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Adventures in home rolling

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So @USHOG offered up some homegrown leaf to mess around with and who am I to turn that kind of offer down?? Well, he had pm'd me asking if I wanted to borrow a small perfecto mold he wasn't using. I had tried to politely decline due to lack in confidence in being able to roll such a tricky vitola but in typical botl fashion he politely ignored me. So here is the damage that was laid upon my mailbox from our overly generous brother. 5 different types of leaf and and awesome mold that looks to be the perfect size for my preferences. Thank you again!!

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That's great!!!! So, I'm guessing the challenge is accepted here to further your home rolling skills!!
 
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That's great!!!! So, I'm guessing the challenge is accepted here to further your home rolling skills!!
Yessir, just got tossed in the deep and and told to sink or swim. The head and foot of the cigars I've been rolling have been the softest spots so I actually don't think it will be too bad once I get the filler length and thickness figured out for the mold. Gotta head to bed now but will try to give it a whirl tomorrow.
 
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Yessir, just got tossed in the deep and and told to sink or swim. The head and foot of the cigars I've been rolling have been the softest spots so I actually don't think it will be too bad once I get the filler length and thickness figured out for the mold. Gotta head to bed now but will try to give it a whirl tomorrow.
That's what it seems like to me!! It's coming along real nice and seems like you picked up on it real quick too! They're looking great. But if they smoke even better, that's what really matters!
 
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Well, there is definitely a new learning curve using the mold but my wrapping is improving. I'm finally getting the stretch of the wrapper down I think and they are looking nice and shiny at the moment, we will see how they look in a few days after drying.

In the mold waiting for wrapper.
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A few of the highlights.
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The result of the nights rolling session. The fat one on the left was too thick for the mold so it got the paper towel roll treatment before the wrapper.
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I am glad the package made it there safely. That perfecto mold makes it easier IMO to get the ends tighter it just takes a minute to learn to wrap them but it ooks like you got it down. They are looking great. I will pm you what the tobaccos are
 

HIM*

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Things are coming along pretty damn quick man nice job. FTT has a couple threads on wrapping perfectos and I think maybe even some videos. If you haven't already I'd check them out.
 
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Will these be this years BOTL cigar?;)

Again, incredible. Love the collaboration. First thing I thought of when this thread posted was USHOGs leaf.
Hahaha!!! You are way too kind brother! I'm actually really shocked by the attention this thread has received and all the support but I really shouldn't be. We are all here because of our passion for cigars. I have way more respect for the premiums and the torcedors that do this for a living now though. Hell, it probably took me over 3 hours to roll 9 sticks last night and I still look at them and think I have a long way to go, but I'm always super critical of my creations. Same thing goes for the beer I brew.
 
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These are looking great. The perfectos are looking good. It has really intrigued me into looking at getting into this art. It is a really fascinating hobby. It definitely takes a lot of time and patience. I would love to buy some if you ever get confident enough to sell some. It really makes you appreciate the folks doing this for a living and makes you realize why a cigar costs the price that it does.
 

HIM*

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So I smoked an actual Eastern Standard earlier tonight. Theres some similarities but probably more differences. The results are pretty much what you'd expect though so it wasn't a total surprise. The broadleaf I used made the profile sweeter, more cocoa forward, and less peppery. The Caldwell was creamier, had more earthiness, cedar and pepper, and a drier mouthfeel. Definitely a blend worth rolling but I wouldn't call it a clone. It kind of reminded me of a Padron x000.
 
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Hahaha!!! You are way too kind brother! I'm actually really shocked by the attention this thread has received and all the support but I really shouldn't be. We are all here because of our passion for cigars. I have way more respect for the premiums and the torcedors that do this for a living now though. Hell, it probably took me over 3 hours to roll 9 sticks last night and I still look at them and think I have a long way to go, but I'm always super critical of my creations. Same thing goes for the beer I brew.
You're always going to be your harshest critic.
 
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These are looking great. The perfectos are looking good. It has really intrigued me into looking at getting into this art. It is a really fascinating hobby. It definitely takes a lot of time and patience. I would love to buy some if you ever get confident enough to sell some. It really makes you appreciate the folks doing this for a living and makes you realize why a cigar costs the price that it does.
If I can get at least one person to be inspired to start rolling from this thread I will consider it a success. I'm far from a master and don't feel like I can really teach someone but I can sure point them in the direction and it really does open your eyes to what goes into the cigars we all enjoy.
 
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If I can get at least one person to be inspired to start rolling from this thread I will consider it a success. I'm far from a master and don't feel like I can really teach someone but I can sure point them in the direction and it really does open your eyes to what goes into the cigars we all enjoy.
I think you already have more than 1 person inspired here though....
 
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So I smoked an actual Eastern Standard earlier tonight. Theres some similarities but probably more differences. The results are pretty much what you'd expect though so it wasn't a total surprise. The broadleaf I used made the profile sweeter, more cocoa forward, and less peppery. The Caldwell was creamier, had more earthiness, cedar and pepper, and a drier mouthfeel. Definitely a blend worth rolling but I wouldn't call it a clone. It kind of reminded me of a Padron x000.
Too cool, thank you for sharing. I definitely see where mine has a similar profile but is very different. My palate is still far from refined but I'm working hard to develop it and love being able to pick up subtle differences.
 
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Well, it's been a while since I have been able to roll. Figured it had been long enough and grabbed my cooler full of cigar leaf out to prep some leaf for rolling. Grabbed out a bag of almost a half pound of ligero and found a massive beetle infestation. Those little bastards are fast as hell!! You should have seen them running around in the bag. I didn't even bother trying to save it, in the trash it went. Luckily only that bag had issues and I'm dying to get my chest freezer out of storage so I can start freezing my leaf when it comes in to prevent this in the future.




Gotta rotate some sticks that are in the mold and after they get the wrapper leaf and bands I will post some pics. I would also like to thank @NicaNick for helping me out with a new blend. Really eager to see how they turn out.
 
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