Bruck
03-01-2015, 07:32 PM
Recreating on old thread from long ago on a forum far away...
http://i.imgur.com/yNjzlvn.jpg?1
I picked up some Samuel Gawith Brown #4 a couple months ago & really liked it, for both smoking and the occasional chew. It's a twist made from VA and Burley cigar leaf. So I read up a bit on the concept, watched a youtube video, and said hey, I can do that...
I started out by hydrating a few whole leaves, one big one of CT Broadleaf, a couple of Burley, and one Fire Cured Dark Air, plus some cigar rolling scraps - the larger pieces from my scrap bag. I hydrated them all to a low case, just enough to make them flexible.
Here are the whole leaves:
http://i.imgur.com/5PA8JFg.jpg
And the cigar scraps:
http://i.imgur.com/0QOOAyC.jpg
Stacking them up - from the bottom, it's CT, then layers of burley and dark fire:
http://i.imgur.com/O1AlrCb.jpg
Cigar scraps piled on top:
http://i.imgur.com/bIecteA.jpg
Rolled together - looks like a big, badly-rolled cigar:
http://i.imgur.com/5RsL0po.jpg
Twisting:
http://i.imgur.com/tUsYp6I.jpg
More twisting:
http://i.imgur.com/lqq9sdm.jpg
I kept twisting until it was pretty solid and it coiled up on itself, at which point I held it together with cable ties to keep it from unraveling:
http://i.imgur.com/1GcBT6d.jpg
& then I hung it up to dry overnight on my punching bag hook:
http://i.imgur.com/dOYKBKK.jpg
It's a bit shaggier than the one in the video, and not quite as picturesque as the commercial stool samples, I mean ropes. Next time, if there is a next time, I'll get the leaves a bit damper, and will use a binder leaf for the outer layer rather than a wrapper leaf. I think the CT leaf was a bit too delicate for these stresses.
Preliminary results: Total weight ~4oz. I tried smoking some this evening and the flavor was okay but not as good as the SG #4 . I didn't add any flavoring to this batch as I was more interested in the process, plus I wanted to establish an unflavored baseline. It didn't burn all that well, had to keep relighting - needs to dry out some more. It was pretty spicy upon first lighting it, but mellowed out as it got hotter. The flavor was definitely better when it was at a good burn.
The whole process was pretty quick. Once the leaves were moistened, it took less time to make the rope than it did to upload pictures and write about it :)
===========================
Epilogue: It's been a few months since I made that twist. In that time the flavors have come together nicely. It's still a bit strong, both flavor-wise and with vitamin N, but much more mellow than when it was fresh. It also makes excellent chew!
http://i.imgur.com/yNjzlvn.jpg?1
I picked up some Samuel Gawith Brown #4 a couple months ago & really liked it, for both smoking and the occasional chew. It's a twist made from VA and Burley cigar leaf. So I read up a bit on the concept, watched a youtube video, and said hey, I can do that...
I started out by hydrating a few whole leaves, one big one of CT Broadleaf, a couple of Burley, and one Fire Cured Dark Air, plus some cigar rolling scraps - the larger pieces from my scrap bag. I hydrated them all to a low case, just enough to make them flexible.
Here are the whole leaves:
http://i.imgur.com/5PA8JFg.jpg
And the cigar scraps:
http://i.imgur.com/0QOOAyC.jpg
Stacking them up - from the bottom, it's CT, then layers of burley and dark fire:
http://i.imgur.com/O1AlrCb.jpg
Cigar scraps piled on top:
http://i.imgur.com/bIecteA.jpg
Rolled together - looks like a big, badly-rolled cigar:
http://i.imgur.com/5RsL0po.jpg
Twisting:
http://i.imgur.com/tUsYp6I.jpg
More twisting:
http://i.imgur.com/lqq9sdm.jpg
I kept twisting until it was pretty solid and it coiled up on itself, at which point I held it together with cable ties to keep it from unraveling:
http://i.imgur.com/1GcBT6d.jpg
& then I hung it up to dry overnight on my punching bag hook:
http://i.imgur.com/dOYKBKK.jpg
It's a bit shaggier than the one in the video, and not quite as picturesque as the commercial stool samples, I mean ropes. Next time, if there is a next time, I'll get the leaves a bit damper, and will use a binder leaf for the outer layer rather than a wrapper leaf. I think the CT leaf was a bit too delicate for these stresses.
Preliminary results: Total weight ~4oz. I tried smoking some this evening and the flavor was okay but not as good as the SG #4 . I didn't add any flavoring to this batch as I was more interested in the process, plus I wanted to establish an unflavored baseline. It didn't burn all that well, had to keep relighting - needs to dry out some more. It was pretty spicy upon first lighting it, but mellowed out as it got hotter. The flavor was definitely better when it was at a good burn.
The whole process was pretty quick. Once the leaves were moistened, it took less time to make the rope than it did to upload pictures and write about it :)
===========================
Epilogue: It's been a few months since I made that twist. In that time the flavors have come together nicely. It's still a bit strong, both flavor-wise and with vitamin N, but much more mellow than when it was fresh. It also makes excellent chew!