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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. Bruce T.

    Do you freeze?

    I always read the cigars should be placed in the refrigerator after coming out of the freezer so they won't be damaged by a rapid change. I did that originally but have not done it for years now. I don't believe the temperature change is all that "rapid". I also don't think a temperature...
  2. Bruce T.

    DIY barrel aging

    I'm a DIY type of guy. I built my house, I built my boat, I brew my beer, I built my humidor, I roll my cigars. So I decided to explore the idea of barrel aging, which is all the rage right now. Rather than barrel age the leaf I decided to barrel age the whole cigar. Since I don't have a...
  3. Bruce T.

    Pics of Your Sticks

    Nice job! I sometimes get the wrinkles in the wrapper like you have. Sometimes it is from pulling the wrapper too much when wrapping and not paying attention to stretching it wide at the same time. Sometimes I think it is my wrapper is too wet and it wrinkles when it shrinks.
  4. Bruce T.

    Anyone have this cabinet??

    Don't know anything about it... but it's a beauty!
  5. Bruce T.

    Fake CC construction question

    I've said this here before. I've been to Cuba many times and have smoked many fake CC'c made there. They were all well made and were a very nice smoke. They didn't taste like Cohiba or R&J but I didn't expect them to. Fakes made anywhere else are scary and I won't touch them.
  6. Bruce T.

    My leafs from 2018

    Very impressive, both the growing and the rolling!
  7. Bruce T.

    Do you freeze?

    Here is a short but scary video from CA magazine that I remember watching a few years back. https://video.cigaraficionado.com/play/id/799454672001/name/Cigar_101:_Tobacco_Beetles
  8. Bruce T.

    Do you freeze?

    I was wrong about Cuba not freezing cigars, though I have read that many times. Here is a link to an article from 2006 https://www.cigaraficionado.com/articles/havana-corner-freezing-in-havana-2390
  9. Bruce T.

    Do you freeze?

    I am expecting a shipment of leaf in the next few days so I looked back at this thread. It amazes me that none of the rollers here seem to freeze their leaves. Many manufacturers recognize the potential for beetles and therefore freeze everything before it leaves the factory. I understand...
  10. Bruce T.

    DIY Maduro leaves

    It's CT wrapper leaf from FX Smith that was generously provided to me from a BOTL.
  11. Bruce T.

    DIY Maduro leaves

    I read this somewhere on this forum. To darken leaves you can dampen them and wrap in foil. Then bake at 220 deg. for 2 1/2 hours. I tried this and it worked. Maybe it would get darker if roasted longer but maybe not since the leaves dry out. The leaves baked very dry and were difficult to...
  12. Bruce T.

    Recent trip to Cuba

    I've been to Cuba over a dozen times and I love it. The people are wonderful. The food is not great but I expect that when eating in some places, but in high-end places I've had great food, especially the sea food. If you want good food then make sure you don't order something that is not...
  13. Bruce T.

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

    As Webmost mentioned, make sure the filler leaves are fairly dry. They should crackle a little as you try to bunch them. Damp filler was my mistake for a couple of years. About half my sticks would have too tight of a draw. It was frustrating because I tried to roll looser and then the...
  14. Bruce T.

    Oh crap.

    No cigar goes into my humidor without spending 4 days in the freezer, EVER! It's so simple and it guarantees I never have this problem.
  15. Bruce T.

    Plume / mold

    I find the author's suggestion of 70 - 73% is not correct. It seems the he is looking at what is best for the leaves but is not looking at what is better for aging and for smoking. Experience has shown that an RH of 62 - 70% is great for aging and smoking. My main intent with posting the...
  16. Bruce T.

    Plume / mold

    I struggled with this for a long time.... until I read a post from Mr. McSquirelly that he posted in 2015 on this site. I'm not sure how to link to his post so I'll repeat it here. It is an article written by a Phd from UCLA. It explains why Relative humidity is not the same as absolute...
  17. Bruce T.

    Cigar smoking room build - ventilation, decoration, pics

    Very cool! I've been thinking about this for a few years. My ideal setup is to use a corner of a very large room in my ground level basement. The plan would be to install strong exhaust in a quadrant over the smoking area and have the fan on the other side of an existing wall so it is quiet...
  18. Bruce T.

    Greetings from Canada

    Hi, where ya from? I'm just outside of Ottawa ... and we've got lots of snow. Not much cigar smoking going on at my house at this time of year.
  19. Bruce T.

    Seed to cigar: My journey to grow, harvest, ferment and roll my own cigars!

    From my very limited experience growing tobacco, here's my 2 cents. The black spots are not good but any dark brown or green spots are just uneven drying. The leaves are fine but they won't look great as a wrapper. I've seen leaves with the little white raised specks all over them like you...
  20. Bruce T.

    A Discovery

    I've never tried a Punch Signature but I do like the Punch Rare Corojo. I find it has a discernible pepper signature.
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