Split head

 So you've just nipped the cap off your cigar that you've had in the humidor for a while, and instead of a clean slice, the unthinkable happens. It splits. No problem right? Just light the end you cut and smoke it backwards. What could go wrong?

Everything.

Cigars are rolled from the foot to the head and the glue that keeps the wrapper on tight is only applied to the head of the cigar. If you light the head, as soon as you burn through that glue, the cigar will unwrap itself and you're left with a bigger mess than you started with. So what do you do?

Ideally, if the split is very small, you can clip it off, and carry on as normal. Second to that, you can wrap a small piece of wrapper leaf around the head and seal the split. But most of us don't carry cigar leaves. The solution, aside from tossing the cigar and lighting a new one, is a bit if rolling paper. Now before you get started, you want to make sure the cigar isn't overly dried out. It shouldn't split if it's properly humidified, but occasionally it can happen even to a good smoke. Give the cigar a gentle squeeze at the foot. If it's in good shape, it'll give a little and bounce back. If the foot also cracks, you've got a dry stick that won't smoke very nice even if you repair it. You can try to rehydrate it slowly in a secondary small humidifier, but it might be too far gone at this point. I'll leave that discussion for another day. 

Assuming the cigar isn't too dry, you can go ahead with the repair. Of course, it won't be pretty, and many die hard smokers will tell you to just toss it, but you want that cigar! So let's get to it, and trust me, it's easy.

First, remove the label. It'll get in the way if you leave it on. Of course you can leave it there if you like, it just means you need to work around it, and you'll take it off as you smoke anyhow. Next, you'll need a little bit of cigar glue. If you don't have any, mix some warm water with pectin to make some. You'll also need, obviously, rolling paper. You'll want larger papers so that they can wrap around the cigar. Take one, and trim it so that it'll cover from the clipped end to just past the split. Make sure it'll overlap. Now, you want to spread the glue thinly over the entire paper. Wrap the paper over the end of the cigar trying not to leave any overhang. Repeat with a second and if you like, third paper to make a good solid seal. Now give it a very VERY light brazing with a torch just enough to dry it without burning the papers. That's it! Light up and enjoy your sightly less attractive, but hopefully still delicious cigar.

My current technique

So a few folk over on Reddit have posted their creations, so I thought I'd go over the process I use when rolling, and include a few pictures. If I get around to it, I'll actually get a video put together of this process, but for now, here we go.

I start with a lovely selection of leaves. Kind of hard to make cigars without leaf right? Wrapper, binder, and a few different leaves for the fill.

These leaves were delivered from one of my primary suppliers, Leaf Only. Hopefully I can edit this soon and give you all a promo code to save a bit if you do shop there, but for now, they're still a great supply with excellent service. *Update* I've got a promo code for ya. Enter my Reddit handle (EnvoAfloat) at checkout to save 5% 

I like to start my projects by preparing my binder and wrapper leaves. Trim the stems, flatten the leaves, and then gently dampen them with a spritz of distilled water (distilled to avoid bacteria growth) before storing them with a bit of cheesecloth in a ziplock bag. After a day or two in the ziplock, they're perfectly pliable for working with.

When it's time to roll, the first thing I do is get my wrapper ready. Here you see the wrapper nicely stretched and pressed flat on my working surface (I use two sheets of plexiglass because it's what I have on board the ship, but a cutting board, a piece of glass, anything flat works)

With your wrapper nicely pressed, you want to set your binder out (stretched the same if you have the space). Then, build your fill. Although there is no real rule here and experience and art viber into play, I've found that this works very very well for me. 

Start with your ligero leaf. This is a pick from the top of the plant where the most Sun gets to it. It's a strong leaf and the predominant flavors of your cigar start here. 

Bunch them up and cover them with a single seco leaf half.

The seco is down low on the plant, and has the least flavor but the best burn characteristics. Then fill out your bundle with your ligero leaves before covering the whole thing with enough seco to make the cigar to your chosen ring gauge. Don't expect your first few to be balanced, even or the same size. This is an experiment you'll get better at with time and practice. Keep in mind that the professionals at Davidoff roll for ten years before they start rolling the flagship cigars. 

When you've got your bundle made and torn to size, it's time to wrap your binder leaf around it. Keep the leaf tight and press the fill so that your cigar is tight and solid. If it's too loose, it'll burn rough and the ash will fall apart. Too tight and you'll implode trying to draw through it. Again, practice.

After the binder is done (use a little glue to hold it at the head. I'm not going to detail caps and flags here. That's a whole other post another day), then it's time to wrap it. Prepare your nicely pressed wrapper by trimming off the outer edge to a smooth clean edge and shape it like this.

You'll want to trim the inner edge basically in line with the outer to create almost a crescent moon shape. Then keeping the wrapper as tight as you can, wrap the cigar from the foot to the head. The veins should end up straight along the whole length of the cigar. A little glue at the head and a cap, trim the foot and you're done!

As you can see, my cap work is lacking at the moment but I'm working on it. 

Personally I like to rest the cigar outside my humidor for a day or two before putting them in for a few more days (weeks, months) to age. 

And there you have it. My cigars in a nutshell. Let me know if you tried it, if it works, or if you've got improvements. Thanks for reading!

Front Street box pressed

 Oh how I love a good box pressed cigar. Easy to hold, comfortable in the lips, and maybe it's just me, but they seem to smoke better than their round siblings. 

Today I've got one of the last of a bundle of Front Street I picked up from Havana Castle cigars. Despite being marketed as a strong full cigar, I find them to lean a little more towards medium. Of course, as far as Nicaraguan cigars go, yes they do fit the stronger end of the spectrum, but in the Grand scheme, not so much. This isn't a bad thing, just an observation. Personally I would put them too strong for a morning coffee, Sun coming up, enjoy the start of a day cigar, but too weak for a good strong rum, night time patio lights, relax after a long day cigar. They're a great mid day walk, after dinner puff, coffee break kind of cigar. 

The cigar has an extremely subtle cold draw. Perhaps a trade off with the box pressing and tapered head? I had to really pay attention to get anything, and it wasn't string enough for me to pick out much other than "yup, I'm pretty sure that's a cigar". It lights very easily and burns faster than you might expect. I noted the body of the cigar was firm, with just enough give to suggest a well rolled balanced cigar so I was surprised to see how quickly it burned. You're not going to spend an hour with this one unless you're letting most of it burn away. After cutting the cap, I found the wrapper wanted to come off. Not quite enough glue on these ones. My first cut was short, leaving me about a half cm diameter to draw through, but I found I needed to cut more. Taking a full cm of length off the head led to a much easier smoke (I don't like having to work to draw smoke through the cigar. That's not how they were designed). The cigar itself smokes easily with a good ash, below average smoke production, and seems to be very good leaves used to make it with a consistent quality. Flavour wise, it's not a complex smoke (which is why I don't recommend it for your evening enjoyment) but it's got enough potency to make to take note. The tobacco taste is dominant, with very subtle nuttiness hiding behind the leather. From head to foot, there isn't much evolution of taste, just a strengthening. I haven't had any issues with tar buildup or over present nicotine taste, so that's a win. I would happily keep these in my humidor for a great fill in when I just want a cigar that's not expensive and doesn't take any work to enjoy. 

If you're looking for these, find your local Havana Castle and give them a shot. They're one of their house brand cigars so you won't find them anywhere else. Certainly worth a taste!

Adventures in cigar rolling

 So I managed to get around to finally ordering some tobacco from Leaf Only in the States. They've become my favorite supplier of leaves and accessories for rolling cigars. If you are thinking about rolling your own, they've got a bunch of great starter kits that include a small mold, blends of leaves, and instructions. Worth giving it a try. 

Anyhow, so I got my leaves, and rolled up a few trial cigars. The first was a bit of a fail as I rolled the filler leaves inside out - it burnt from the inside but the outer layers didn't burn. Today I rolled up another, decided to try the barber shop pole wrap with a green leaf and a normal brown (I forget the actual leaves' names) and this one turned out pretty good. If you check my Instagram, I post reviews of all my cigars there. My Instagram is @EnvoAfloat (I'm an environmental officer on board a cruise ship, thus the name). 

So I started preparing the binder leaves (used two halves of one leaf to make a double binder) which were a tad dry. A few spritzes with water and they softened right up. Prepared the filler blend and rolled up my cigar. I packed it in the mold while I prepared the wrapper leaves. It was when I saw how small the dark leaf was that I decided to use two leaves. A quick trim and then an overlap and it was done. 

Turned out pretty good. A little green in the taste right off the light, but slowly blended to a nice mild smoke with very little smoke generation (meaning those around me didn't mind the cigar).

I'm going to change things up and start posting my cigar reviews here because this is an easier forum to type in all my thoughts. For now, go check my Insta (the cool kids still call it that?) and stay tuned for my next reviews. 

Happy smoking!

Welcome

 So here we are. You, a reader, and me, a writer, together virtually completely ignoring the normal flow of time. I am communicating with you in the future, from the past. Neat huh?   

OK, so that whole wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey stuff isn't what this blog is about. It's about cigars, by a guy who spends his life sailing around the world. What a combination. 

So what can you expect here?  Honestly, who knows. My intent as of today is to share some thoughts and reviews on cigars I find as I travel, as well as at home. 

Brief introduction. I am an environmental officer on board a cruse ship. Currently I work for Holland America Line. I don't expect that to change, but you never know in these strange times. I started my career at sea as a marine engineer working the engine room keeping all of the ship's systems running. I switched to an environmental role a few years into my career as I felt like I could make more of an impact on our operation from this position. I smoke cigars as a way to unwind, relax, and enjoy the sights - as well as giving myself a reason to sit down and take a break from the sometimes hectic pace of my career. I also roll my own cigars both at home and on board using tobacco I buy online from a variety of suppliers. 

Now comes the money part of the blog. I will occasionally post links to products or companies I have worked with. There is a chance that these companies will provide me with compensation for those links. That may be a cash payment for traffic I direct to them, or a discount on my purchases from them, or perhaps product to sample and review. I earn my living as a seafarer. I don't intend on making any substantial money here with this blog - that's not why I am doing it. It's a way for me to share my thoughts, my experiences, and my opinions on the cigars. But hey, if someone said to you "Hey, you mentioned my website on your blog, and that got me a dozen new customers! Here's a free Cohiba. Thanks!", would you not take it?  Me too. On the other hand, if someone says "Hey, post a link to my (crappy overpriced) online store and I'll give you a free Cohiba", I'll pass. The only links I'll post will be to places I use myself. 

Also, I need to mention that anything I post here, is of course my own opinion. This blog is not sponsored by or endorsed by my employer. 

Finally, cigars are, in mu opinion, a luxury item. They are not cigarettes and should not be taxed or regulated the same way. In many countries, cigars are treated exactly like cigarettes and subject to the same packaging, labeling, advertising and taxation laws. I think this is wrong, and encourage you to speak up if your country has the same policies. Remember our governments are there to support us, not to control us. They answer to us. If we want change, we need to make ourselves heard. 

And now, off to start rolling my new cigars!  I look forward to more posts, and to hearing from anyone whos reading. Drop me a note, say hi. Happy Smoking!