Hi and welcome back to the second part in my new series dubbed, “Tricks of the Trade”. The goal of this series is to teach you, the reader, how to grow and roll your own cigars – not necessarily in that order. In this issue we will look at the specific techniques used to roll your cigar. So, click on the old Read More button below, and let’s get started!

In the Last Episode…

In the first article in this series, we talked about why you (or more specifically, why I) would want to roll and grown your (my) own tobacco. We also discussed the legality of the matter, and which tools you would need to begin rolling your own smokes.

If you missed the last issue, or just skipped ahead, here is a reminder of the tools you will need:

· Cutting board – this can be a block of wood like your typical cutting board in a kitchen – nothing fancy, though I advise buying a new one and using it ONLY for your tobacco (ie; don’t make chicken cutlets on it).

· Vegetable gum – Not chewing gum flavored like broccoli. You can buy this online or in some gourmet grocery stores. It is used as a glue for the tobacco leaves (we’ll cover its use in a bit).

· Chaveta - a chaveta is a small, semi-circular knife. Torcedores – or rollers – use them for cutting tobacco. You will be using yours for the same purpose. You can purchase one online or at a local tobacconist. If you can’t find one, you can always just use a sharp knife.

· Scissors – any kind will do, so long as they are sharp. You will need them to shred your filler.

· Former – this is a block of wood (try to find it in cedar) that acts as a mold to help “form” the shape of the cigar. Again, you can find it online, in kits, and from tobacconists. Be sure to get them in the size of the cigar you intend to make.

· Tobacco – in particular, you will need three types: filler, binder, and wrapper. What type you use is up to you. There are many good primers out there on the different types of leaves, such as the ones found here at Puff. If those don’t help you, or you want to start out simply, just look up your favorite cigar, see what kind it has, and purchase that. That way you know that no matter how horribly you mangle the rolling process, at least the flavor of the cigar will still be good!

Let’s Roll

Okay, so now that we have a refresher on our tools, let’s roll up our sleeves and get dirty. Keep in mind that this is how I roll my cigars – others may do it differently, and I by no means do this professionally. Also, if you happen to roll your own already, and would like to toss in some extra tips, I encourage you to leave us a note.