creating a smooth blend

[Jim D]

Oh, and another one I like is .5 piloto cubano seco, 1 BMF, .5 Dom ligero.
That's a total of 2 leaves so the weighting should add up to 4. Most I've asked say to count the BMF as viso so let's see....( @Hopduro and @BrewinHooligan responded if I recall correctly)
.5 seco + 1 viso + .5 ligero = 2 leaves
.5 + 2 + 1.5 = 4
Works out for me!

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Oh, and another one I like is .5 piloto cubano seco, 1 BMF, .5 Dom ligero.
That's a total of 2 leaves so the weighting should add up to 4. Most I've asked say to count the BMF as viso so let's see....( @Hopduro and @BrewinHooligan responded if I recall correctly)
.5 seco + 1 viso + .5 ligero = 2 leaves
.5 + 2 + 1.5 = 4
Works out for me!

Definitely depends on the strength of the ligero, not all leaf is created equally. My cigar blending idol Nick Melillo once told me, "to make a balanced cigar, you need seco, viso, and ligero" but he never gave me proportions because he can't give me all his secrets and he wanted me to find things out on my own and learn my leaf. I have had ligero that a half leaf will about put me on my ass, and other that I can smoke straight with no issues. There are no hard and fast rules.

 

[Gdaddy]

I just like it as a guestimate of what would happen if I adjust ratios of leaves in a blend. Keeping all the same filler's I've stumbled upon liking, what might happen if I add more of one and take out another?
Or maybe keeping it more basic still, one with more seco loading will be "burnier" whereas one loaded for viso will be more aromatic.

I wonder if we weighed and averaged 100 secos, 100 visos, and 100 ligeros from a specific strain of tobacco, if those average weights would show viso weighs 2 times seco and ligero weighs 3 times seco. If a blender were blending by weight, and these averages worked, then to maintain a constant weight/feel per cigar, the formula could be applied.

In the end, I've enjoyed using it as a thumb rule. The first home roll I enjoyed from the fruit of my efforts was 1.5 nic seco and 1.5 nic ligero. I hadn't seen this formula then but it worked out.
1.5seco + 1.5 ligero is three leaves.
Using the weighting,
1.5 + 4.5 = 6
Coincidence? I think not!

Have you weighed them to see if they're actually heavier and by how much?

 

[Dominican56]

You’ll have to account for moisture in the leaf if you are weighing it.

 

[ras_oscar]

...which is going to adjust as you dry box in preparation for smoking. Anyone have any idea how the big boys condition their leaf in preparation for rolling? I assume for one they cull out the leaves that are torn and incomplete, moving those over to the short filler line. How do they go about bringing leaf up to standard case, and how do they ensure consistent blend given a room full of rollers with slightly different proficiency and technique? When I pick up a commercial stick it tastes exactly the same as the last 8 I smoked. I'm not sure I'm getting that kind of consistency with my product, even with leaves that came out of the same bag and were cased at the same time.

 

[Dominican56]

Oh, and another one I like is .5 piloto cubano seco, 1 BMF, .5 Dom ligero.
That's a total of 2 leaves so the weighting should add up to 4. Most I've asked say to count the BMF as viso so let's see....( @Hopduro and @BrewinHooligan responded if I recall correctly)
.5 seco + 1 viso + .5 ligero = 2 leaves
.5 + 2 + 1.5 = 4
Works out for me!

it's good only if each is the same size

 

[Dominican56]

The bottom line on all of this is that one can start with a particular RATIO of leaf. Then one adjusts the blend empirically trying to find the perfect balance one likes.
Trial and error will always be the name of the game with home-rollers finding that perfect blend.

 

[Jim D]

Have you weighed them to see if they're actually heavier and by how much?

No, I don't have a scale for that range.

 

[Jim D]

The bottom line on all of this is that one can start with a particular RATIO of leaf. Then one adjusts the blend empirically trying to find the perfect balance one likes.
Trial and error will always be the name of the game with home-rollers finding that perfect blend.

I agree, trial and error is the way I've found the blends I like. It just so happens that the blends I've discovered fit into this thumb rule. I didn't find them by using the thumb rule.

 

[Jim D]

So I smoked a very smooth stogie on the way home today. It was 2 mata fina leaves and .5 Dom ligero bound and wrapped in WLT American CT shade. Smooth all the way to the nub and only 2 weeks old.

 

[nickgarrett]

rolled Friday and smoked 3 of these yesterday during a round of golf. They were smooth.
.5 CV CRIOLLO LIGERO
2 T13 VISO small leaves
2 NIC HAB SECO small leaves
double binder of WLT DOM SECO large leaf
HB2K wrapper

 

[Jim D]

My smoke today was a smooth one. It sat in the humidor for 4 months.
This was 1 Criollo Ligero, 1 Corojo Viso, 1 Corojo Seco, and a strip of CTBL filler. Bound in Ecuador Seco binder and wrapped in Brazilian Habano Viso (Filler leaf). The retrohale gave some pepper zing to my nostrils but the mouth feel was smooth and buttery. Didn't taste like butter but it felt like it, if that makes sense. The nicotine was definitely kicking my butt too.

 

[ras_oscar]

I suppose that’s fair.
I use a 1:1:1 filler to start, not counting binder and wrapper, then I adjust leaf from that starting point.

1:1:1 isn’t truly that ratio because my leaf isn’t sorted to size. I use it as it comes out of the bag. Sometimes the seco is way out of proportion in size to the viso and ligero. Sometimes it’s the other filler leaf that’s bigger or smaller. Not a problem for me because I don’t really care.

You do realize that 1 seco= 1 and 1 visio leaf=2 and 1 ligero leaf=-3, so you are actually starting with 1+2+3=6.

 

[Dominican56]

You do realize that 1 seco= 1 and 1 visio leaf=2 and 2 ligero leaf=-3, so you are actually starting with 1+2+3=6.

Ratio here means nothing because one must consider the size of leaf. Which I don’t.

 

[Dominican56]

You do realize that 1 seco= 1 and 1 visio leaf=2 and 2 ligero leaf=-3, so you are actually starting with 1+2+3=6.

You lost me on this post. 6 what? Marbles?

 

[ras_oscar]

You lost me on this post. 6 what? Marbles?

The "formula" for creating a balanced cigar stated that the total "value" of the filler leaf should be 6, where each Seco leaf had a value of 1, each visio leaf had a value of 2, and each ligero leaf had a value of 3. So, by creating a blend with 1 leaf of each you are indeed following the formula 1+2+3=6 points.

 

[Dominican56]

The "formula" for creating a balanced cigar stated that the total "value" of the filler leaf should be 6, where each Seco leaf had a value of 1, each visio leaf had a value of 2, and each ligero leaf had a value of 3. So, by creating a blend with 1 leaf of each you are indeed following the formula 1+2+3=6 points.

What are the assumptions?

 

[Dominican56]

The "formula" for creating a balanced cigar stated that the total "value" of the filler leaf should be 6, where each Seco leaf had a value of 1, each visio leaf had a value of 2, and each ligero leaf had a value of 3. So, by creating a blend with 1 leaf of each you are indeed following the formula 1+2+3=6 points.

Which is indeed 1:1 ratio
Not counting binder or wrapper
Not counting leaf size.
Not accounting for overlap of binder
Not accounting for overlap of wrapper

My problem with this is that the formula is trying to simplify the already simple.

But if it works for you, have at it.

 

[Hopduro]

Which is indeed 1:1 ratio
Not counting binder or wrapper
Not counting leaf size.
Not accounting for overlap of binder
Not accounting for overlap of wrapper

My problem with this is that the formula is trying to simplify the already simple.

But if it works for you, have at it.

You could say by mass. Some people weigh their blends, like the real guys!

I mean, if we had 50 pounds of leaf and sorted it by size, we'd make some consistent blends

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

[Jim D]

What are the assumptions?

The first assumption is that this gives you a starting point, a reference point, something to start with.
The second assumption I make is to use this for approximate size. You could assume mass if you wanted to but I don't have a scale nor leaf RH meter so I just go by approximate size.. It's still just a starting point so you can make adjustments.
The third assumprion I make when using this thumbrule, is multiply your total leaf count by two to find what your formula "should" add up to. If you have a total of 3 leaves, the formula adds up to 6. If you are rolling a bigger cigar and have a total of 4 leaves, it should add up to 8. If you are rolling a smaller cigar, such as I often do for my ride to work, then the total will be less than 6.
This is simply a method to use as a reference and make adjustments while trying to maintain the desired core blend. It provides a weighting structure to allow a roller to change a blend with a planned outcome rather than a totally random adjustment.
Say you make a 1:1:1 cigar but feel it needed adjustment one way or another. Use the formula to take an educated guess at your adjustments.
I saved this from a post long ago, I can't recall which thread it was in but in my notes, I creditted Blake. I hope you don't mind me quoting you here Blake ( @blisscigarco ).

Blending Rules by @blisscigarco :


The 1 2 3 = 6 blending rule
Seco = 1, viso 2, ligero 3.
Total for a good blend should be 6-6.5 pts across 3-3.5 leaves for a medium-sized vitola.

Sample blends that I have rolled and I know are good:


Balanced:

1 seco(1), 1 viso(2), 1 ligero(3) = 6


More burn, rich flavor:

2 seco(2) + 1/2 viso(1) + 1 ligero(3) = 6


Strong and good:

1.5 seco(1.5) + 1.5 ligero(4.5) = 6


Med-Strong with an emphasis on viso aroma: .5 seco(.5) + 2 viso (4) + .5 ligero(1.5) = 6


Strong with emphasis on ligero flavor:

1 seco(1) + 1/4 viso(.5) + 1.5 ligero(4.5) = 6


Mild but with good viso aroma:

2 seco(2) + 2 viso(4) = 6


Classic mild Cuban robusto:

1 seco(1) + 2 viso(4) + "skinny 1/2, i.e. 1/3" ligero(1) = 6

Anyway gents, have fun and keep rolling.

Edit: found this on page three of the Blending Thread http://www.botl.org/threads/blending-thread.86106/page-3