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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

    how to make a conditioning tub

    Ever have issues with mold?
  2. R

    Adventures in home rolling

    Mold marks are caused by molds that are made of 2 halves that are mirror images. The tobacco gets pinched between the halves and leaves a seam. By contrast professional molds have a top and a bottom. The top has an "U" shaped piece that presses down on the cigar. It leaves a much smaller mold...
  3. R

    Purchasign cigar leaf: designations

    When I peruse the websites offering cigar leaf, I often encounter leaf titles that include alphanumeric designations. Some of what I have seen at Leaf Only, for instance include: 1DW, 1LS, and 2LS. What do these designations mean?
  4. R

    botls' rolls

    Interesting wrap jobs. Do you apply a wrapper and then glue the topping pieces over it, or are you piecing together a wrapper over the binder?
  5. R

    how to make a conditioning tub

    Do you use the technique for wrapper only? How long do you leave the leaf in its cold sauna?
  6. R

    Cigars to tight

    You cannot over compress the mold. You apply enough pressure to engage both halves evenly across the mold length. If the draw is too tight you're either overfilling the bunch or the filler is too wet. How long after rolling do you dry box before you smoke your sticks? I usually do 30-45 days.
  7. R

    How to prevent mushy cigars

    Since I began rolling I pay more attention to the feel of the commercial cigars I smoke. All cigars soften up as you smoke them. A lot of commercial cigars have a very firm head because ( IMHO) they use a lot of glue in the cap. My test for proper construction is the burn. Does it draw well, and...
  8. R

    wads

    I have always struggled to get wrapper smooth. I usually moisten the crap out of it, lay the leaves together stem in and fold it once the short way. Let it sit in the bag 24 hours, then pull it our, destem it and start wrapping. It's easier to stem and lay it out flat as I'm wrapping, but the...
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    Homeroller's Recipe Sharing app idea

    :hungry::headphone::happy::greedy::doctor::borg:
  10. R

    How many leaves for 52x5 Robusto?

    depends on the size of your leaves. I roll Robusto and Robusto Grande, and most of the time a robusto is rolled out longer and needs to be trimmed, whereas a robusto grande may need a touch more filler. I usually ignore length and roll for the correct diameter and firmness ( to provide...
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    Homeroller's Recipe Sharing app idea

    so, how's the app coming?
  12. R

    Homeroller's Recipe Sharing app idea

    It could be as simple as a tick box next to each leaf in the recipe . Ticked means the leaf was altered.
  13. R

    Mojo

    Amazon sells food grade, powdered citric acid. 2 pounds for $7.99. If I were adding powder to distilled water, how much would I need to add to make a 2% solution? If 1 gallon of water weighs 8.34 lbs=50.04 oz, would I add 2% of 50.04 or 1.0008 oz of citric acid powder?
  14. R

    Mojo

    As discussed above, I added bread yeast because I doubt canned pineapple has sufficient yeast, and relying on environmental yeast will yield varying results from home to home depending on the biome. I believe rum may have been included as a preservative and to ensure sufficiently high alcohol...
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    Mojo

    I proposed the yeast because I doubt there is natural yeast in canned pineapple and relying on environmental yeast will yield different results depending on the microbiome of each home. I understand your point about high citric acid environment suppressing the action of yeast. Not sure whether...
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    Mojo

    I've read through this entire thread with some interest. There ae successes and failures, suggestions on things to do and not to do. I'd like to give this a try. So, for the benefit of myself and the community, and to further the discussion, I'd like to summarize what I have heard above and get...
  17. R

    Mojo

    er.... instead of messing about with secret mojo blends, has anyone tried just spraying the ligero with citric acid?
  18. R

    Embr?

    Is that charge levied on all cigar introduced or only those offered to the general public?
  19. R

    Embr?

    When its up and running I'm so going to swipe their flavor wheel. Based on what I know about blending from personal experience, there's little change someone can pick components from a written description, select propositions of components and end up with a cigar they like the first time. The...
  20. R

    Blending Thread

    Lots of blends to consider. I'd be interested in an evaluation from a higher level for those of you that consider yourself proficient at creating blends. I define proficient as able to sit down with an empty table and produce a new blend that is agreeable with little fiddling about. Do you find...
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