins are a bit large, its stretchy and tastes good though

 

[deluxestogie]

PA wrapper or binder is usually one of the many PA Broadleaf varieties grown in the vicinity of Lancaster.

Bob

 

[ciennepi]

Thank's for the playlist, very interesting.

 

[buck]

Went on a rolling bing, rolled 4 in one night a record for me.

 

[deluxestogie]

Those look like some of the traditional American cigars that I could occasionally buy--many years ago. (That was before the "Cigar Boom" forced all cigars to wear makeup and high heels.) They look tasty.

Bob

 

[CobGuy]

Agreed! Tasty looking smokes, @buck ... congrats!

~Darin

 

[RandyL]

"Wide Churchill" in Ec Maduro.

I just go an order in today and got a sample of the maduro wrapper after seeing your pics. This stuff looks and feels excellent. Not like the leaf I got last year. It is totally different. Actually a dark maduro color unlike the last batch which was a dark reddish brown that had a thick, funny texture to it. Really hope this smokes as good as it looks.

 

[buck]

Those look like some of the traditional American cigars that I could occasionally buy--many years ago. (That was before the "Cigar Boom" forced all cigars to wear makeup and high heels.) They look tasty.
Bob

I've been focusing on the wrapper and cap more these days, I think I got the shape and draw down pretty good.
The left most one is wrapper/binder Eq Maduro, Dom seco, Criollo seco,Nic viso and corojo Ligero.
The two in the middle , same blend but with CT Shade wrapper, Eq Maduro Binder
The other dark on on the right is Eq Maduro/wrapper/binder, 2x Nic seco, 1/2 Nic ligero

Don't really know what filler goes with the CT Shade , haven't smoked any yet.
I tried one nic seco/ligero one but I think it needs to age a bit

 

[buck]

I just go an order in today and got a sample of the maduro wrapper after seeing your pics. This stuff looks and feels excellent. Not like the leaf I got last year. It is totally different. Actually a dark maduro color unlike the last batch which was a dark reddish brown that had a thick, funny texture to it. Really hope this smokes as good as it looks.

It is very good, some is thicker and makes for a good binder and some have larger veins but can be trimmed off.
This is last years or year before batch and it does have a reddish tint to it. Not sure this is what you tried last time but works fine for me.

 

[deluxestogie]

Bonus Behind the Scenes Material

The Glamour Shots

In the Makeup and Special Effects Room

BigBonner's sun-grown CT Shade has been kilned for a month. The primary filler is my 2 year old Vuelta Abajo viso, which tastes wonderful, and is milder than commercial Vuelta Abajo viso. But it doesn't burn well enough to stand alone as the filler. So I've added a couple of leaves of my 6 year old FL Sumatra volado (with any residual, dried mud dusted off). One will go into the filler, while the other will be used to reinforce the CT Shade binder.

This Vuelta Abajo leaf requires manhandling, in order to stay bound, without poking holes through the binder. So the two volado halves are distributed over the much larger CT Shade binder.

I've trimmed the wrapper for applying to a slightly tapered foot, and added a small reinforcing strip there.

The pile of unruly leaf has now been transformed. Since no glue was used, and the damp CT Shade needed about an hour to dry adequately, I've left a clothespin clamped onto the head. It can stay this way for minutes or hours or weeks.

Once the head is opened for smoking, it goes immediately into my mouth. After about a minute, it will not spontaneously unwrap.

Time to head out to the set, for the live-action photo shoot.

Bob

 

[RandyL]

It is very good, some is thicker and makes for a good binder and some have larger veins but can be trimmed off.
This is last years or year before batch and it does have a reddish tint to it. Not sure this is what you tried last time but works fine for me.

The stuff that I received last time was nothing like this. That stuff had a similar structure to CT broadleaf. Half of it was great to roll with and had great flavor but the other half seemed to disintegrate and not want to burn when brought up to case. Never seen a leaf that performed like what I had before.
Also picked up some of the Mata fina thinking for the price it would make a great filler considering it said it had bug damage. I'd say at least 70% is able to be used as binder with a decent amount of wrapper in there

 

[col555]

@BigBonner sent me a few samples along with my order from him last month, been experimenting with the same CV fillers from WLT and different wrappers, this one im using is Red River, Tasty

 

[MarcL]

 

[Scotty]

Piramide. I think the bunching and binding is easy, but wrapping is more difficult and capping is even harder. But it’s only my 5th one. I’ve done the draw test on all of them before wrapping and it’s not restricted at all and it seems to feel good and firm in the hand.

 

[Levi Gross]

I rolled this for Labor Day. Havana 901 wrapper, Pennsylvania Red binder, Fire Cured and Dark Air filler.

 

[OldDinosaurWesH]

MarcL:

Your rolling table...Is that a slab of Walnut wood? It is very attractive. I like wood, the fancier the better.

Wes H.

 

[jonny]

They look terrible but smoke well...

 

[deluxestogie]

A courageous post. The trick to rolling with only a tiny bit of glue is to wrap a cigar so that it can only begin to come unwrapped starting at the head. And just a dab of glue beneath that final bit of wrapper will keep it there.

Cigars that function, and draw well, and burn well are a notable step in learning to roll. The cosmetics come later.

Even my truly ugly cigars, which I roll from time to time, still hold themselves together, without any glue, so long as I stick it in my mouth after rolling. The engineering just comes with time.

I really do appreciate it when members post their early cigars in among the true beauties that our most accomplished torcedors post here. It can be a daunting thread. Thanks. (I consciously try to post some of my homely ones.)

Bob