The Forum blend - why'd you vote for what you voted for?
xmacro
Posts: 3,402 ✭
Just curious as to the thinking behind the votes and why people are voting for one tobacco vs another
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f1 - condega because Alex said it was in nearly every Nic blend.
f2 - ometepe see wrapper
f3 - san andreas to give it a hint of the darker/slightly sweet maduro flavor. sounds to me like it would go with the wrapper nicely.
I'm nowhere near experienced enough to know what it will taste like, but it sounds good to me.
Size:I voted for the lancero size becuase it seemed to be the best bet at my vote counting with a thin ring cigar. I really wanted a gorona gordo or corona extra but those are less popular sizes. so since I wanted my vote to count I voted lancero.
Body: Medium - I like em medium best. Plus I think a super full bodied cigar would over take the flavors of a sumatra wrapper, so I think a medium bodied format is where sumatra's really shine.
Sumatra wrappers are probably my favorite so thats why I went there.
I was hoping for a tri country filler of;
Condega Nicaragua - Alex Says its a good chasis to build upon and he knows his stuff.
Dominican Criollo - I think it would have offered some good flavors without too much body and while offering something outside the box from the usual.
Habano Copan Honduras - I think that honduran fillers would pair really well with a sumatra wrapper rounding out a tri country filler where nothing overstates the rest of it.
Ometepe made its way in and I'm honestly a bit worried about the minerally notes that I get from the punch upper cut making its way in to the blend. Thats not my favorite cigar out there, and I think the only one I've had with tobacco from Ometepe. As always I could be wrong here. And thats why we vote as a forum. I'm looking forward to this blend changing my mind on Ometepe tobacco. Looks like Its still possible to get 2 out of 3 of my filler votes making it in. so I'm a happy camper.
great discussion thread.
why?
its interesting to read the threads
im gunna buy it no matter what.
there is no way that i would get what i want out of it, but a high probability that i will like it anyway. so i may as well skip the disappointment stage.
Wrapper: Ecu Sumatra Ligero
Filler #1 Condega (forum at large chose Ometempe, which was my 2nd choice, so I am totally cool with that)
#2 Condega (since it didn't go through the 1st round)
#3 Copan
I am hoping for a Cameroon binder, but that has not been finalized yet... SA maduro would be my 2nd choice
I made these choices because I want the cigar to have A signature. Not 5 signatures. The Sumatra Ligero will give a strong flavor and strength outline that will shape the overall smoking experience. The Ometempe tobacco will also give a unique characteristic, but based on the priming chosen (this is where my faith in Alex and AJ comes in) will determine a lot of how much it will add/shape the overall taste. The Copan and Condega are both solid fillers. They are familiar to most of us, and enjoyed by most of us in more blends than we might think. But they are not going to drastically change the dynamic of the cigar. Instead they are going to build a solid base for the more unique characteristics from the other tobaccos to play off of. That is exactly what filler is supposed to do in my mind. That's why it's called filler.
My only fear is that a cameroon binder, if not exactly right, will add too much twang to the overall taste, rather than complement it. That is my only fear when mixing the ometempe and cameroon. If it's done right, it will be brilliant. If it's not perfect, we will be able to tell. For that reason, I think that the SA maduro would be a nice binder... but I don't know how well it would do for the combustion since we are already looking at a wrapper leaf that is not known for good combustion... and an oily maduro binder may make that worse...
So to answer you question, macro, I simply wanted to give my input into what I think will create a enjoyable and memorable overall smoking experience, without going overboard or over-playing my hand, so to speak. I think the cigar will work better with tobaccos that play well off each other and compliment each other rather than compete with each other. So far, it's looking like me may have a blend that does just that, and that will be a good smoke.
I can't speak for anybody else, but these are my reasons. I have just been SUPER LUCKY to have gotten the tobaccos that I was hoping for, so I figured I'd give my input to answer your question.
Considering the advice that Alex gave, my vote, with 100% confidence, will be for a Jalapa Habano binder.
My reasoning for that is because it will still provide some sweetness (in what will be a fairly heavy blend thus far), and because of it's positive combustion attributes. It also has the huge bonus of being available in multiple primings, which means it's intensity will be even that much more tweakable to suit the blend.
Again, just my .02. I am not scared to admit that Alex had to pull my ambitions back from the edge. lol. Hell, as much time as he spends with the best tobaccos and best blenders in the world, I'd be kinda bummed if he wasn't a badass at this
I'm right there with you on lower priming ometepe leaves, of maybe only 1 leaf. who knows what will go in the recipe. Reading Alex's analysys of the blend so far has eased my mind a bit on the ometepe tobacco. I am hoping for a boring binder though and preferably from a region that is already represented in the filler. Too much pizazz and you might end up like the jets. the recipe might look good on paper but those guys just don't work together.
Me too.