GreenDragon
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Look great to me! I assume you are doing a flavor profile on some new leaf?
Pics of your sticks!!
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waikikigun
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Thanks. I just felt like stepping back a bit and getting a sense of what each of my current main fillers did in isolation with my current main binder and CT wrapper.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Not the most pretty. Let me explain. I intended on these being 34ga, but after being in the mold, half of them were too tight. So I rectified the situation by misting them and putting them into a 41ga mold for a day before wrapping. The swelling from misting was just enough to improve the draw on all of them.
1 nic hab seco
1 cv corojo viso
1/2 cv Dominican seco as binder
1g Latakia
Habano 2000 wrapper
1 nic hab seco
1 cv corojo viso
1/2 cv Dominican seco as binder
1g Latakia
Habano 2000 wrapper
GreenDragon
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After four straight days of rainy wet weather we finally got a break.
PressuredLeaf
Well-Known Member
Smoked a cigar today from the batch I rolled about two weeks ago. Very nice, on par with most 5-10 $ Nic sticks that I enjoy. It’s amazing to me these took so long to dry. I can honestly say the Ecuador maduro is my favorite wrapper to work with so far. It’s very smooth and a tad toothy.
The comp is one Nic viso, one Nic ligero, Sumatra binder and Maduro wrapper.
I think a Brazilian binder or a st andres would take this to the next level. I really want to try some with Connecticut, but I’ve been splurging lately so that may have to wait.
The comp is one Nic viso, one Nic ligero, Sumatra binder and Maduro wrapper.
I think a Brazilian binder or a st andres would take this to the next level. I really want to try some with Connecticut, but I’ve been splurging lately so that may have to wait.
This curious cigar, wrapped in WLT Rosado (and no binder), is filled entirely with Habano (probably) leaf from a single finca in Nicaragua. The filler--all of it--is labeled, "Filler seco grande B". The leaves are quite large, and moderately thick. Their color is a medium, chocolate brown. Their appearance reminds me of my home-grow Corojo 99. That is to say, it looks like artisanal tobacco, rather than a farm commodity, and is gorgeous.
But even as pure seco, this leaf is medium in nicotine strength. The flavor still has that edgy, "Nicaragua" flavor. It does lack depth and breadth of aroma, which is not too surprising for pure seco. This stogie was made with 3 entire seco leaves. I think a mere ½ leaf of viso would bring the stick into the range of excellent.
I know nothing more about the leaf, and don't know if it will be made available through WLT. Lots of fun.
Bob
Nathan Esq
Well-Known Member
Dom binder WLT
Nic CT shade
1Coro Lig WLT
1 T13 WLT
1 CV CoroV WLT
1 Nic Seco -hard to work with squiggly veins
I just used some coro oscuro sample that was so thin I didn't think it would hold up, but it wrapped and stretched perfectly.
Nic CT shade
1Coro Lig WLT
1 T13 WLT
1 CV CoroV WLT
1 Nic Seco -hard to work with squiggly veins
I just used some coro oscuro sample that was so thin I didn't think it would hold up, but it wrapped and stretched perfectly.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
50ga
2 Rene seco
1 Nicaragua ligero
1/2 a Honduran leaf in fill, and another 1/2 as binder.
Habano 2000 wrapper
2 Rene seco
1 Nicaragua ligero
1/2 a Honduran leaf in fill, and another 1/2 as binder.
Habano 2000 wrapper
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
Now that everyone in my company is working from home due to the current Coronavirus situation, we've had to cancel our monthly happy hour socials. Not to be kept down the younger members of our office decided to host a virtual Thirsty Thursday via Zoom meeting (webcam) last night. Everyone on the call was inside their house, except for myself and one of my friends and co-worker who I trade cigars with; we had set up our laptops outside in our back yards. 5 minutes into the call we opened our humidors, grabbed a cigar, and lit up one of my home rolls while shooting the breeze with our compatriots. 10 minutes later almost everyone else on the call had moved outside too! The power of suggestion is strong LOL. It was also decided we would be doing this weekly for the duration.
Two other things I've learned this week. 1) The built in webcams on laptops are not great. 2) You can't buy a real webcam right now for love or money! Every vendor is sold out.
Two other things I've learned this week. 1) The built in webcams on laptops are not great. 2) You can't buy a real webcam right now for love or money! Every vendor is sold out.
waikikigun
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Oooh, now I feel like a rich person with my two USB webcams. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!
This reminds me of that time I spent hours selecting tobacco field and cigar factory-related backgrounds for my Zoom sessions.... ended up using an external shot of El Laguito, of course.
More mystery leaf. The double binder is WLT Honduras Wrapper, and the actual wrapper is WLT Rosado. The filler in this fat boy is from a sample of Nicaragua leaf labeled, "Viso Mediano B", provided to me by WLT. Like the "Seco Grande B", this leaf is a beautifully and consistently cured chocolate brown. The leaf size is a bit smaller and darker, though larger than most commercial viso.
[Confession: I overhydrated the Honduran Wrapper leaf (for 3 days!), so my Honduras binder, topped by a Honduras wrapper splilt at the head, under my semi-skilled rolling technique. The Rosado--the second half from wrapping the previous, sample test cigar--was begging to be given a chance. So that's why this cigar ended up with three wrapping layers.]
The cigar slept peacefully overnight. The aroma is rich and smoothe, with a medium-to-full nicotine strength. Burn is excellent, even with the double binder of thick, Honduran leaf. I would accept a box of these in a flash. It lacks the harsh undertone and over the top intensity of today's commercial, "premium" Nicaragua cigars.
As with the previous sample puro, I have no further information on this lovely leaf, other than that it comes from a single finca in Nicaragua. Kudos to them. There's more in the many bags of samples! So stay tuned.
Bob
MarcL
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waikikigun
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What you have here is four blends, each wrapped in Habano and CT. These blends are 4 leaves WLT C(riollo)98 + .5 leaf of a different viso or ligero. This means that the C98 is a fine filler on its own, and that I am now trying smidges of other stuff to see if any of those smidges improves things. The 9th C98 stick is only wrapped in the Habano; the 10th is a deconstructed Cuban corona reconstructed as a Habano-wrapped robusto. These cigars are also a continuation of my misadventures in Dominican wrapping.
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
Please share your results/thoughts when you can 
When testing new blends and variations, I find it extremely helpful to smoke several at once. The differences and nuances stand out much clearer this way, at least to me. Do you do something similar?
When testing new blends and variations, I find it extremely helpful to smoke several at once. The differences and nuances stand out much clearer this way, at least to me. Do you do something similar?
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Is this the CV Criollo or the normal one?What you have here is four blends, each wrapped in Habano and CT. These blends are 4 leaves WLT C(riollo)98 + .5 leaf of a different viso or ligero. This means that the C98 is a fine filler on its own, and that I am now trying smidges of other stuff to see if any of those smidges improves things. The 9th C98 stick is only wrapped in the Habano; the 10th is a deconstructed Cuban corona reconstructed as a Habano-wrapped robusto. These cigars are also a continuation of my misadventures in Dominican wrapping.
waikikigun
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"Classic."
waikikigun
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No, I don't. But with 6,000 sticks' worth and five years of smoking this stuff and keeping a detailed spreadsheet, I'm able to make notes that convey to me what I tasted. Plus I have some bolder terms like "sucked," "terrible," "soft and slightly sweet," "Peppery," which are useful for me. So If I've got ten similar blends and 9 "sucked" but one was "very good," I use that to start dialing things in.Please share your results/thoughts when you can
When testing new blends and variations, I find it extremely helpful to smoke several at once. The differences and nuances stand out much clearer this way, at least to me. Do you do something similar?
MarcL
Well-Known Member
4 X 60
from the center, 1 Cibao Vuelta Abajo Ligero, 1 Condega Viso, 1/2 Criollo 98 Seco fillers. Corojo 99 Seco binders with, Criollo 98 and Jalapa Rosado Wrappers.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
41ga
2 CV Corojo Viso
1 CV Corojo Ligero (half as the binder)
WLT Besuki wrapper
2 CV Corojo Viso
1 CV Corojo Ligero (half as the binder)
WLT Besuki wrapper
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
Technically not a cigar picture, but I finally got around to making a spreadsheet to track tasting notes on my blends. I can't believe that it's taken me this long to do this! Well, yes I can, because I'm lazy. Anyway, what I did was go through my humidor of home rolls and made an entry for every blend I found in the box. Thankfully I am pretty strict about not putting anything in the humidor until it's labeled. As I always have my iPhone on me when I'm smoking my cigars I can take notes on the phone and transfer to the spreadsheet at my leisure. That's the plan anyway.
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