Vitolas

[blisscigarco]

The best vitola is the corona gorda.

I've been toying with that idea for 25 years, but now I believe it in a sort of religious faith-based conviction kind of way. It is just perfect. When I look through my humi at my year-old-plus homerolls, the ones I can least bare to burn are the cg. I just want to hold them and look at them. When I smoke commercial sticks I feel most at peace, in balance with the universe, when it's a cg in my fingers.

Another amazing vitola is the 40x6.

Robustos are always a sure bet.

Marevas (AKA petite cornoa) are a realistic cigar that offer satisfaction in a reasonable amount of time, and usually pack a powerful flavor relative to other vitolas in the same line.

Torpedoes are a great way to enjoy a fat-gauge blend without throwing out your jaw. Various other figurados seem more like a fun novelty than offering anything uniquely important, and often burn poorly. They are often very beautiful.

Lonsdale, all coronas, the panatela, the lancero are key shapes.

But a good corona gorda, god damn!

Here's the main BOTL vitola thread: http://www.botl.org/threads/best-vitola.80053/

 

[Gdaddy]

Since you sent me that 42 RG corona mold that's all I've been rolling. I've lost interest in rolling any other size. It makes a wonderful size, great taste and the smoking time is nearly the same.

Interesting thing is... if I hand roll a cigar without using a mold it usually turns out to be a 'natural' corona gorda. It's a size that I always gravitate towards without thinking about it.

 

[Jim D]

I have two molds, a 44RG and a 48 RG. I seem to overstuff the 44 and under fill the 48....if only I'd ordered a 46!

 

[blisscigarco]

I have two molds, a 44RG and a 48 RG. I seem to overstuff the 44 and under fill the 48....if only I'd ordered a 46!

Well, it's a tricky deal. I asked Don C. at WLT what was the actual diameter of his "46" molds and he said 44, and that the wrapper will take it to 46. Unfortunately in my case I have two 44 molds (by measurement of the widest part) and the wrapper takes it to... 44. I find it takes about 5 thicknesses of wrapper to make one ring gauge.

 

[Marc L]

The new 8 X 44 I got mics at 0.60 in. which comes out closer to 39 then a 40 rg with the wrapper on it.
when ever I get to filling these smaller rg molds it's not till a few into it that I'm getting the hang of it. (over filling) at some point I stopped trying to stuff them into the mold when there is to much tobacco in them. I'll take the whole slug and set it aside to reconstruct later instead of fixing it. It's a weight and density thing.
Something else really early I used to do is over stuff because I would try to get a firm stick without considering setup. (drying time)

 

[blisscigarco]

The new 8 X 44 I got mics at 0.60 in. which comes out closer to 39 then a 40 rg with the wrapper on it.
when ever I get to filling these smaller rg molds it's not till a few into it that I'm getting the hang of it. (over filling) at some point I stopped trying to stuff them into the mold when there is to much tobacco in them. I'll take the whole slug and set it aside to reconstruct later instead of fixing it. It's a weight and density thing.
Something else really early I used to do is over stuff because I would try to get a firm stick without considering setup. (drying time)

You ordered a 44 and got a ~38.4?

 

[Marc L]

the new 44 mics 0.60/15.4, the new torpedo 52 mics 0.79/20.1, used 54 mics 0.82/20.8, used 48 mics 0.72/18.4mm.

 

[blisscigarco]

the new 44 mics 0.60/15.4, the new torpedo 52 mics 0.79/20.1, used 54 mics 0.82/20.8, used 48 mics 0.72/18.4mm.

Handy-dandy chart here says that 15.4 mm = 38.8/64ths of an inch, which is way off. Whereas 20.8 = 52.8, at least ballpark, as is the 18.4=46.3 Where are these new molds coming from with these measurements? I'd be pissed if I ordered a 44 and got a 38.8.

http://www.guidesnblanks.com/chart/2

 

[blisscigarco]

Since you sent me that 42 RG corona mold that's all I've been rolling. I've lost interest in rolling any other size. It makes a wonderful size, great taste and the smoking time is nearly the same.

Interesting thing is... if I hand roll a cigar without using a mold it usually turns out to be a 'natural' corona gorda. It's a size that I always gravitate towards without thinking about it.

I reckon it does sort of scale nicely to the human hand.

Yeah, when I buy Cubans I often by the 42/mareva/petite corona. The Monte #4 has been one of my faves for 20 years.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I concur that the corona gorda is the ideal vitola. It seems to be the perfect filler to wrapper ratio as well as provide the best smoke time for me. I also love a good lancero or lonsdale, but those do require more babysitting and attention

 

[Marc L]

Handy-dandy chart here says that 15.4 mm = 38.8/64ths of an inch, which is way off. Whereas 20.8 = 52.8, at least ballpark, as is the 18.4=46.3 Where are these new molds coming from with these measurements? I'd be pissed if I ordered a 44 and got a 38.8.

http://www.guidesnblanks.com/chart/2

What if you really wanted a Lancero mold and the closes thing you could find was this one marked as 44 and turned out to be a 38.8?
which was my case. This is my go to chart or I'll divide hundreds of an inch by 0.015625.

 

[blisscigarco]

What if you really wanted a Lancero mold and the closes thing you could find was this one marked as 44 and turned out to be a 38.8?

Then you'd be a happy camper, and go out and buy a lottery ticket.

And if you already had a 37 and a 38, like me, you'd be cheesed.

 

[Gdaddy]

As Jimi Hendrix once said... "If a six turned out to be nine, I don't mind. I don't mind".