Aging Home rolled cigars
- Thread starter bwollard
- Start date
You can smoke them right off the table or you can age them. The choice is yours. My best advice is to try as many things as possible, take good notes, and enjoy learning something very few people know.
I still have some of the homerolls you gave me from 2016, gonna be daaaaamn good
I do and, I burn them through the ageing too.
There can be somewhat of a learning curve.
To what degree of investment we make is objective.
I learned to use assembly technique to the least wasteful advantage.
As taste is objective and, comparisons to commercial stix could be more of chance due to trade secrets within brands, having a sense do develop through the relationship with the leaf I believe, is what it takes and, is unavoidable.
Saying this, You can do this if you want to.
Just let it happen.
You'll have to let it run it's course to what ever the degree.
I have taken blends for different reasons and, de-construct them and then, re-construct them with success.
Filler, binder and, wrapper scraps are kept separated and, are used in mixed filler stix.
I like to make short perfectos with most of it.
Read the threads in the forums and ask anything.
There can be somewhat of a learning curve.
To what degree of investment we make is objective.
I learned to use assembly technique to the least wasteful advantage.
As taste is objective and, comparisons to commercial stix could be more of chance due to trade secrets within brands, having a sense do develop through the relationship with the leaf I believe, is what it takes and, is unavoidable.
Saying this, You can do this if you want to.
Just let it happen.
You'll have to let it run it's course to what ever the degree.
I have taken blends for different reasons and, de-construct them and then, re-construct them with success.
Filler, binder and, wrapper scraps are kept separated and, are used in mixed filler stix.
I like to make short perfectos with most of it.
Read the threads in the forums and ask anything.
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2016
- Messages
- 2,955
So, "Anything else a newbie should know..."
Yeah, this is a long-term process, as I alluded to in our YT convo. You cannot become a cigar master quickly. Cuban rollers undergo a 9 month education of full-time rolling before they're allowed to roll a cigar to sell. Like everything in the cigar game, it's about the journey. The arrival is a nice bonus, but don't rush it. It takes a long time, but along the way it's pleasurable. So yeah, it's like the obvious analogies that I won't spell out.
Ask for blend suggestions, explain what you did when your cigars don't work out so people can help you make corrections. Study the videos and try to replicate what you see. Put a commercial cigar in front of you that's in the shape you want to do and try to replicate it. Do that over and over, for months and years.
Most importantly, learn how to get your leaf into the correct condition before you start assembling your cigar. Everyone who's done this and is reading these words is going "Mm hmm, that's right." Your filler leaves need to bend without breaking, and not be moist; your binder needs to be able to bind without breaking and without being moist; your wrapper needs to be stretchy, yet dry. We call this "getting your leaf into the proper case." Case means how the leaf feels in your hands, in terms of foldability. By gradually introducing moisture into the cells of the leaf through light misting and bagging you can get your leaf into the necessary flexibility while keeping it dry. Rolling with moist/damp/wet leaf is very bad, because it will mess up your draw and can mess up your flavor.
Sometimes it gets hard. Don't stress it. We've all been there. Relax and let the nicotine-contact-high ease the journey.
Regarding your specific question about aging, my experience is that you can smoke them within a few days of rolling but after that they will likely start to ferment a bit. This is due to the leaf being a bit moist and then being rolled tight. These are the same conditions used for the primary fermentation. Also, much of the leaf purchased is not as fully fermented as you may like. After the first few days there may be some ammonia developed due to the secondary fermentation and they may not smoke as well. It is best to leave them for 3-6 months.
So in conclusion, smoke them when you roll them or let them age a few months, just not anything in between.... (opinions may vary)
So in conclusion, smoke them when you roll them or let them age a few months, just not anything in between.... (opinions may vary)
Seems like good things happen at 6 weeks and 6 months. I roll in batches of 30 ( cause I have 3 molds) In the beginning I would smoke a couple every few weeks or so. Now I just smoke the older stock and let the fresh ones get some legs under them.