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Hopduro

Hopduro

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I'm going to use my first blend (#1) as a wrapper and vitola size example of how a blend can change with these variables.

The blend (proportions) lovingly known as Brazilian Villain #1:
1 Nicaraguan ligero
2 Brazilian viso
2 dominican seco
Dominican binder

Now, today I'm trying one wrapped in PA Oscuro. The flavors are a somewhat spicy/peppery cedar, leather, and a lacing of baking cocoa. Not bad, very different with a different wrapper and vitola.

I tried an SA wrapped stick, 44 rg, sometime last week, and it was much spicier with nutmeg, heavy pepper, and wood. I liked it but, there was a component missing from my first taste test.

The Brazilian wrapper over the top of this blend was amazing and so far my absolute favorite homeroll in the 44 rg format. In my notes (yup, i always take notes on these! ) i described the stick as having rich, smooth and creamy espresso in the first half, hints of cedar mixed in, and ended with earthy richness, peppery spice, and a smattering of licorice.

I hope this example highlights the importance of trying every wrapper on your blends (and taking notes), otherwise you could miss something amazing. I only have 3 wrappers right now, but that's fine with me, i found an excellent combination. From here i am starting to tweak the blend further, swapping out seco or ligero, leaving the creamy Brazilian backbone.

Obviously I'll have to try the blend in the smaller rg format to see how it compares, but i imagine it changing with more wrapper in the ratio

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Gdaddy

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Mikenice81 said:
I have lost the link, but the information on how the major tobacco companies add flavor is out there.

Remember though, there is a difference between infusing and petune. Petune is when you spray the mixture directly on the leaves during fermentation or right before rolling. If you dig through available books cataloged in the internet archive, you can find recipes for the proper mixture.
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Did someone mention 'Petuning' ???

Infusing is easy. Petuning takes a bit more effort and time and know how. The end result can have no detectable odor or flavor but be very smooth and delicious cigar whereas most spray flavorings give a cheap flavored effect.

There is no substitute for proper fermentation and then petuning. This does raise the question... what is the history of the leaf we get? Has it been properly fermented? Who knows? I seriously doubt it has any petuning.

I'm doing experiments now to see what results can be had by doing a double fermentation on the leaf. Of course this will include some 'petuning' so a few weeks will tell.
 
TheReMixologist

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Mikenice81 said:
I have lost the link, but the information on how the major tobacco companies add flavor is out there.

Remember though, there is a difference between infusing and petune. Petune is when you spray the mixture directly on the leaves during fermentation or right before rolling. If you dig through available books cataloged in the internet archive, you can find recipes for the proper mixture.
Click to expand...
And there is an added difference between Infusion, Petune and Marination ;) ... Love Cigar Life! ~xox
 
TheReMixologist

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webmost said:
Okay, one more time for those who missed the short bus: Infuse tea, petune Porky, marinate ribs, smoke tobacco. One at a time.

If it ain't worth smokin, no amount of secret sauce is gonna fix it.

You guys are givin me the shudders round here. :spitoutdummy:
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It's a mater of personal preference... different strokes for different folks... nothing to hate about ... it's all a lovely smoking experience... people on the tall bus know this. ;) ~xox
 
HeadtoHead

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TheReMixologist said:
It's a mater of personal preference... different strokes for different folks... nothing to hate about ... it's all a lovely smoking experience... people on the tall bus know this. ;) ~xox
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I think about home rolling cigars the same as i do about craft beer. Its about experimentation and creativity. If it weren't for homebrewers pushing the envelope, many very popular commercial craft beers wouldn't even exist. I'm not reinventing the wheel with the idea of a coffee infused cigar as its already been done. But I also didn't start brewing beer on a 30 gallon all grain system making insane beers like a 8.5% winter warmer imperial stout fermented with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, coffee, and pasilla peppers to simulate a Mexican hot chocolate either. I started with plastic buckets making very simple styles and learned from my mistakes.
Infusing the cigar with flavors isn't about covering up a faulty stick, as i plan to infuse decent sticks if the experiment proves sucessful. However, infusing a subpar stick into a desert stick may prove to be a better idea than calling it a total loss and trashing it as well.
Cheers!

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Gdaddy

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Interesting video from Cuban farmer. They give 90% to the government and keep 10% for themselves.

Interesting points are they don't ferment. After curing in the barn the government takes it and they do their own processing. The farmer then ferments his tobacco and petunes it using rum, lemon (citric acid) and honey.

 
Gdaddy

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Another farm where they describe a similar 'Mojito' concoction for petuning.... The one guys family uses a different recipe than the other. Though the recipes do differ, the one thing they all do in common is after they petune the tobacco it gets stacked and put away for at least 4 months or more. It should have no indication that any flavoring was added to the tobacco. Just the flavor of the tobacco is enhanced. This is an important point to realize the difference between 'flavoring' and 'petuning'.

 
TheReMixologist

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Gdaddy said:
Interesting video from Cuban farmer. They give 90% to the government and keep 10% for themselves.

Interesting points are they don't ferment. After curing in the barn the government takes it and they do their own processing. The farmer then ferments his tobacco and petunes it using rum, lemon (citric acid) and honey.

Click to expand...
Sad Ratios for such labor. That's the mix! Love it! Smellatube... lol... I think I smelled that! :p lol Great Rollers Never Stop Learning (y) Thanks for sharing ~xox
 
TheReMixologist

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Gdaddy said:
Another farm where they describe a similar 'Mojito' concoction for petuning.... The one guys family uses a different recipe than the other. Though the recipes do differ, the one thing they all do in common is after they petune the tobacco it gets stacked and put away for at least 4 months or more. It should have no indication that any flavoring was added to the tobacco. Just the flavor of the tobacco is enhanced. This is an important point to realize the difference between 'flavoring' and 'petuning'.

Click to expand...
EXACTLY :happy:~xox
 
Gdaddy

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TheReMixologist

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Gdaddy said:
I believe you said you use tea in your cigars. In several videos they say the use guava leaves. You might try guava tea as an experiment. :)

http://www.amazon.com/Herbal-Guava-Leaves-Diabeties-Bags/dp/B003VPT3L8/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1459300445&sr=8-3&keywords=guava leaf
Click to expand...
Yes... organic tea is paired with the tobacco leaf ... they are rolled together and share notes... like two people sitting at a piano playing the same song at opposite and sometimes crossing over ends of the piano... each holds their distinct nature and yet do not fight for flavor positions... it's a harmonic experience... one in which the tea is tasted primarily and fully on the retrohale while the tobacco leaf carries the base palate. I've used Guava Leaves many times however I reserve the leaf for my bolder blends and for tradition sake I like to pair it with Mex Leaf.... it's a bit strong for the mild leaf. Tea pairing is as critical inside the roll as wine is to an entree. The process can take anywhere from 15 days to 40 days depending on gauge and leaf selections. They too need to marry for a rich semeless experience but they can be smoked as soon as 20 days for distinct notes. ~xox
 
blisscigarco

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Been doing a lot of controlled blending lately. Same set of leaves, vast number of variations, consistent binder and wrapper, consistent ratios across three major vitolas: corona, robusto, panatela. I've finally found what I think is the basic magic key, given a quality set of tasty leaves. Funny thing is, the key is hidden right in that blending graphic near the top of this thread! At first the graphic can seem a little vague, and your attention goes to the circular construction rather than the fact that it is actually showing you two subtle variations of three different vitolas: Churchil, lancero, corona, all of which share nearly the same blend. The gold key can be found at the corona, the strongest of those three blends: the Cohiba Siglo III and to a lesser degree the Quai d'Orsay:

1 volado aka seco
2 seco aka viso
.5 ligero

The variations occur between the 2 and the .5. Maybe you tweak to 2.5 and .25.

Your starting point is really 1 seco(volado) and two viso(seco). With quality leaf that will make a great smoke. Then you get a sense of how much extra boost in flavor and strength you want to try. So you put in .25 or .5 ligero and see what happens.

So in a nutshell I went through 72 blends between 3 secos and 3 visos and ended up back at that famous chart! 1 2 .5. That is the essence of a great and classic blend.

Now, you'll notice that 1 1 1 is a typical Cuban blend often demonstrated. But I believe that if you also at least try the magical 1 2 .5 that you won't regret it.

 
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