For those who dare....
The discovery of learning to process your leaf and take it in a direction that fits your flavor profile is an important part of blending. It will essentially open a new door of endless, creative ideas. It's important to understand that certain things are added to cigar leaf that don't necessarily change the flavor but can enhance the existing tobacco to make it all that it can be.
These recipes have been used successfully for hundreds of years and still in use today.
My suggestion, for those willing to try this recipe, is to commit to doing it right or your results will probably be less than satisfactory. Stay the course and learn this most basic recipe as it's written or... don't try it at all. No substitutions. It should be done as prescribed. Just trying a few items on the list can yield very poor results. There are specific reasons certain items are in the recipe and this will be discussed below. This recipe will give you a very smooth cigar with a slightly sweet tobacco flavor. (sweetness can be adjusted) You can also add as much ligero or viso for strength or make it mild if you like by the selection of leaf. That part of blending remains the same.
After letting the cigar rest a few days and there will be no indication that anything was added to the tobacco. Just wonderful sweet, rich tobacco smell and flavor.
One last point of understanding and we'll move on to the recipe... Flavoring is applied to the leaf either by spray or infusing. Fast and easy but done correctly can yield good results.
Petuning is sprayed on the leaf either prior to fermentation or after fermentation and put away stacked in bales to age and permeate deep in the leaf. The petuning process can develop much more complex and unique flavors as chemical changes naturally occur during fermentation and aging. This method is used for the very best cigar tobacco.
The list of everything you need....
Citric acid... Changes the PH of the cigar leaf to less alkaline. Helps as a smoothing agent. (Walmart)
Licorice root... This is what adjusts the sweetness level and adds smoothing. (doesn't taste like licorice) adds a woody note. (Organic food store)
Glycerin (vegatable)... This is what carries the flavors in the smoke and acts as a humectant. (Used in vaping to carry flavor and creates the smoke plume.) (CVS or Walgreens)
Honey... Adds flavor and also acts as a humecant. There are many different flavors of honey to experiment with. Start with basic honey.
Rum... Adds flavor and the alcohol helps to act as a preservative. Note: there are a lot of rum flavors and some are NOT good. Avoid spiced rum. I tried Myers dark rum had odd flavors IMHO. The Diplimatico Anejo is the best I've tried. Amber color and also a great drink to have with any cigar.
I'd suggest doing a couple of cigars to start to see what adjustments need to be made. They are ready to smoke in less than a weeks time so experiment adjusting levels. If it's too sweet reduce the licorice and vise versa.
This can be used on scrap or full leaf.
In the 3 oz misting bottle (Target) mix the following....
2 parts rum to 1 part water. This is the base mix.
1/4 teaspoon citric acid
1/4 teaspoon glycerin
1/4 teaspoon honey
1/2 dropper full of licorice root.
Shake well.
Spray enough tobacco for two cigars. Mist the dry tobacco on both sides with the mixture until pretty damp but not soaking wet. Stack them together and place them in a zip lock bag for 2 or 3 days to absorb the mixture. After a few days remove the tobacco from the bag and let it sit out on a table until completely dry, low case, just above cracking and ready to roll.
Spray the mixture on your binder leaf to soften it just before rolling the cigar.
After rolling I leave mine out on a table to dry for 3 or 4 days to dry the binder and the wrapper. The filler is already dry and ready to smoke. After sitting out for 5 days the foot of the cigar will lose the alcohol rum odor and should smell like sweet tobacco.
The odor of your tobacco should be an eye opening experience when you first put your nose in the bag after a few days. After air drying take the tobacco and bury your nose in it. Rich, mildly sweet tobacco.
It's my experience that sugar, when burned, is acrid and imparts a nasty flavor. The licorice root sweetens the smoke, not sugar, while the glycerin carries the flavor in the smoke.
After you smoke both cigars then see if you want to make changes. If you don't like sweetness then reduce or eliminate the licorice and roll a couple more.
Another blending method to remember is to use some treated leaves mixed with regular untreated leaf.
Once you get a feel for how the ingredients work then there is a whole new world of blending at your finger tips.
One of my favorites is to do a triple ligero filler. Dominican ligero, criollo ligero and Nicaraguan ligero. Smooth rich and delicious and goes great with the rum!
Again... stay with the recipe. I think you'll be very happy with the results. If you have questions please ask.
Good luck!
Gdaddy
The discovery of learning to process your leaf and take it in a direction that fits your flavor profile is an important part of blending. It will essentially open a new door of endless, creative ideas. It's important to understand that certain things are added to cigar leaf that don't necessarily change the flavor but can enhance the existing tobacco to make it all that it can be.
These recipes have been used successfully for hundreds of years and still in use today.
My suggestion, for those willing to try this recipe, is to commit to doing it right or your results will probably be less than satisfactory. Stay the course and learn this most basic recipe as it's written or... don't try it at all. No substitutions. It should be done as prescribed. Just trying a few items on the list can yield very poor results. There are specific reasons certain items are in the recipe and this will be discussed below. This recipe will give you a very smooth cigar with a slightly sweet tobacco flavor. (sweetness can be adjusted) You can also add as much ligero or viso for strength or make it mild if you like by the selection of leaf. That part of blending remains the same.
After letting the cigar rest a few days and there will be no indication that anything was added to the tobacco. Just wonderful sweet, rich tobacco smell and flavor.
One last point of understanding and we'll move on to the recipe... Flavoring is applied to the leaf either by spray or infusing. Fast and easy but done correctly can yield good results.
Petuning is sprayed on the leaf either prior to fermentation or after fermentation and put away stacked in bales to age and permeate deep in the leaf. The petuning process can develop much more complex and unique flavors as chemical changes naturally occur during fermentation and aging. This method is used for the very best cigar tobacco.
The list of everything you need....
Citric acid... Changes the PH of the cigar leaf to less alkaline. Helps as a smoothing agent. (Walmart)
Licorice root... This is what adjusts the sweetness level and adds smoothing. (doesn't taste like licorice) adds a woody note. (Organic food store)
Glycerin (vegatable)... This is what carries the flavors in the smoke and acts as a humectant. (Used in vaping to carry flavor and creates the smoke plume.) (CVS or Walgreens)
Honey... Adds flavor and also acts as a humecant. There are many different flavors of honey to experiment with. Start with basic honey.
Rum... Adds flavor and the alcohol helps to act as a preservative. Note: there are a lot of rum flavors and some are NOT good. Avoid spiced rum. I tried Myers dark rum had odd flavors IMHO. The Diplimatico Anejo is the best I've tried. Amber color and also a great drink to have with any cigar.
I'd suggest doing a couple of cigars to start to see what adjustments need to be made. They are ready to smoke in less than a weeks time so experiment adjusting levels. If it's too sweet reduce the licorice and vise versa.
This can be used on scrap or full leaf.
In the 3 oz misting bottle (Target) mix the following....
2 parts rum to 1 part water. This is the base mix.
1/4 teaspoon citric acid
1/4 teaspoon glycerin
1/4 teaspoon honey
1/2 dropper full of licorice root.
Shake well.
Spray enough tobacco for two cigars. Mist the dry tobacco on both sides with the mixture until pretty damp but not soaking wet. Stack them together and place them in a zip lock bag for 2 or 3 days to absorb the mixture. After a few days remove the tobacco from the bag and let it sit out on a table until completely dry, low case, just above cracking and ready to roll.
Spray the mixture on your binder leaf to soften it just before rolling the cigar.
After rolling I leave mine out on a table to dry for 3 or 4 days to dry the binder and the wrapper. The filler is already dry and ready to smoke. After sitting out for 5 days the foot of the cigar will lose the alcohol rum odor and should smell like sweet tobacco.
The odor of your tobacco should be an eye opening experience when you first put your nose in the bag after a few days. After air drying take the tobacco and bury your nose in it. Rich, mildly sweet tobacco.
It's my experience that sugar, when burned, is acrid and imparts a nasty flavor. The licorice root sweetens the smoke, not sugar, while the glycerin carries the flavor in the smoke.
After you smoke both cigars then see if you want to make changes. If you don't like sweetness then reduce or eliminate the licorice and roll a couple more.
Another blending method to remember is to use some treated leaves mixed with regular untreated leaf.
Once you get a feel for how the ingredients work then there is a whole new world of blending at your finger tips.
One of my favorites is to do a triple ligero filler. Dominican ligero, criollo ligero and Nicaraguan ligero. Smooth rich and delicious and goes great with the rum!
Again... stay with the recipe. I think you'll be very happy with the results. If you have questions please ask.
Good luck!
Gdaddy
