Newbie needs advice

[dondford]

I am just learning how to roll cigars; I have loved smoking cigars since 1997 and mostly smoke Honduran cigars, my go to brand is Consuegra's which are seconds to many major Honduran brands. I prefer med-strong cigars and prefer Maduro's in the 50-54 x 6 range. I would like to use tobacco's that would give me a simular taste profile to what I'm used to. Fair Trade dosen't seem to offer any Honduran tobacco and One Leaf very little. Would love advice from you guys on types of tobacco available here that would give that "ahonduran" taste. If anyone could offer blends also that would be great.
Any help greatly appreciated.

D

 

[ArizonaDave]

I am just learning how to roll cigars; I have loved smoking cigars since 1997 and mostly smoke Honduran cigars, my go to brand is Consuegra's which are seconds to many major Honduran brands. I prefer med-strong cigars and prefer Maduro's in the 50-54 x 6 range. I would like to use tobacco's that would give me a simular taste profile to what I'm used to. Fair Trade dosen't seem to offer any Honduran tobacco and One Leaf very little. Would love advice from you guys on types of tobacco available here that would give that "ahonduran" taste. If anyone could offer blends also that would be great.
Any help greatly appreciated.

D

Well, I would say there's a learning curve ahead of you, but it's not scary. It's just simple hand-eye motor coordination that once you have that down, is smooth sailing.

I used to smoke Honduran cigars too. I'd say the Nic. Habano Seco with maybe some medium bodied Dominican is pretty close, but better. The wrapper doesn't change the flavor much, it's just the "hype" of commercial cigars. The wrapper is just the taste that goes in your mouth. WLT's Ecuador Maduro is good, so is the Mexican. The Mexican variety is the same as Fuente's "Anjio Sharks". The Nic. Criollo 98' (any variety) is great too! There's some other guys on here that may be able to help you "hone in" on your flavor profile a little better. All I can say is I haven't had any store bought since I started rolling, it's that good!

 

[dvick003]

I am sure some other guys can give you good advice on possible blends. I heard that they have had rough weather/growing conditions the last 2 years in Honduras and their tobacco crops took a big hit. I believe that Don, from Whole Leaf, mentioned something about that in a different thread. Mossca, one of the members on here lives in Honduras. He states in this thread, http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/5079-Honduran-tobacco?highlight=honduran, that the leaves were small and heavily damaged... In the meantime, the tobacco from Whole Leaf is the best quality you can buy. I have found a ton of seco and viso that were good enough to use as a wrapper. Doesn't get much better than that! Good luck in your rolling endeavors.

 

[Chris A]

How bout starting with one of the kits that WLT sells? Perhaps one a little on the stronger side.

 

[Raodwarior]

The "Connie" as that cigar has been called for years was a staple that Lew, who used to own JR's Cigars found during the cigar boom. It is and has been rolled in various factories over the years, and is generally not a 2nd but a slightly lower grade of tobacco that Lew could buy the cigars inexpensively read "cheap". Lew when he owned JR's was a hell of a businessman and promoter although his wife was more of the cigar smoker. To recreate it with WLT product my best guess would be the Criollo ligero with Corojo seco and Dominican or Sumatran binder with a Habano wrapper, not going to be exact but should be close. The wrapper is the key to the flavor as it will impart a large part of the flavor profile.