Pics of your sticks!!

[waikikigun]

Kick back and enjoy the fact that you've mastered the hardest shapes to roll!
I'm a complete slacker with mine and rarely cap or even apply a wrapper.
Yet, they still taste as good or better than the ones I could buy.

~Darin

Good idea. I'll kick back for a day or two. I'm obviously super keen on the craftsmanship and aesthetics of things and always trying to learn new stuff. I have routers and saws (used to make my own molds), so I'm thinking about learning how to make nice cigar boxes....

I'd be interested in hearing about some of your blends: no way I've ever made anything remotely as good as my favorite sticks, which are typically Cuban, and some of the Nicaraguan stuff like Warped, Illusione, etc. And not for lack of trying hard.

 

[deluxestogie]

my favorite sticks, which are typically Cuban

Houston, we have a problem.

Cuban cigars have a unique, identifiable character (I can't describe it) that has allowed me, over the decades, to easily identify a Cuban cigar by taste/aroma. If that's the taste/aroma you are aiming for, then you'll have to use Cuban tobacco--grown in Cuba. Oops.

My own preference is for Honduran puros (Punch, Hoyo, JR Ultimate, Flor de A. Allones, etc.), but these are more and more being blended with other filler ingredients. Corojo 99, grown elsewhere, offers a vaguely similar taste to Honduran, so I have a source of leaf--WLT Honduran and Corojo 99.

Bob

 

[CobGuy]

Many of my favorite cigars are from Nicaragua and DR.
I like a fairly heavy body, nicotine content and decent amount of spice.
My filler is almost always Ligero and I like small amounts of Mata Fina in there as well.
So far, I find that the Besuki works best for me as binder but have used others with success.

~Darin

 

[waikikigun]

Good idea. I'll kick back for a day or two. I'm obviously super keen on the craftsmanship and aesthetics of things and always trying to learn new stuff. I have routers and saws (used to make my own molds), so I'm thinking about learning how to make nice cigar boxes....

Houston, we have a problem.

Cuban cigars have a unique, identifiable character (I can't describe it) that has allowed me, over the decades, to easily identify a Cuban cigar by taste/aroma. If that's the taste/aroma you are aiming for, then you'll have to use Cuban tobacco--grown in Cuba. Oops.

My own preference is for Honduran puros (Punch, Hoyo, JR Ultimate, Flor de A. Allones, etc.), but these are more and more being blended with other filler ingredients. Corojo 99, grown elsewhere, offers a vaguely similar taste to Honduran, so I have a source of leaf--WLT Honduran and Corojo 99.

Bob

Thanks. Yeah I know Cuban leaf is unique, but it's nice to have goals. But in fact I have, over the last few years, tasted a few Nicaraguan cigars that started to touch on some of those flavor/aroma notes. For sure it is a problem. Early 90s, Hondoruan puros were also my favorite. I smoked Cubans as well at the time but they were not hitting the spot for me (surprising, since that was pre-Boom). But they evolved into a standard flavor (by which I mean there is little difference between brands now, only strength levels) which really does it for me; whereas the Hondurans began to do it less so. There was a Honduran brand I used to really love which I don't think exists anymore: Santa Rosa.

 

[waikikigun]

Many of my favorite cigars are from Nicaragua and DR.
I like a fairly heavy body, nicotine content and decent amount of spice.
My filler is almost always Ligero and I like small amounts of Mata Fina in there as well.
So far, I find that the Besuki works best for me as binder but have used others with success.

~Darin

Thanks, Darin. Which ligero(s)? You're happy with the burn with no other primings in there besides the touch of MF?

 

[waikikigun]

Houston, we have a problem.

Cuban cigars have a unique, identifiable character (I can't describe it) that has allowed me, over the decades, to easily identify a Cuban cigar by taste/aroma. If that's the taste/aroma you are aiming for, then you'll have to use Cuban tobacco--grown in Cuba. Oops.

My own preference is for Honduran puros (Punch, Hoyo, JR Ultimate, Flor de A. Allones, etc.), but these are more and more being blended with other filler ingredients. Corojo 99, grown elsewhere, offers a vaguely similar taste to Honduran, so I have a source of leaf--WLT Honduran and Corojo 99.

Bob

More:

The best blend I ever came up with used a a Nica Habano seco binder, Honduran seco, "Dominican ligero," and a Corojo99, but it was highly dependent on the Ecuadorian CT Shade that WLT offered until 4 or so years ago. Without that wrapper, and with the "Dominican ligero" becoming something else (crop or whatever), it totally fell apart.

 

[CobGuy]

Thanks, Darin. Which ligero(s)? You're happy with the burn with no other primings in there besides the touch of MF?

I've enjoyed the Dominican Piloto Cubano, Corojo 99 and Criollo 98 Ligeros from WLT.
When selecting the leaves, I try to include a mix of the thinner and thicker leaves within the bags and bunch them with the thicker ones "surrounded" somewhat.

~Darin

 

[waikikigun]

I've enjoyed the Dominican Piloto Cubano, Corojo 99 and Criollo 98 Ligeros from WLT.
When selecting the leaves, I try to include a mix of the thinner and thicker leaves within the bags and bunch them with the thicker ones "surrounded" somewhat.

~Darin

Thanks. Yeah, I like 2 of those three leafs, too. Roger on the layering method. Thanks for sharing your methods. What wrapper do you enjoy with those?

 

[CobGuy]

What wrapper do you enjoy with those?

Most of the time I don't use a wrapper at all … just the double Besuki binder in a pigtail.
Pretty pedestrian, huh? LOL

~Darin

 

[deluxestogie]

Darin,
Here's my version of that.

The Besuki is my home-grown (tabakanbau). It tastes just okay as a wrapper. So I will sometimes cap it with something tastier. In this case, the supply of Habano 2000 from webmost (H2K) doesn't burn very well, so as a minor filler condiment or as a cap, that doesn't matter. The H2k does have a nice taste as a cap.

None of this is glued. I just trim the cap piece, then mist it with water to keep it in place when I wrap it. My filler here is WLT Esteli ligero, a section of my Corojo 99 2017 tip leaf, a snippet of H2K, and two huge leaves of my Swarr-Hibshman (2017).

That makes a fairly robust smoke for my final cigar of the evening.

Bob

 

[CobGuy]

Looks familiar … my stogies pretty much come from the "School of Bob".

~Darin

 

[deluxestogie]

"School of Bob"

We don't bother to print diplomas. Every student is a proud drop-out.

Bob

 

[CobGuy]

Hahaha

 

[Yvan the terrible]

Ready to try my newest wrapper, Jalapa Rosado. And wow! What a gorgeous leaf. The leaf is pliable right out of the bag with a great oily feel. Put my hydrometer in the bag and it read 74% RH so very little casing will be needed. Have been leaning on higher ligero blends lately so these babies will be wrapping a blend of 55% Cibao ligero, 15% T13 viso and 30% cubra seco. All of these in a Sumatra binder.

 

[RandyL]

Ready to try my newest wrapper, Jalapa Rosado. And wow! What a gorgeous leaf. The leaf is pliable right out of the bag with a great oily feel. Put my hydrometer in the bag and it read 74% RH so very little casing will be needed. Have been leaning on higher ligero blends lately so these babies will be wrapping a blend of 55% Cibao ligero, 15% T13 viso and 30% cubra seco. All of these in a Sumatra binder.
View attachment 27800

Have you had the regular criollo 98 wrapper? If so let me know how that compares to it

 

[Yvan the terrible]

Have you had the regular criollo 98 wrapper? If so let me know how that compares to it

Not yet, I regularly use the Corojo Oscuro wrapper which I find has a very nice finished shine and the Habano 2000. The Rosado is a thicker leaf, I find it a little more difficult to finish the cap but wow what a pleasure to roll with. It stretches extremely well, probably because it is quite oily to start with. I will post a finished picture tomorrow. Do not know how it smokes yet, can’t wait to try.

 

[Yvan the terrible]

Can’t wait to see how they taste. I think Marc L. has used this wrapper for a while and could comment on the taste. I’m personally curious to see how much the oils will add taste wise and contribute to the aging process.

 

[MarcL]

I'm not much of a flavor profiler but, I can say Delicious! and, I hope to keep that Rosado wrapper around.
This is Criollo 98 wrapper.

 

[RandyL]

I'm not much of a flavor profiler but, I can say Delicious! and, I hope to keep that Rosado wrapper around.
This is Criollo 98 wrapper.

I use the old c98 wrapper a lot. I was wondering on the difference between that and the rosado as that’s c98 as well

 

[RandyL]

Not yet, I regularly use the Corojo Oscuro wrapper which I find has a very nice finished shine and the Habano 2000. The Rosado is a thicker leaf, I find it a little more difficult to finish the cap but wow what a pleasure to roll with. It stretches extremely well, probably because it is quite oily to start with. I will post a finished picture tomorrow. Do not know how it smokes yet, can’t wait to try.

Corojo Oscuro might be my fav wrapper currently. Love that stuff. Reminds me I need to reload