Plug And Rope That Are Not Elusive?

[mso489]

Cosmic ... if your blenders are making their products available, that's all I ask, and good job to them. That's my point.

 

[condorlover1]

A more accurate name would be "Jackknife stack of lightly pressed leaves".

That summarizes JK very well!

 

[anotherbob]

I'm no expert here. But to my understanding the rope are dang near self contained. I mean historically speaking of rope, they're kind of almost designed in a way to be preserved or aged, kept for the long haul. Much can be said for the plug also I guess.

Heck, maybe there isn't much demand for ropes, I don't know.

I

they're a pain. You have to take extra steps and some people can't even cut a banana let alone a plug or rope.

 

[J.GANDY]

King B Twist. It's not the same or as good as the Gawith ropes.. but I do enjoy it. Seems like I remember you saying you're in GA, if that's the case, you should be able to find King B.. and possibly the other ropes Cosmic mentioned, at the nearest tobacco store.

I will search for q few and see what I can turn up. Aside from one "real" tobacco shop which mostly caters to cigars, the rest are head/vape shops. Or maybe that's where I should be looking???

 

[J.GANDY]

they're a pain. You have to take extra steps and some people can't even cut a banana let alone a plug or rope.

I can understand that. I have carved lots of wood, metal, plastic or just about anything else that can possibly be rendered. If that fails, I have a chainsaw!?

 

[J.GANDY]

Not to be a bothersome old contrarian, but should we be encouraging the blenders who can't get their product to market? So many fine blends are readily, nearly continuously available. I like the old supply and demand principle when it works. The blenders should be chasing us.

I am willing to support anyone producing a quality product. Large or small.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

For me, prepping a rope or twist is so much easier than a plug. I just lay my cigar cutter down flat on a table. I place the rope end in it, and cut it the thickness between the blade and the table it is laying on, snip, snip, snip, till I completely coin up the whole thing, and then put it in an old tin or a jar. I get consistent thicknesses that way.

 

[smokiespipesmoker123]

anyone ever tried making their own rope from whole leaf?

 

[Ahi Ka]

anyone ever tried making their own rope from whole leaf?

Yep, but I have just then sliced into coins. This year I will make one and leave as a twist. My main concern would be mould, even from the inside like what happened to @rajangan

 

[cosmicfolklore]

anyone ever tried making their own rope from whole leaf?

I make my own rope from the tobaccos I grow.

 

[krizzose]

This thread brought to mind that I have only one more package of Mick McQuaid plug left from a haul a friend brought back from Ireland in 2014.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

I will search for q few and see what I can turn up. Aside from one "real" tobacco shop which mostly caters to cigars, the rest are head/vape shops. Or maybe that's where I should be looking???

Yea. I'd check all the tobacco shops, even the head shop looking ones. Also, I forgot to mention that grocery stores sometimes carry those ropes.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

My main concern would be mould, even from the inside like what happened to @rajangan

I let my ropes dry for a few days to weeks, then I put them in a jar and heat them in the oven or a crock pot to 150F for 8hours to a day to make sure the heat has soaked through. 140F for 10 minutes is FDA approved pasteurization to kill mold spores, but the extra heat helps to mellow them out a little... meld the flavors.

Then I just pit the jars of ropes In the cellar to age at least a year before cracking them open. The samples I’ve shared with friends here seemed to like them. I love them, if I do say so myself.

 

[Ahi Ka]

I let my ropes dry for a few days to weeks, then I put them in a jar and heat them in the oven or a crock pot to 150F for 8hours to a day to make sure the heat has soaked through. 140F for 10 minutes is FDA approved pasteurization to kill mold spores, but the extra heat helps to mellow them out a little... meld the flavors.

Then I just pit the jars of ropes In the cellar to age at least a year before cracking them open. The samples I’ve shared with friends here seemed to like them. I love them, if I do say so myself.

Thanks for the tips. Crock pot has become my best friend with home grown. What variety’s of tobacco have you found successful when rope making? And do you bother with alcohol for casing?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

This is just a batch from a few years ago. I've gotten better at twisting them. I try to make five or so pounds of Virginia twists, 5 or so of VaBurs, and some with smoke cured, and a few pounds with my orientals and cigar leaf, and I've got some with some homemade latakia. I also make about twelve or so pounds of ribbon a year. I didn't plant Virginias this year, because of lockdown. I had to make growing food top priority, and besides, I'm damn near or over 400 lbs of tobacco. And, at my age, I probably won't smoke it all before I'm dead.

 

[logs]

I will search for q few and see what I can turn up. Aside from one "real" tobacco shop which mostly caters to cigars, the rest are head/vape shops. Or maybe that's where I should be looking???

If you're looking for Gawith rope/twists try Boswell's or Ken Byron Ventures.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I use a stacked barrel type of smoker to make a fire cured or smoke cured, whatever you want to call it. But, really, any tobacco makes a damn fine twist, IMO. I have some rustica/Nicaraguan-ligero leaf twists that makes a damn fine before bed smoke, but I am smoking it sparingly these days.

Oh, and I have a citric acid, malic acid, and honey recipe that I use as a casing. It comes out as a nice smooth smoke for me, without too much flavor added. Just enough for my tastes.

 

[logs]

This is just a batch from a few years ago.
View attachment 43237

Love this!

 

[georged]

Did someone say Making Rope?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Not to bore you gentlemen, but this is my homemade flue for curing my Virginias and color curing. It makes a nice cigar leaf and red Virginia. It is being used right now to cure sweet potatoes, ha ha.
I use a crockpots in the bottom with humidity and heat controllers to monitor heat and humidity. Rigged it myself after spending a few years talking to the experts.