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anyone ever roll there own cigars?

thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
in General Discussion
hey guys i been looking around on the internet and i came accross a few websites selling tobacco leaves.
not really expensive for 1lb bunches
was just curious if anyone ever tried it, what kind or results i.e. types of leaves used, blends etc.
looks interesting

just reminded me of Frances Peguero at the midwest smoke out he was rolling cigars there, bought a few but i was not impressed they taste a bit musty
maybe old tobacco?
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Comments

  • ddubridgeddubridge Posts: 3,978 ✭✭✭
    Webmost has rolled some. Long Ashes has a Grow Log thread...he grew and rolled his own cigar tobacco.
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Yep. I'm even growing some this summer. I'll write more at length tomorrow. My wooden cigar mold arrived today.
    “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)
  • armaes8armaes8 Posts: 279
    I know a place in downtown Denver where a guy rolls his own in the shop, not bad, he was pretty nice and let me roll a few.
  • curtpickcurtpick Posts: 2,757 ✭✭✭
    Ya I roll mine all the time !

    Wait !

    Never mind, you said cigars ! ;)
    Family, Friends, Golf, Cigars, Fine Whiskey, Good beer.... is there anything else ?  Follow on instagram @crguy1961
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So maybe six months after I first got into cigars, I too stumbled onto a site selling tobacco leaves. Got all excited. Determined I would roll a batch, age them six months, then brew a bucket of beer and have a home brew slash home rolled slash super bowl party. Bought a batch of leaves from LeafOnly.com. Disasster with two esses. Rolled them up nice enough, that wasn't the problem. But the flavor! Hideous! Tasted like taint. Gave that deal up. Rather smoke dog rockets wrapped in inner tube.

    Last December, I found another site named FairTradeTobacco. Started hanging out. Bought the sampler pack from Don there (fmgrowit on their forum) cause everyone spoke highly of it. Hot dawg! Tasty. Some kind of dom seco filler with a batch of Indonesian Besuke for wrapper and binder. Tastes like a milder version of the AJ Fernandez fresh rolled bundles you can get from cigar.com. Only thing I would suggest with this sampler is throw in a half pound of strong binder leaf, cause the Besuke is too delicate to bind the bundle tight. My latest trick is, I let them dry dry dry out, then slowly re-hydrated them, and that seemed to tighten the wrap. I have been trying to age this batch, but it's darn hard not to smoke them up. Just burnt one over the weekend, in fact. Older they get, better they smoke. Shoot me your addy and I'll send you one to try.

    Skill-wise, it's a snap to roll a cigar that you can smoke, but far from easy to roll one you can admire. Remember: Neither you nor I have worked ten hours a day six days a week in the cigar rolling sweatshop since we were eight, so our skills are not yet honed to the pitch as Maria Luisa Guadalupe Romero y Gonzalez, so... My first batch came out tight; my second batch came out loose; I hope to zero in with the next batch and get a better consistency. Some people on the forums have a hard time getting it right while some have an easy time. It probably depends whether or not you are good with your hands. There are tons of videos on the net showing how, but 99% of these don't zoom in on the hands like they should, so it gets hard to see. There are all sorts of demos at cigars shops and shows, but all these seem to bring bound and molded cigars to the shop and all they do is wrap them in front of you. Wrapping is the easy part. let me repeat: wrapping is the easy part. It is. Getting the bunch consistent and bound right, that's the hard part.

    Equipment is minimal at most. Borrow an ulu from the wife or score one for twenty bucks at the kitchen store. Buy her a new bamboo cutting board while you are at the kitchen store and gift it to her, then confiscate her old board out into the garage. That's about it. A packet of pectin from the grocery, a spray bottle to mist the leaves, and you're good.

    image

    I saved the best part for last: You know the tranquillity you get kicking back smoking a cigar? Well, pop a beer in a coolie, put a game on the toob, stick your hands to the elbows into that aromatic pile of tobacco leaves, and you have got pure relaxation squared. Leaves you with a fine tobacco aroma all over the place. Wonderfulness.

    “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)
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    webmost:
    So maybe six months after I first got into cigars, I too stumbled onto a site selling tobacco leaves. Got all excited. Determined I would roll a batch, age them six months, then brew a bucket of beer and have a home brew slash home rolled slash super bowl party. Bought a batch of leaves from LeafOnly.com. Disasster with two esses. Rolled them up nice enough, that wasn't the problem. But the flavor! Hideous! Tasted like taint. Gave that deal up. Rather smoke dog rockets wrapped in inner tube.

    Last December, I found another site named FairTradeTobacco. Started hanging out. Bought the sampler pack from Don there (fmgrowit on their forum) cause everyone spoke highly of it. Hot dawg! Tasty. Some kind of dom seco filler with a batch of Indonesian Besuke for wrapper and binder. Tastes like a milder version of the AJ Fernandez fresh rolled bundles you can get from cigar.com. Only thing I would suggest with this sampler is throw in a half pound of strong binder leaf, cause the Besuke is too delicate to bind the bundle tight. My latest trick is, I let them dry dry dry out, then slowly re-hydrated them, and that seemed to tighten the wrap. I have been trying to age this batch, but it's darn hard not to smoke them up. Just burnt one over the weekend, in fact. Older they get, better they smoke. Shoot me your addy and I'll send you one to try.

    Skill-wise, it's a snap to roll a cigar that you can smoke, but far from easy to roll one you can admire. Remember: Neither you nor I have worked ten hours a day six days a week in the cigar rolling sweatshop since we were eight, so our skills are not yet honed to the pitch as Maria Luisa Guadalupe Romero y Gonzalez, so... My first batch came out tight; my second batch came out loose; I hope to zero in with the next batch and get a better consistency. Some people on the forums have a hard time getting it right while some have an easy time. It probably depends whether or not you are good with your hands. There are tons of videos on the net showing how, but 99% of these don't zoom in on the hands like they should, so it gets hard to see. There are all sorts of demos at cigars shops and shows, but all these seem to bring bound and molded cigars to the shop and all they do is wrap them in front of you. Wrapping is the easy part. let me repeat: wrapping is the easy part. It is. Getting the bunch consistent and bound right, that's the hard part.

    Equipment is minimal at most. Borrow an ulu from the wife or score one for twenty bucks at the kitchen store. Buy her a new bamboo cutting board while you are at the kitchen store and gift it to her, then confiscate her old board out into the garage. That's about it. A packet of pectin from the grocery, a spray bottle to mist the leaves, and you're good.

    image

    I saved the best part for last: You know the tranquillity you get kicking back smoking a cigar? Well, pop a beer in a coolie, put a game on the toob, stick your hands to the elbows into that aromatic pile of tobacco leaves, and you have got pure relaxation squared. Leaves you with a fine tobacco aroma all over the place. Wonderfulness.

    This is some very good info, leafonly was one of the places i was looking at, but seems to be word out there that there products are below par.
    it would cost about $100 in equipment and what ever you spend on leaves
    i'll check out the fair trade site that wa another one i seen,
    might be a good side hobby i'm working on my wineador so i'll have 3 humidors that i can store the leaves in
    thanks again thats a good read and info
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    "it would cost about $100 in equipment..." Not even close. Listen, here is my full boat:

    - one $12 ulu (pictured)
    - one spray bottle (scavenged from the garage)
    - one old cutting board (the wife needed a new one anyway -- which set me back $15)
    - one copper 3/4" pipe joint for cutting caps (prolly a buck and a half)
    - one packet of pectin from the grocery (prolly couple bucks at most)

    That's it. An old cooler outta the shed holds the finished product. Couple damp old towels to cover the leaf while I'm working.

    “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)
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    well i already have acacia gum (cigar glue)
    i was thinking about the mold pressalso , chaveta(ulu) comes to about $20, thats what would bring the price up
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Found my mold on E-prey for $46. Have not used it yet. Don't really need it, because I think the stick in the picture is cylindrical enough, and that's from only my second ever batch. But the mold is such a fascinating antique that I fell for it. Prolly try it out this Fall after my leaves are harvested and cured. Makes 5 1/4" double torps.

    image
    image

    The wrought iron clasp is especially impressive. Looks like it was made by a blacksmith who knew his business.

    “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)
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    thats nice, even i didnt use it to press it's a nice piece to have for display
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    o.k. i went leafonly for the mold,i got a habano sampler, and a few other 1/4lb samples,
    i went to rollers choice oatoa and got a sample of all there tobaccos, a he gave me deal on the chaveta, i also decided to make one at work about 60% done should be done on sunday when i go back to work
    i picked up a ironwood acacia board i cose this one because i figured the cigar glue i'm usiing is acacia gum same plant, couldnt hurt
    looks like it will be fun.
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    thedjfish@comcast.net:
    o.k. i went leafonly for the mold,i got a habano sampler, and a few other 1/4lb samples,
    i went to rollers choice oatoa and got a sample of all there tobaccos, a he gave me deal on the chaveta, i also decided to make one at work about 60% done should be done on sunday when i go back to work
    i picked up a ironwood acacia board i cose this one because i figured the cigar glue i'm usiing is acacia gum same plant, couldnt hurt
    looks like it will be fun.
    Roller's Choice is a site I missed somehow. Looks like they have a good variety of tobaccos. Prices on tools seem way damn high. Forty bucks for a chavetta, jeez the guy can afford to give you a deal on that, Prices on leaf seem in line though. Real nice price break at 25 pounds, too; but you and I both would have to quit work and smoke non-stop to get rid of twenty five pounds of cigar wrapper. 25 pounds of cigar wrapper implies 25 pounds of binder and a hundred pounds of filler. At say forty sticks a pound, that makes... back up the big truck, little truck's full. Maybe we should split a 25 lb deal and roll a fiver for everyone on the board. There's an ambition. Home made cigar bombs. Project like that could rescue the post office from bankruptcy.

    Be sure to let me know about leaf quality when your order arrives. Once we get good enough we ought to swap sticks.

    “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)
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    figure the leaf only tobac i can practice with, its a bit of a learning curve, i did get one out of 6 rolled decently, cant tell it was rolled by me only thing that gives it away is the cap, still working on that,
    i think i spent around $300 for everything from board to tobacco's
    just have to work on a few blends
    by chance how long you letting them rest before you try them? i was reading that 3-4 weeks, then i read 3-4 months , even read up to a yr. ,
    once i get my rolling and capping down, and i get a good blend made up i think it would be a good idea to make up some 5'ers,
    i still have a ways on that though but should be a good side project for me,
    the leaf only habano leaves actually smell great, but time will tell how they smoke
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    thedjfish@comcast.net:

    i think i spent around $300 for everything from board to tobacco's
    by chance how long you letting them rest before you try them?
    Shiite! You are kidding me, right? You got to fire one up immediatemente, hermano. Cripes! Then you stick a bunch away and promise yourself you will give them six months. Then about once a month you break your promise. Fact, you prompted me to break my promise again this morning.

    I maybe spent eighty bucks first time round. Don't remember if they even had a habano then.

    You tried the Fair Trade Tobacco forum?

    “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)
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    well all the tobacco samples where only all together $100 20 different types, the chaveta and board both came to $70 the board being $55 but i handles the blade cuts with ease and does not leave any indentations , i read it seals itself up as your cutting over it! not sure how that works? but it does from what i can tell on it
    and i opted for a tuck cutter, i been wanting one for display they got me for $125 for that but even if i dont use it, its a awesome piece to have,
    i registered on fair trade, was reading some postings,but have'nt really got into it to much,i'll get in there this week and sift thru there postings and see i can find out there
    i been talking to jorge at rollers choice on the phone hes been giving me some pointers on rolling and blending once i get all the samples in i'll figure out what i want to blend and get the rolling down,
    leafonly tobacco actually came pretty clean nicely pack no dirts or anything, really nice to handled, alot better then i expected i can say, the habano leaves have a great looking coloration nice light brown/copper look,
    once i figure them out i'll shoot you some samples of the tobacco and you can try them out see if its something that might be to your liking.
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Preciate it. I'll shoot you back something good.
    “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)
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    web
    decided to smoke the last one i made, look nice, buuut it was toooo loose, it burned good and even, on another note the wrapper after it would burn it would turn flakey, need to work on making it tighter

    image image image image
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Looking damned good. My first batch was too tight; my second was too loose. Hoping to zero in on the third batch. I think that the second batch came out loose because I didn't have a sturdy enough binder. How do they taste?
    “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 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think they look damn good too! Ash looks solid in the pics.
    LLA - Lancero Lovers of America
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    not bad needs something though, not harsh actually really smooth a little nutmeggy, but i think i can smooth it out with a different filler seco, maybe sweeten it up a touch but not much, i can smoke these quite often if i can get the rolling just right
  • mmccartneydcmmccartneydc Posts: 3,413 ✭✭✭
    Very cool Joe, I am very envious of both you and Davis. Looks like you both are doing great!
  • oilburneroilburner Posts: 91
    I've rolled a few of my own using leafonly tobacco. I used a Pennsylvania Broadleaf maduro wrapper, and Dominican seco for filler. Binder was usually broadleaf too. I enjoyed them. Haven't got the rolling perfectly, but they look pretty good. No issues with the tobacco quality. To me, my blend tastes similar to a la casita criolla.
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    o.k. got my order of tobacco, i have to say these will bring a new DNA to the cigars im rolling
    these have lot more aroma's and feel alot better then the leafonly , the only thing i see that leafonly has is the habano typr leaf
    combined with the domincan's and nicas i brought in i might have a real good blend, just gotta work on the rolling
    i rolled the last few tight so i thought once they rested a couple days they where not as firm as i thought they where
    imager>
  • Gray4linesGray4lines Posts: 4,691 ✭✭✭✭✭
    thedjfish@comcast.net:
    o.k. got my order of tobacco, i have to say these will bring a new DNA to the cigars im rolling
    these have lot more aroma's and feel alot better then the leafonly , the only thing i see that leafonly has is the habano typr leaf
    combined with the domincan's and nicas i brought in i might have a real good blend, just gotta work on the rolling
    i rolled the last few tight so i thought once they rested a couple days they where not as firm as i thought they where
    imager>
    Damn, that looks like a lot! I bet it smells awesome. Can't wait to see how they go.
    LLA - Lancero Lovers of America
  • thedjfish@comcast.netthedjfish@comcast.net Posts: 1,692 ✭✭✭
    o.k. these have been resting for about 7-10 days,
    one thing i noticed the "cigar glues" i was using, i have used pectin, well the only bad part i was able to only find it with acid in it, hence the flavor will carry over to the cigars,and it did a acid sour taste
    the acacia gum well that works, flavorless but really freakin sticky had to keep rinsing my fingers after use
    i tried the leaf only brand, well thats acacia gum also just repacked
    now finally i decided to drop the $10 and $7.50 shipping and handling from rollers choice, well for anyone looking for the real deal of cigar glue? this is it, its something called Bermocol, well after following the mixing guide and tweeking it just enough to compensate because all states is a "spoon" nothing specific on what size spoon,
    this gelled up after about 30 mins, once placed in the fridge it really firmed up,
    this is what you see the cuban/ domincan cigar rollers using a thick oinment looking glue, the pic below is what i did a 7-10 days back, i'm waiting on a corona size mold/press and once that comes i will roll some domincan/habano blend and some nicaragua/habano blend, nd i think i have enough for some brazilian/habano and or dominican blends

    image
  • bbass2bbass2 Posts: 1,059 ✭✭
    Those look great! I would hate to see what one looked like if I tried hand rolling.
  • perkinkeperkinke Posts: 1,572 ✭✭✭
    thedjfish@comcast.net:
    o.k. these have been resting for about 7-10 days,
    one thing i noticed the "cigar glues" i was using, i have used pectin, well the only bad part i was able to only find it with acid in it, hence the flavor will carry over to the cigars,and it did a acid sour taste
    the acacia gum well that works, flavorless but really freakin sticky had to keep rinsing my fingers after use
    i tried the leaf only brand, well thats acacia gum also just repacked
    now finally i decided to drop the $10 and $7.50 shipping and handling from rollers choice, well for anyone looking for the real deal of cigar glue? this is it, its something called Bermocol, well after following the mixing guide and tweeking it just enough to compensate because all states is a "spoon" nothing specific on what size spoon,
    this gelled up after about 30 mins, once placed in the fridge it really firmed up,
    this is what you see the cuban/ domincan cigar rollers using a thick oinment looking glue, the pic below is what i did a 7-10 days back, i'm waiting on a corona size mold/press and once that comes i will roll some domincan/habano blend and some nicaragua/habano blend, nd i think i have enough for some brazilian/habano and or dominican blends

    image

    those look great, what size you rolling? And which was easier, the round cap or the pig tail you have in the middle of the bottom row?
  • webmostwebmost Posts: 7,713 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You have the golden fingers for sure.

    “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 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I used pectin. Never had a taste from it. But then, you appear to be putting on a whole heck of a lot more than a dab, judging from the glossy heads in your pics. I just put the eeniest bit on. I'm going to a cigar factory on Saturday. I'll try and remember to ask the owner what he uses for glue.

    Ever take a gander at wholeleaftobacco.com for your leaf?

    “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)
  • RainRain Posts: 8,958 ✭✭✭
    Threadjack. Davis, you got any Webby Limitadas left?
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