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  • BOTL UPCOMING MAINTENANCE

    Hi Everyone, as mentioned in my introduction post, BOTL needs quite a bit of updating, patching and whatever else I might come across. Over the next few weekends BOTL may be unreachable on occasion as I do migrations or updates, etc. Just be patient - we'll be back! I'll generally try to keep these maintenances until later in the evenings.

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  1. R

    New fine cigar tobacco starts here :)

    if you're rolling for production quantities and the yield isn't enough for your field size with many varieties, perhaps you end up with a multi year rotation? Grow variety A and B year 1, C and D year 2, E and F year 3 then go back to A and B year 4. By that time the first year's grow should be...
  2. R

    varietal comparos

    I know that a food flavor is considered "complex" if it hits all 5 taste buds and " bland" if it hits only one. Since most of the sense of taste is in the nose, and since most of the cigar taste in in the retrohale, I assume the same sensors are used to enjoy the flavor of a cigar.
  3. R

    varietal comparos

    Do you find sampling component leaf allows you to anticipate the flavor of a completed blend? I always speculated that it would be kind of like tasting tomato sauce, beef, garlic, and cheese separately and speculating on the taste of lasagna. I believe something magic happens when leaves are...
  4. R

    LO H2K vs WLT H2K

    Not sure 2 competing retailers would share that information with the public.
  5. R

    lookin for lurkers

    We've all been there. I have advised several friends that everybody has a couple dozen crappy sticks in their fingers. You just gotta get those out to get to the good ones. Seriously, the construction of the cigar is set when you twist up the binder and place it into a mold. If there are soft...
  6. R

    lookin for lurkers

    To add another voice: I store my leaf sealed with a binder clip in the bag it was shipped in. The day before my rolling I take out the leaves I need to roll, spritz them with distilled water and lay them gently into a separate bag. One bag for filler, one for binder, one for wrapper. The point...
  7. R

    Do you freeze?

    I do not freeze either commercial cigars or raw leaf. Never had a problem. If I were to see a beetle I might change my practices.
  8. R

    Warped cigar construction

    The hand roll that had the most structure I have ever rolled was a when I started out entubado. I could actually see the individual; tubes hanging out there in the ash. ( my tubes were very tight like straws) Now I do book method and the ash is very similar to the commercial stick I occasionally...
  9. R

    Wrapper

    I would agree with you if the product was described as " Brazil mata fina" for instance, not " brazil mata fina binder" or Brazil mata fina wrapper" But in fact they indicate filler, binder and wrapper, at different price points, which suggests a certain level of grading has taken place, not...
  10. R

    Turning a profit from a hobby

    There's nothing wrong with trading in kind. I'll give you 4 home rolls if you pick up my bar tab this evening. However, once you replace good will and brotherhood with cash, the equation changes. In my occupation, I provide services to a variety of clients. If a friend asked me to do a favor...
  11. R

    Turning a profit from a hobby

    Everybody has their own viewpoint. Here's mine: I enjoy rolling cigars when I'm in the mood. When I'm not in the mood I do something else. If it were a profit seeking business it would cease to be fun. I already have a job. I roll in the evenings to relax. Sorry if I sound a bit snippy, but...
  12. R

    My first home rolled cigar.......Thx @webmost!

    Only to a point. Overfilled ( more properly called too tight) will have draw problems. Too loose and the tobacco will not be "Properly acquainted with one another" and will require frequent relights. Kinda like a camp fire; Spread out the kindling so its not touching each other or the larger...
  13. R

    Well it finally happened

    I found a liiitle glass jar 2.5 oz, in a hickory farms gift box ( i think it held mustard) which is more than enough for a batch of 30 cigars. Unless you're rolling again in 3-4 weeks or less, it's better to mix up a fresh batch of glue. I find after that time it starts molding, even if I...
  14. R

    Well it finally happened

    I use glue stick to secure my bands. Apply to the end of the band, being sure to overlap sufficiently to keep glue off the cigar wrapper.
  15. R

    in pursuit of the perfect paisle

    so you're using the belly cut, not the stem base to make your paisley. Correct?
  16. R

    in pursuit of the perfect paisle

    I have yet to attempt a triple cap. I am applying a pigtail because its easy to understand and finishes a parejo well. When first starting out attempting a triple cap, is it better to try getting the paisle out of the end of the wrapper or pull out a separate wrapper leaf?
  17. R

    botls' rolls

    What you gotta do is get several molds and roll up bigger batches. Then you have some to fire up as infants, some as teenagers, and some as mature adults. We won't even discuss senior citizens :) When I roll a batch I fill 2 molds of 10. Just ordered a third mold to up my game, now that I have...
  18. R

    how to make a conditioning tub

    Do the edges relax and unfurl themselves?
  19. R

    Tabacco bodega

    When you purchase tobacco from the farm, is there a minimum quantity you have to purchase? is it 100 LBS? 500 LBS? and is the leaf packaged in hands of a dozen leaves like for the drying barn, before being baled?
  20. R

    how to make a conditioning tub

    How do you ensure the inner leaves get the same moisture as those on the perimeter? (Sorry to be a pest, but I think I often spend more time prepping leaf than rolling.)
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