Pics of a newbie rolling setup (and first stogies)

[SelleSmokes]

Hi, all!
I'm new to BOTL, but happy to find a group of folks that enjoy a good stick as much as myself.
I just got into rolling my own cigars and wanted to show you guys what I've been up to and invite your thoughts. I know the final product looks very rough, but they are my very first and I hope to improve with time.

Here are two kits I purchased from Whole Leaf Tobacco (not nearly enough glue was included)


Cutting board that I fashioned out of a piece of wild cherry that I felled.


Poor-man's cigar mold that I made out of a rough-cut piece of silver maple.


Honduras Cuban-seed wrapper all spread out, and my American "chaveta" (wife was none too happy). Cigar at the bottom is fresh out of the mold, only the binder on it.


My first two cigars! Labels are to tell me what's in the blend so that I can remember after I age them for a while.


I've got a long way to go, but I had a blast doing this!
I was hoping that some of you may be more experienced in rolling your own cigars and might be able to shed some light on the preparation of your tobacco before rolling. I have a few questions that I'll launch out there:

1. How long to you typically let your tobacco rest after fermentation? (I'm also fermenting my own fresh tobacco)
2. What conditions do you find are best? (i.e. does it have to be a certain RH for proper aging to occur or can I just throw the freshly fermented leaves in a dry box for a while?)
3. I got some tobacco from WholeLeaf that smells horribly of ammonia and I'm pretty sure that's what made my experimental cigarello taste like a cigarette. Is there any remedy for this or is this tobacco trash?

Thanks, guys!

 

[Fusion555]

Hey welcome, i would re-post here, some of the other rollers could miss that other post and your questions, im new also so im going to leave it to the more experienced members to answer your questions, good looking first rolls

 

[Marc L]

Very nice! a new roller.. you could move the info. maybe best. simple enough just copy and paste the whole post. I'll do it for you if you don't want to?

 

[SelleSmokes]

Hey welcome, i would re-post here, some of the other rollers could miss that other post and your questions, im new also so im going to leave it to the more experienced members to answer your questions, good looking first rolls

Very nice! a new roller.. you could move the info. maybe best. simple enough just copy and paste the whole post. I'll do it for you if you don't want to?

Done. Thanks!

 

[Marc L]

You beat me to it. hehe..
about that Dom binder smell. you'll want to air it out by letting it get a little misting and letting it dry a few times. it will dissipate.

 

[Marc L]

Binder and wrapper will get less fermenting to save it for the cigar makers to do. it saves the all important integrity of the whole leaf.

 

[SelleSmokes]

You beat me to it. hehe..
about that Dom binder smell. you'll want to air it out by letting it get a little misting and letting it dry a few times. it will dissipate.

It is not just the Dom. binder, but the Dom. seco filler as well that gives this ammonia smell (I'm surprised you knew about the binder without my even mentioning it!). Great tip, I'll give it a shot.

Binder and wrapper will get less fermenting to save it for the cigar makers to do. it saves the all important integrity of the whole leaf.

Is it common to have to ferment binder and/or wrapper after receiving it from Whole Leaf? If so, may I ask your rule of thumb for fermenting time?

 

[Marc L]

I will bring the case up in all the leaf to get the wrinkles out so that it can get a proper placement. it doesn't like to get to much of a tight booking. (laid flat together)
It will need to be brought into a more suitable case for assembly though. (it will just take to long to dry out) meanwhile, if there is ammonia left in it, this is where it can be dissipated. Just a to high of case will further ferment the leaf when left alone. it's best to stay attentive. As far as rule of thumb for fermenting time, the leaf will tell you. That is where your learning will kick in. the thicker it is the more time. There is a eventual degradation that you will have to watch out for. (it will turn to dust)
I use containers so that there is some air in there. bags get used too but, there is lots of air in there.

 

[webmost]

I will bring the case up in all the leaf to get the wrinkles out so that it can get a proper placement. it doesn't like to get to much of a tight booking. (laid flat together)
It will need to be brought into a more suitable case for assembly though. (it will just take to long to dry out) meanwhile, if there is ammonia left in it, this is where it can be dissipated. Just a to high of case will further ferment the leaf when left alone. it's best to stay attentive. As far as rule of thumb for fermenting time, the leaf will tell you. That is where your learning will kick in. the thicker it is the more time. There is a eventual degradation that you will have to watch out for. (it will turn to dust)
I use containers so that there is some air in there. bags get used too but, there is lots of air in there.

SelleSmokes

By "case" he means dampness.

I use filler straight from the bag, just the way it was shipped. I neither ferment nor dampen it. It should be flexible enough to bend, but dry enough to make a slight crackle noise.

I usually use binder ditto, because it's ordinarily shipped damp enough. In case (not to mean dampness) it gets too dry, I will dampen (not case) it until it's flexible enough to go round a gar without cracking apart. It should be damp enough to bend over by its own weight, but no more.

Wrapper is a different deal. A beginner will use his wrapper as wet as can be. And that's alright too. You can lay it on wet and just let it set on the window sill for a couple days to dry out. Doesn't hurt much. I would say set it on a window casement, but that's another case of case. The more you roll, the less damp you will need your wrapper to be.

For a demo, sight and sound, what case filler and binder should be in (there, he got me doing it now) see the first part of my vid for beginners, somewheres around the 20th minute, right here


Thot I'd link that, just in case it's helpful.
Glad to see new blood. We all like blood.
Me, I just like to pull Marc's leg.

 

[SelleSmokes]

I will bring the case up in all the leaf to get the wrinkles out so that it can get a proper placement. it doesn't like to get to much of a tight booking. (laid flat together)
It will need to be brought into a more suitable case for assembly though. (it will just take to long to dry out) meanwhile, if there is ammonia left in it, this is where it can be dissipated. Just a to high of case will further ferment the leaf when left alone. it's best to stay attentive. As far as rule of thumb for fermenting time, the leaf will tell you. That is where your learning will kick in. the thicker it is the more time. There is a eventual degradation that you will have to watch out for. (it will turn to dust)
I use containers so that there is some air in there. bags get used too but, there is lots of air in there.

If I'm understanding you correctly, you're suggesting bringing up the humidity of the leaf but not the temperature (I didn't see any mention of temp). Do this a few times, letting the leaves dry out and then re-dampening so that this process can assist the dissipation of ammonia.
As far as the rule of thumb for fermenting, was that advice for raw tobacco, pre-fermented tobacco (e.g. putting additional fermentation on tobacco from Whole Leaf), or just in general?
I already threw the Dom. binder and seco into my fermenter to try to help it some. I'll keep an eye on it.

@webmost, thank you very much for the translation! Haha, I was having a hell of a time trying to decode Marc's message without knowing what "case" meant. Even a Google search was of no help. You had me laughing with your word play!
I'll certainly take a deep dive into that video you posted (I'm surprised I missed it during my hours of Youtube research) and am very grateful for the resource.

Many thanks, fellas.

 

[webmost]

If I'm understanding you correctly, you're suggesting bringing up the humidity of the leaf but not the temperature (I didn't see any mention of temp). Do this a few times, letting the leaves dry out and then re-dampening so that this process can assist the dissipation of ammonia.
As far as the rule of thumb for fermenting, was that advice for raw tobacco, pre-fermented tobacco (e.g. putting additional fermentation on tobacco from Whole Leaf), or just in general?
I already threw the Dom. binder and seco into my fermenter to try to help it some. I'll keep an eye on it.

@webmost, thank you very much for the translation! Haha, I was having a hell of a time trying to decode Marc's message without knowing what "case" meant. Even a Google search was of no help. You had me laughing with your word play!
I'll certainly take a deep dive into that video you posted (I'm surprised I missed it during my hours of Youtube research) and am very grateful for the resource.

Many thanks, fellas.

Far as I am concerned, both Whole Leaf Tobacco leaf and Leaf Only leaf come ready to use. The main two instances where you may want to adjust your leaf dampage happens when a) your makings dry out for one reason or another, or b) if you pick out a fine looking filler leaf and you say "I think I'll try this out for binder". Otherwise, ready to rock & roll. If anything, the LO leaf comes too damp sometimes. Also, the bags they use at LO, leaf will dry out right thru that stuff. The WLT bag, OTOH, is darn near impermeable.

But if you enjoy fermenting, go ahead and mulch away.

Whereabouts you located, generally?

 

[SelleSmokes]

Whereabouts you located, generally?

I'm in MD, right on the eastern border of DC.

 

[blisscigarco]

I'm in MD, right on the eastern border of DC.

Then you've probably already heard webmost's motorcycle arriving in your driveway by the time you read this.

 

[SelleSmokes]

Then you've probably already heard webmost's motorcycle arriving in your driveway by the time you read this.

Haha, are you around this way, Webmost?

 

[webmost]

Haha, are you around this way, Webmost?

Newark, Dull-Aware. We should herf up & roll on. Perhaps we can rope in Rachel Remix, or even Marc L.
I don't claim to be ANYWHERE near the proficiency of those two; but good old Bill Occam is my hero, which makes me a pretty quick teacher.

 

[SelleSmokes]

Newark, Dull-Aware. We should herf up & roll on. Perhaps we can rope in Rachel Remix, or even Marc L.
I don't claim to be ANYWHERE near the proficiency of those two; but good old Bill Occam is my hero, which makes me a pretty quick teacher.

Sounds like good fun. I'd certainly be the most lagging in the group skill-wise, but perhaps I can bring some interesting scotch and/or bourbon to share to be able to make some contribution to the herf.

 

[Marc L]

If I'm understanding you correctly, you're suggesting bringing up the humidity of the leaf but not the temperature (I didn't see any mention of temp). Do this a few times, letting the leaves dry out and then re-dampening so that this process can assist the dissipation of ammonia.

That is correct. in my experience with adding temperature, it so easily over cooked the leaf. mysteriously enough, the temperature comes up on it's own enough. Make sure that all the air is changed often enough. pull the leaves out and give them a waiving through the air to get fresh oxygen in them. as well as the container. maybe 6 or more times before re-casing. they are not completely dry or completely wet through all this. When I case, if I'm spraying directly on the leaf, there is no standing water on it. I'll wipe or, shake it off. I like to spray the in sides of the containers. When casing and un-casing, I found extra time spent on full penetration to be most valuable. Mid-rid de-veining come last before rolling prep.

As far as the rule of thumb for fermenting, was that advice for raw tobacco, pre-fermented tobacco (e.g. putting additional fermentation on tobacco from Whole Leaf), or just in general?
I already threw the Dom. binder and seco into my fermenter to try to help it some. I'll keep an eye on it.

You will want to develop a sense of readiness or ability to prepare all the leaf. when you start getting pounds of leaf there will be additional sorting that can be done.

 

[webmost]

Sounds like good fun. I'd certainly be the most lagging in the group skill-wise, but perhaps I can bring some interesting scotch and/or bourbon to share to be able to make some contribution to the herf.

I know where Bowie is.
Do you own a space where we can smoke & be warm?

 

[SelleSmokes]

I know where Bowie is.
Do you own a space where we can smoke & be warm?

I have a piece of land that I use for this purpose. A fire serves for warmth this time of year. Unfortunately, I do not own a private location that is both enclosed and herfable.
But if you wanted to roll as well then the land would certainly not work. We'd need access to a heated garage or something similar to be able to puff & roll.
But I'm quite open to lending my land as a place to gather if you don't mind donning a heavier jacket and sitting on a log in front of a fire. Your guys' call.

 

[webmost]

MarcL -- Can we persuade you in? You have a heated place we can roll and puff?