Cigar Leaf

wallbright · Sep 24, 2010

I used to be a big cigar smoker until about a year ago when I decided to quit. I slowly smoked all of my cigars until there weren't enough to fill my big humidor. I then switched them to a tupperware tub and have kept them there every since. However, when I went to check on them the other day I noticed that some have exploded from too high of moisture content (I moved down to Arkansas for school). Some of them are nice cigars, such as Padron Anniversario 1964 and some Cuban cigarillos, while some are cheap bulk cigars I bought over at JRCigars.com. I was wondering if it is possible to cut up the cigars into cigar leaf tobacco to smoke? If it is possible then how should I go about cutting up the cigars to make them into proper cigar leaf pipe tobacco?

ernest · Sep 24, 2010

I have no idea or any experience in that area.Having said that,it would make for an interesting experiment.Perhaps record 3 or 4 different cuts of cigar such as fine,medium,coarse,and record how each one smokes.I would like to see the data on the test results when all testing is final.Cheers.

daveinlax · Sep 24, 2010

I mix chopped up cigars 5:1 with PS Balkan Supreme. Here's what I do. Line a tin can with very thin cedar sheets that are used to separate the layers in cigar boxes. Then press it for a week, chip it out and jar it for a while with some pieces of cedar. I really like this mixture!

fred · Sep 24, 2010

Yes, this type of remixing of blends is done frequently.

It would be best to start with small batches in order to

discover what ratio of Cigar leaf to add to a blend that is

best in your taste profile. This should be done with use of

a scale and for me, 10:1 is the highest ratio I like.

wallbright · Sep 24, 2010

What do I mix it with? I only have PA, CBW, Butter Berry, 1Q, Nougat, Half and Half, Indian Summer, and 10g sample of Frog Morton On The Pond.

spacecowboy57 · Sep 24, 2010

i would imagine frog mortons. i have a cigar that burst too, i think i will try mixing it with some frog on the town and see how it turns out.

cortezattic · Sep 24, 2010

Toronto pipe maker Julius Vesz claims that all tobaccos benefit from the addition of a small amount of cigar leaf. I've tried it on occasion without much success, and attributed it to using the wrong cigar leaf (C&D's bulk 526:Sweet, shredded, Pennsylvania maduro leaf.)

I think fellow member Frank (Fhb2532) tried this too, and didn't exactly jump for joy either.
I know less about cigars than I do about pipe tobacco, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that only the wrapper leaf carries the flavor.

If so, maybe one should just dump the filler.

wallbright · Sep 24, 2010

Well I only have 10g of frog Morton so I would rather try it with something else as the sample was like 2.90. Which is the cost of 1.5oz of PA here (3.10 + tax). I guess I will try a bowl of each with a little Cuban mixed in.

bytor · Sep 24, 2010

I have never been into cigars enough to have a stash of them, so I'm not exactly how decimated an "exploded" cigar is...but this could be the solution your looking for....
http://www.youtube.com/user/TropBobB#p/u/11/PDOH6W1t7Yk
I'm pretty sure this vid has been posted before, but it was several months ago.

wallbright · Sep 24, 2010

I guess I will leave the blending to the pros as I tried cigar leaf and 1/2 and 1/2 and it just tasted like a cigar lol. I guess I can try to blend it with the other ones as 1/2 and 1/2 probably wasnt a good idea from the start.

wallbright · Sep 24, 2010

I was thinking I have some really dry PA that I have been letting sit out to do the jelly trick for the bowl cracks but I haven't used it yet, would that be any good mixed? I am feeling very inventive/dumb right now lol.

python · Sep 25, 2010

As long as the cigar is a premium hand made cigar, there is flavor in the all parts of the cigar. Wrapper, filler; and a little flavor in the binder, but not much.
As far as blending it into a pipe tobacco blend, it varies a lot depending on what kind of cigar it is. Whether it is mild, medium, full strength or if it is mild, medium, or full flavor. What kind of wrapper it has Maduro, Connecticut, Criollo, etc.
I would hazard a guess and say that you would only need a very small amount of cigar leaf in the pipe tobacco to make its presence known and to not over power the pipe tobacco. You would probably also need to let it sit and marry for awhile so that the flavors can meld.
Keep experimenting with it and try very small batches so that if you don't like the way that it tastes, you are not wasting a lot of tobacco.
Cigars are not like pipe tobacco and a bad cigar is a bad cigar, no matter what you do to it.

unclearthur · Sep 25, 2010

And Swisher Sweet is a cheap nasty cigar but I still somke them now and then. LOL!!

wallbright · Sep 25, 2010

I will keep experimenting. The cigars I currently have are Padron Anniversary Series 1964 Natural wrapper, Trinidad Y Cia Natural which is a cheap short filler cigar but I have been aging it for 3 years which I hear turns into a good cigar, Romeo Y Julieta Romeos, Don Mateo Maduro, JR Ultimate Maduro, JR Cigars Montecristo Alernative Torpedo Natural, JR Alternative for two other ones, some Partagas mini Cuban cigars I picked up in Italy this summer, and some Don Felo mini cigars natural. That is all I have left from my big cigar collection as I gave away about 40 of the leftovers to some of my friends this summer.
The pipe tobaccos I have are PA, CBW, Butter Berry, 1Q, Nougat, Half and Half, Indian Summer, and 10g sample of Frog Morton On The Pond (I would rather not mix this one though).
Any suggestions on the pairings would be greatly appreciated.

chuckw · Sep 25, 2010

I mixed 1/2 oz. Cuban Partagas with 4oz. each Prince Albert and McCellands 5110. It made a tasty blend for me.

searock · Sep 25, 2010

It's all a matter of taste. When I owned a shop I tried mixing cigar leaf into some pipe blends. Yuck! Just couldn't make it work for me. The only cigar leaf pipe tobacco I've tried that I thought was really good was some made by Balkan Sobarnie, and that was a lot of years ago. It was great. I have no idea how they did it but if somepne knows and can duplicate it today, I'ed be a customer. Hey, maybe someone does make it and I just haven't heard. Da ya know something I don't?
Here's an interestng experiment: Try smoking a cigar though a pipe. You'll be amazed at the difference in taste.

wallbright · Sep 25, 2010

Here's an interestng experiment: Try smoking a cigar though a pipe. You'll be amazed at the difference in taste.

Is that a good difference in taste or bad?

searock · Sep 25, 2010

I wouldn't call it good...

Cigar Leaf

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