Home Cigar 101

HAND ROLLED CIGARS

Hey guys I just hand rolled my own cigars for the first time and I wanted to know when I should add them to my humidor. They are too moist I think. Should I wait until they are fully dry? Or just until the wrapper is dry? They have been sittin ontop of my humidor for about two days so far. I'd appreciate the help.

Comments

  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    bundle them together and wrap the bundle in one sheet of fresh newspaper and place them in the humidor for a few weeks. do not wrap the head or the foot.
    like this
    image



    then unwrap them and put them back in the humidor. dont touch them for at least 6 months.


  • rzamanrzaman Posts: 2,650 ✭✭✭

    Post-rolling rest period is individual choice. However, there are some standard rules:

    the freshly rolled cigar also known as green cigar need to go through short-term maturation at least 3-4 weeks. This allow the blends to stabilize.

    3-4 weeks to stabilize the green cigar. 4-6 months to allow the essential oil, flavors of the blend to marry. This is minimum time for a cigar to be smokable. After that it just get better. Anyway not all cigars are good for aging. It's all depends on wrapper, blends, tobacco kind and other factors. Kuzi's suggestion about wrap them in the newspaper is also important. I hope this helps.
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Wow Dave Soto, awesome project. Can you post photos and description of your new jewels? Is is as much fun as home brewed beer? Damn, that sounds like a good theme for a party next football season: home brew, home rolled, and a game, down in the man cave.

    Parenthetically, I vaguely remember an old western once upon a long time ago where Jimmy Stewart rolls his own cigar and lights it right off. Didn't dry at all. I suppose the writers figured a cigar would light up like a cigarette paper. IIRC, Jimmy even licked the leaf to make it stick.

    “It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)


  • Thanks for the feedback guys

    As for pictures Im gunna roll a bunch more then take a picture. The first couple were decent but not good enough to show off lol

    I've made beer too!! Rolling cigars is a lot more fun because you can actually see the finished product within 5 minutes even being a beginner.

    I would recommend the site www.leafonly.com. I bought two Dominican leaves with a MED ct leaf for wrapper. Also buy the sample packs of the tobacco leaves that you want to see if you enjoy rolling. Very cheap!!
  • edelrionycedelrionyc Posts: 361 ✭✭✭
    Where did you learn to roll your own cigars? Did you just buy the equipment and try to wing it? Did you take classes?
  • xmacroxmacro Posts: 3,402
    I've heard that some people really like smoking fresh-rolled cigars, some kind of "chicles" taste/feeling, whatever that is. If you like that, smoke them now; but there's really no doubt they'll get better if you follow kuzi's advice
  • edelrionyc:
    Where did you learn to roll your own cigars? Did you just buy the equipment and try to wing it? Did you take classes?


    I just bought the stuff and winged it but I will say I DID watch a lot of videos on YouTube. Just watching ppl roll and other giving tips. Try it out!!
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Davesoto321:
    Thanks for the feedback guys I've made beer too!! Rolling cigars is a lot more fun because you can actually see the finished product within 5 minutes even being a beginner.


    Dunno about that. The fun work of beer brewing is boiling the crap up. The hard work is cleaning your bottles. That's 90% of the toil. Then comes the long anticipation, waiting for the stuff to krausen. By the time you finally pop a cap, you are stoked. It's like football that way. The fact you have to wait all week is what makes Sunday special.

    Let us know six months from now how they turned out.
    “It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)


  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    David you have a PM check your inbox.
    “It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)


  • Amos_UmwhatAmos_Umwhat Posts: 8,899 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Interesting thread. Where'd you get the supplies for rolling?

    Also, Webmost, I love your signature line, that's (sadly) SO true!
    WARNING:  The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme.  Proceed at your own risk.  

    "If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed.  If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." --  Mark Twain
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Amos Umwhat:
    Interesting thread. Where'd you get the supplies for rolling?

    Also, Webmost, I love your signature line, that's (sadly) SO true!


    Dang, Amos! And your sig line is the one I use for gmail! Also sadly true.

    federal spending per day:
    Obama: 9.7 billion
    Bush: 6.8 billion Clinton: 4.1 billion Reagan : 2.5 billion

    Over five trillion in new debt for this administration and counting. Just wait until Obamacare kicks in. You would think that in this scientific age people would have a better grasp of plain arithmetic.

    Meanwhile, back to the subject: The only place I have found so far selling tobacco leaf for rolling cigars is leafonly.com. I am leaning more and more toward just such a project each day myself. We shall become the BOTYROL -- Brothers Of The Roll Your Own Leaf. They have some decent videos at leafonly showing how. Of course, I'm sure it looks easier than it is. Seems to me the hardest part would be snatching up an evenly distributed handful to roll.

    “It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)


  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Found a couple more places:

    http://www.wholeaf.com/ -- They are a bit delusional in their pricing

    http://www.otoaocigars.com/ -- they seem to have a better selection

    “It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)


  • I just started rolling a few months ago. Great hobby. Got leaves from LeafOnly. com and WholeLeafTobacco. com. Let's see if my image comes up...I still need to get the wrapper smother, but smokes and taste great. Printed my own ring also.
    image
  • ...and these.
    image
  • jd50aejd50ae Posts: 7,900 ✭✭✭✭✭
    SmokinBanjo:
    ...and these.
    image


    Gee willikers those look good....real good. Well done ole boy.
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Banjo! Music to my ears, brother torcedor!

    I get my leaf exclusively from Whole Leaf Tobacco now. Way the heck better than LeafOnly. We should swap some stogies. I roll all perfectos these days. Are you on the FairTradeTobacco forum? Tell us what sort of leaf you rolled in these.

    Here's what I smoked this afternoon, while doing maintenance on Biffy Bullfrog, the KLR650. You see my Uppowoc Perfecto perched on my custom cigar rack.
    image

    Ain't life fun?

    “It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)


  • Gray4linesGray4lines Posts: 4,691 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Very nice.
    LLA - Lancero Lovers of America
  • ExpendableYouthExpendableYouth Posts: 2,106 ✭✭✭✭✭
    kuzi16:
    bundle them together and wrap the bundle in one sheet of fresh newspaper and place them in the humidor for a few weeks. do not wrap the head or the foot.
    like this
    image



    then unwrap them and put them back in the humidor. dont touch them for at least 6 months.


    That looks pretty awesome, may need to give this a try in the future.
  • jarublajarubla Posts: 2,329 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Glad to see there are home brewers on this site too. I am a newb to cigars, but have a burning passion for brewing -- wine is my fave, but beer makes a close second. I'll echo the 90% of the work going to cleaning/sterlilizing the equipment.

    I bow to you humans who roll your own ceegars

    -Jay
    “There’ll be two dates on your tombstone and all your friends will read ’em but all that’s gonna matter is that little dash between ’em.” -Kevin Welch
Sign In or Register to comment.