First Roll and Smoking notes

[IXanadu]

This was my first roll attempt. Lessons learned.

• Have some crib-notes about which side of the leaf goes in/out, roll from plant/tip end . . . I will "not" remember just from all the videos/reading when "under the gun".
• Take more time "casing" my wrappers/binders.
• If you mix the glue too runny - wait to roll until you get more glue or have a plan B.
• Order more glue
• Beef gelatin might be a plan B, but work fast, or you'll be squishing jello down to make a paste.
• Prepare the portions of filler in advance so you have a better expectation of taste consistency.
• When you notice soft spots in the stick when rolling in the binder, stop and fill in the soft spots
• Understand that after a stick has been pressed, wrapped, and properly dried, it will draw tighter. Maybe too tight.

Construction notes:

1. This cigar was loose, lacking filler, maybe 50 gauge at the head, tapering down to 40ish at the foot. Soft throughout. I cut the wrapper wrong, and ran out and had to patch some in at the head.
2. Was closest to a Robusto - still too loose and soft throughout.
3. The second best looking, and tightest roll - much longer than the Robusto and solid enough I couldn't bring myself to trim it. I was most excited about smoking this stick.
4. The best attempt at a Robusto - tighter than the other two, but still soft

 

[IXanadu]

I took too long on my edit. Here is the rest of the story.

Construction notes:

1. This cigar was loose, lacking filler, maybe 50 gauge at the head, tapering down to 40ish at the foot. Soft throughout. I cut the wrapper wrong, and ran out and had to patch some in at the head.
2. Was closest to a Robusto - still too loose and soft throughout.
3. The second best looking, and tightest roll - much longer than the Robusto and solid enough I couldn't bring myself to trim it. I was most excited about smoking this stick.
4. The best attempt at a Robusto - tighter than the other two, but still soft

Smoking Notes.

I started with #1. I smoked the same day after drying a bit in a dehydrator on fan-only mode. I "loved" the taste of this cigar. It was soft and mushy in my hands, and the jello/glue made my lips stick to the head, but it was really a great smoke. The pic's below are of this stick. The ash held on like a champ. No problems with runs, and stayed lit really well. I really had to tap it to drop it off. It was sweet and flavorful start to finish. 1st third was mild, borderline boring, but cranked into some nose at the end of the first third. 2nd third was medium and great tasking start to finish. 3rd third was less flavorful, similar sweet but left heavy nicotine on the pallet.

#2 I smoked on day two after being dry boxed for a day. Much like #1, sweet, flavorful, too much nicotine at the nub. Stayed lit, great ash, good flavor until the last 1.5 inch.

#3 & 4 my son and I alternated. We smoked these on day 3. They were dry. Cigarmedic had them at 67% interior, 70 near the wrapper. I was super excited about #3, but I was disappointed. It dried to a very tight draw and I like wide-open draws. It lacked the sweetness of the other two smokes, and had times of bitterness. The "best" looking was the worse tasting/smoking. I don't know if this was how I blended, rolled, dried . . . I don't have enough experience to know. #4 was boring the first inch, but did have some sweetness, picked up the end of the first third, and was reminiscent of #1 & 2 for the second third. The last third was a bit harsh, and getting tight to draw because of the squishyness.

 

[Knucklehead]

Really nice firsts. Great job.

 

[Jim D]

Just curious here, what was your blend?

Nice write up, thanks for sharing the info.

 

[waikikigun]

I took too long on my edit. Here is the rest of the story.

Construction notes:

1. This cigar was loose, lacking filler, maybe 50 gauge at the head, tapering down to 40ish at the foot. Soft throughout. I cut the wrapper wrong, and ran out and had to patch some in at the head.
2. Was closest to a Robusto - still too loose and soft throughout.
3. The second best looking, and tightest roll - much longer than the Robusto and solid enough I couldn't bring myself to trim it. I was most excited about smoking this stick.
4. The best attempt at a Robusto - tighter than the other two, but still soft

Smoking Notes.

I started with #1. I smoked the same day after drying a bit in a dehydrator on fan-only mode. I "loved" the taste of this cigar. It was soft and mushy in my hands, and the jello/glue made my lips stick to the head, but it was really a great smoke. The pic's below are of this stick. The ash held on like a champ. No problems with runs, and stayed lit really well. I really had to tap it to drop it off. It was sweet and flavorful start to finish. 1st third was mild, borderline boring, but cranked into some nose at the end of the first third. 2nd third was medium and great tasking start to finish. 3rd third was less flavorful, similar sweet but left heavy nicotine on the pallet.

#2 I smoked on day two after being dry boxed for a day. Much like #1, sweet, flavorful, too much nicotine at the nub. Stayed lit, great ash, good flavor until the last 1.5 inch.

#3 & 4 my son and I alternated. We smoked these on day 3. They were dry. Cigarmedic had them at 67% interior, 70 near the wrapper. I was super excited about #3, but I was disappointed. It dried to a very tight draw and I like wide-open draws. It lacked the sweetness of the other two smokes, and had times of bitterness. The "best" looking was the worse tasting/smoking. I don't know if this was how I blended, rolled, dried . . . I don't have enough experience to know. #4 was boring the first inch, but did have some sweetness, picked up the end of the first third, and was reminiscent of #1 & 2 for the second third. The last third was a bit harsh, and getting tight to draw because of the squishyness.

Excellent write-up! Keep it up. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[CobGuy]

Well done!

By the way, I looked up that CigarMedic device you mentioned and it's pretty nifty.

 

[IXanadu]

Just curious here, what was your blend?

Nice write up, thanks for sharing the info.

Azucarado Oscuro II Cigar Blend Kit

 

[IXanadu]

Well done!

By the way, I looked up that CigarMedic device you mentioned and it's pretty nifty.

It is – the way I’m going to use it as this. I’m going to take a reading and then smoke the cigar. If I have problems with the cigar I’ll make a note. At some point I should begin to tell if the cigar it’s not at the ideal humidity prior to smoking then I can either drybox it or put it in a more humid place prior to smoking

 

[CobGuy]

It is – the way I’m going to use it as this. I’m going to take a reading and then smoke the cigar. If I have problems with the cigar I’ll make a note. At some point I should begin to tell if the cigar it’s not at the ideal humidity prior to smoking then I can either drybox it or put it in a more humid place prior to smoking

Sounds like a plan ... I prefer mine at about 65% and use the large Boveda packs to maintain that RH.
With my own hand-rolled sticks, they go in the dry-box for, usually, a few days prior to going in the humidor ... if they make it at all. LOL
Keep up the good work!

 

[tullius]

I have one of them fancy things. Got it for free from a booth neighbor at a trade show.


Mainly use it working with wood coming off my sawmill, though it's not specifically designed for that afaik. Just calibrated it and tested on a known piece of 4/4: read dead right on at 10%, compared against a much more expensive trade specific device . Stuck it in a cigar that's in perfect smoking condition straight from the humidor: rh on the calibrated abbeon hygrometer in the humidor read 76% @ 74 deg F. It's humid here today. FLIR moisture meter read 16% on that stick.

***The FLIR device measures moisture content, not relative humidity.***

 

[Jim D]

Azucarado Oscuro II Cigar Blend Kit

I must have missed that somewhere along the way....