Pics of your sticks!!

[ArizonaDave]

My embarrassingly ugly pigtails.

This post is actually a follow-up to Waikikigun's excellent video on pigtail caps. I use a pigtail as a quick and dirty way to finish rolling a cigar. Its purpose is to keep the wrapper from becoming an unwrapper. Once the pigtail has dried, it stays put, even without glue.

I have a philosophical issue with allocating much time to finishing the head of a cigar. The head is, after all, destined to be chopped off, as the first act of smoking a cigar. So, aside from boasting rights on the most factory-looking head, the only function of the wrapper at the head is to anchor itself, and prevent the cigar from unraveling. Sometimes I glue the pigtail (when the stick is destined for use as a gift), and sometimes I don't (most of the time).

I do admire the artistry of a beautiful head, a finished pigtail "fuse", a quad toe-loop double lift cap, etc. But I can't motivate myself to get very good at it. Most of the cigars I roll are for yours truly. If I'm expecting to smoke a stick immediately after rolling it (a nasty habit I'm prone to), then the pigtail is required to remain in place only long enough for me to reach for the cigar cutter.

Bob

I hear you and concur. At this point, I just store them with the end chopped off. I make 3, one to smoke, one to share, one to store for a rainy day.

 

[ArizonaDave]

Had some fun with a photo shoots today and a couple of friends helped me :
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Nice Pics, nice sticks!

 

[deluxestogie]

I vote for the lizard. Great lighting, well proportioned to the cigars, convincing presence, complimentary colors.

The cobra is not inviting. The bird may leave a memento. Snoopy is expecting a fatter cigar, and is indicating how much fatter. Swedish flamingos are blurry.

Bob

 

[Vanerpaddel]

I vote for the lizard. Great lighting, well proportioned to the cigars, convincing presence, complimentary colors.

The cobra is not inviting. The bird may leave a memento. Snoopy is expecting a fatter cigar, and is indicating how much fatter. Swedish flamingos are blurry.

Bob

Thanks Bob , but the swedish flamingo was ment to be in the bokeh version, they are blurry in the wild.

 

[Vanerpaddel]

Nice ones, what kind of wrapper?

 

[greenmonster714]

Had some fun with a photo shoots today and a couple of friends helped me :

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What a great and creative way to display your home rolled stash. I like the lizard as well.

 

[MarcL]

 

[Charly]

Had some fun with a photo shoots today and a couple of friends helped me :

Yes ! nice and original pictures
The lizard one is my favorite.

 

[Charly]

My embarrassingly ugly pigtails.

This post is actually a follow-up to Waikikigun's excellent video on pigtail caps. I use a pigtail as a quick and dirty way to finish rolling a cigar. Its purpose is to keep the wrapper from becoming an unwrapper. Once the pigtail has dried, it stays put, even without glue.

I have a philosophical issue with allocating much time to finishing the head of a cigar. The head is, after all, destined to be chopped off, as the first act of smoking a cigar. So, aside from boasting rights on the most factory-looking head, the only function of the wrapper at the head is to anchor itself, and prevent the cigar from unraveling. Sometimes I glue the pigtail (when the stick is destined for use as a gift), and sometimes I don't (most of the time).

I do admire the artistry of a beautiful head, a finished pigtail "fuse", a quad toe-loop double lift cap, etc. But I can't motivate myself to get very good at it. Most of the cigars I roll are for yours truly. If I'm expecting to smoke a stick immediately after rolling it (a nasty habit I'm prone to), then the pigtail is required to remain in place only long enough for me to reach for the cigar cutter.

Bob

As much as I appreciate a beautiful looking cigar, when I roll a cigar myself I don't really care if it is nice or ugly (I don't use mold either).
By the way, your pigtails are not as ugly as you think, they are just unrefined.

This conversation about cigar heads lead me to a question : is there a real benefit to close the head of a cigar (with a pigtail, or a cap, triple cap...) compared to cigars with open head ?
I ask this, because I always cut my own cigars as soon as they are rolled, even if I don't plan on smoking them the same day.

 

[deluxestogie]

..."unrefined"

This conversation about cigar heads lead me to a question : is there a real benefit to close the head of a cigar (with a pigtail, or a cap, triple cap...) compared to cigars with open head ?

E.R. Billings, 1875.

I think you've just named the only benefit to closing the head of a cigar. True believers of cigar mythology consider an open head to be unrefined.

About 180 years ago, when most cigars were tapered at both ends, both the head and foot were closed. This slowed the desiccation of the filler, in a age when most vendors and customers did not own a humidor. Biting off the ends or twists was the usual approach to opening them.

Unfortunately, lighting the wrong end causes the cigar to unwrap itself. My personal opinion is that the tradition of selling cigars with an open foot and a closed head arose from the need to indicate which end to light. Cigar bands were developed later, and probably were solely intended to minimize counterfeiting of better quality cigars.

A cigar with either both ends open or both ends closed seems to fair better in uncontrolled temperature and humidity, since the interior and exterior leaf adjusts together. With an open foot and closed head, the foot of the cigar (and not the head) tends to split when the conditions swing back and forth.

So, my conclusion is that if your cigars will rest inside a humidor, it doesn't matter if the head (and/or foot) are open or closed. Otherwise, the cigars are more stable if either both ends are open or both ends are closed.

If you plan on presenting a cigar to your brother-in-law, ignore what I just said. (This is similar to the wine bottle argument about cork or screw cap.)

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Home-Grown Cigar

This cigar is a home-grown puro. That is, the entire cigar is home-rolled from home-grown leaf. The wrapper and binder are both home-grown Besuki (tabakanbau) from the 2017 crop--fresh out of the kiln this morning. Overall, that leaf would grade as binder, because of color variation and a few small holes. Despite being sun-grown, the leaf is light in color, and is quite thin and stretchy.

The filler is entirely home-grown Vuelta Abajo from my 2016 crop. It is all mid-stalk leaf, having a medium-light maduro color and a leathery texture. Since it was not in as low a case as I prefer for a cigar that I will smoke without "resting", I rolled it a little bit looser than usual, as can be seen in the view of the foot.

The taste of the wrapper is smooth and subtle, as with all Besuki wrapper. The cigar lit easily, and burned fairly evenly, though the light gray ash tended to flake away. Strength is medium. The smoke is full and soft, with a typical Vuelta Abajo aroma. There is no taste or aroma of raw or inadequate aging, though the filler does have a slight edge, which I suppose would vanish after multi-year aging.

By comparison to factory "premium" cigars, I would rate this home-brew solidly in the middle of the pack, in terms of enjoyability. The Vuelta Abajo is not quite as soft tasting as, for example, WLT Cibao Valley Vuelta Abajo.

Overall, not bad for a 25 cent cigar.

Bob

 

[waikikigun]

Thumbs up. Invisible Like button pressed.

 

[KiwiGrown]

She looks like a mighty fine cigar there Bob. Next season can't come soon enough I have cigar envy, growing me some Dom Republic Olor and CT Shade next season, can't wait to try rolling my own cigars.

 

[deluxestogie]

I appreciate the kind words.

"What this country needs is a really good [twenty-] five cent cigar."
Vice President Thomas R. Marshall

Bob

 

[Chacocii]

Some Ecuador maduro wrappers

 

[wildcrow]

Guys. I usually don't feel the craving for a stoger until mid May at the earliest. But seeing all of your home-roll sticks makes my mouth water for one. I've got a Padron 85 that's been in my humidor for 4 years and it might not make it any longer. Keep up the great work. They all look fantastic. Maybe one day...

 

[deluxestogie]

Pick up one of the whole leaf cigar blend kits from WLT: http://wholeleaftobacco.com/Whole-Leaf-Cigar-Blends_c30.htm (less than $30), then just watch the videos listed here: http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/4586-Cigar-Rollers-Index .

It took me a few cigars to roll an enjoyable one, and only about 30 cigars to reliably roll nice, smokable cigars. Beauty comes later. The WLT leaf can get you cigars for under $1.50 each, and growing your own can drop that down to about $0.30 a stick.

Bob

 

[D0CH0LLIDAY]

Beautiful smokes! Great job!

 

[D0CH0LLIDAY]

Decided to make a few ridiculously long cigars. Dominican Fillers (Piloto Cubano, Criollo98), and a Dominican Binder:

Tried a few wrappers on this blend so far. Habano 2000, Mata Fina, and this one is a Nicaraguan wrapper:

 

[MarcL]