What have you been rolling lately?

Post up your favorite blends with a small description or any experiments your working on. Heres mine so far...




1 Criollo 98 ligero
3 Corojo 99 seco
Dom binder
Broadleaf wrapper

profile - creamy mocha, oak, pepper. Medium full body and strength. Adding in 1 Nic Habano viso is also really nice. Makes the profile more peppery and earthy.



1 Mata Fina viso
1 Piloto Cubano viso
2 Piloto Cubano seco
Dom binder
Broadleaf wrapper

profile - earthy, sweet spice, vanilla, cream, little bit of cocoa. Medium body and strength.

Damn bro, those sound delicious!

Cole - what does Mata Fina taste like, and how strong is it in terms of nicotine?

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Originally Posted by Bruck

Cole - what does Mata Fina taste like, and how strong is it in terms of nicotine?

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To me it has a very distinct deep earthiness and is sort of bittersweet. Kind of hard to describe. I don't know how many of the LPs you've tried but its a consistent earthy flavor in all of them. I believe its also used in the CAO Brazilia and Colombia. Strength wise its not very potent.
Its been a tricky leaf to blend though. So far Ive gotten the best results just pairing it with piloto. Everything else Ive tried seems to clash with it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HIM

To me it has a very distinct deep earthiness and is sort of bittersweet. Kind of hard to describe. I don't know how many of the LPs you've tried but its a consistent earthy flavor in all of them. I believe its also used in the CAO Brazilia and Colombia. Strength wise its not very potent.
Its been a tricky leaf to blend though. So far Ive gotten the best results just pairing it with piloto. Everything else Ive tried seems to clash with it.

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Innersting... Maybe I'll leave that one alone. My tobacco library doesn't need yet another bag of leaves I'm not quite sure what to do with :)

...wasn't sure which of these threads to add this to, so I thought I'd wake this one up :)

Batch 29 - rolled yesterday, wrapped today:

http://i.imgur.com/uxPI3rC.jpg

Wrappers = CT Broadleaf from Kentucky. Not pretty but sure is tasty.
Binders = Dark Air, also from Kentucky. Good taste and you could make a parachute out of this stuff.
Filler = mostly some combo of Brazil Viso, Nicaraguan Seco, and Piloto Cubano Seco (Dominican).

Latest batch, rolled & wrapped today, batch 30 for those of you who are keeping score :)

http://i.imgur.com/nJ1z2xw.jpg

Wrappers = PA from KY
Binders = Dark Air from KY
Fillers = a lot of things, most Hispanic leaves, but also some longer scraps of KY binder and wrapper leaves.

Here's batch 31, mostly PA wrappers, but a few have CT Broadleaf. Both wrappers are from Larry in KY.

Hey, am I the only one rolling around here??? :)

http://i.imgur.com/PBAkytj.jpg

Binders are Dark Air from KY. 18 in all, actually rolled 19, but one was too thin for the mold so I just smoked it in the binder this p.m.

Innards are various combinations of Piloto Cubano Seco (Dominican), Criollo Ligero (Nicaraguan), Nic Seco, Nic Viso, Havana (from KY), and CT Broadleaf (KY).

One must always have an adequate surface for rolling on too! Compliments of Cigarfest
http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...psensohjck.jpg

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Originally Posted by AlanS

One must always have an adequate surface for rolling on too! Compliments of Cigarfest
http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/...psensohjck.jpg

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She doesn't look like a virgin :)

And while we're at it, behold Brohiba batch 32 on the drying rack:

http://i.imgur.com/S6zpIGX.jpg

A bunch of robustos and toros - I'm less inclined to roll churchills these days as it's getting harder and harder to put together 2 hours of uninterrupted smoking these days. Also, the shorter sticks tend to have fewer draw issues (still perfecting the technique!).

Wrappers: PA from my friend Larry the tobacco butcher in KY
Binders: Dark Air, also from Larry
Fillers: various combinations of Dominican Seco, Nicaraguan Criollo, Nicaraguan Viso, and "Havana" from Larry

So, I'm settled on 3 blends that cover pretty much all of my NC appetites, mostly rolled somewhere on the corona - toro border (torona?)

When I want light and sweet - Sumatra:

Filler - Indonesian Sumatra, Dominican, and Nicaraguan. The Dom/Nic is so I can get some ligero and volado into the blend so it burns better. I use 1 Dom volado, 1 each Dom and Nic ligero, and 3 Sumatra seco. Because the Sumatra leaves are a lot larger, they make up more than half the blend by volume, though not by number.
Binder - Colombian
Wrapper - Indonesian Besuki

I've been rolling this blend longer than the others, and I've been able to let a few of them sit for about a year. By then they tasted as good as anything I can buy, and better than most.

For a more medium smoke with a little spice, it's Cameroon:

Filler - Dominican, Nicaraguan - 2 Dom volado, 2 each Dom and Nic ligero
Binder - Colombian
Wrapper - Cameroon

When I want a maduro:

Filler - Brazilian, Dominican, Nicaraguan - 1 Dom volado, 1 each Dom and Nic ligero, 3 Brazil Havana Viso.
Binder - Colombian
Wrapper - Connecticut maduro

All tobacco sourced from Leaf Only.

I haven't been able to sit on any of the last two blends yet to see how they rest up.

Someday I may have bands printed for my marca - "Cigarros Rústicos." :cigarette: If you've seen pictures of my efforts, you know why ...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruck

And while we're at it, behold Brohiba batch 32 on the drying rack:

http://i.imgur.com/S6zpIGX.jpg

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How long does it take you to roll a batch like this?

With everything prepped, it takes me 40-60 minutes to bundle 10 corona gorda cigars.

Wrapping takes 60-80 minutes.

Wrapping 10B's tonight. Ecu hab lig wrapper, dom binder, criollo lig, ecu hab seco and corojo viso.

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Originally Posted by Chad Vegas

How long does it take you to roll a batch like this?

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about an hour of leaf prep the night before - planning, counting, moisturizing.
a couple hours of rolling - bunching, binding, clamping in molds, rotating in the molds
[go do something else for at least a couple hours while the cigars sit in the molds]
a couple hours of wrapping - trimming, ironing, wrapping, clipping, bands
[let them sit in the humidor for a couple months or more if possible]
and the best part, an hour to an hour and a half of smoking.

The "cigar rolling" demos where Hector rolls a cigar in 30 seconds, that takes years of practice, but also, he's usually just doing the wrapping.

- - - Updated - - -

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sprouthog

Wrapping 10B's tonight. Ecu hab lig wrapper, dom binder, criollo lig, ecu hab seco and corojo viso.

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Those sound pretty strong! How's the flavor?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruck

about an hour of leaf prep the night before - planning, counting, moisturizing.
a couple hours of rolling - bunching, binding, clamping in molds, rotating in the molds
[go do something else for at least a couple hours while the cigars sit in the molds]
a couple hours of wrapping - trimming, ironing, wrapping, clipping, bands
[let them sit in the humidor for a couple months or more if possible]
and the best part, an hour to an hour and a half of smoking.

The "cigar rolling" demos where Hector rolls a cigar in 30 seconds, that takes years of practice, but also, he's usually just doing the wrapping.

- - - Updated - - -



Those sound pretty strong! How's the flavor?

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Definitely full strengh. Developed by another roller who calls it a cherry bomb. Pepper is complimented a nice balance of sweetness and a cherry note.

Just finished Batch 33

http://i.imgur.com/LZDLFbV.jpg

Wrappers: PA shade from KY (the lighter ones) and Dark Air, also from KY
Binders: Dark Air from KY
Fillers: most are Criollo ligero (Nicaraguan), Dominican Seco, Nicaraguan viso, and "Havana" from KY

Some are a little out of shape as they didn't quite fill the molds - I'm trying some different bunchings in an attempt to rectify draw issues with this particular blend.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bruck

Just finished Batch 33

http://i.imgur.com/LZDLFbV.jpg

Wrappers: PA shade from KY (the lighter ones) and Dark Air, also from KY
Binders: Dark Air from KY
Fillers: most are Criollo ligero (Nicaraguan), Dominican Seco, Nicaraguan viso, and "Havana" from KY

Some are a little out of shape as they didn't quite fill the molds - I'm trying some different bunchings in an attempt to rectify draw issues with this particular blend.

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rodwha