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Una Cholita, ROTT 2 minutes ago

Oral surgeries have prevented me from smoking for a month and a half. When I left off, I was still trying to perfect a blend for a short, dark Peruvian beauty. Hence, being unable to test smoke, I ceased rolling. Near as I can fabulate reckon, this is my first roll since Feb 3! Just rolled up a quickie to try out: Peruvian seco, bound in Peruvian seco, wrapped with Indo... only cause I scored some Indo wrap on Thursday, and so I felt compelled to condition some and try it out.

Thursday came in sunny, bright, and mild. The kind of a day makes you realize how Spring came to be such a popular idea. Threw a leg over my Versys650LT about nine in the morning, intending to try out my new custom comfort seat. Did a little business at FX Smith's, 2 1/2 hours away. Too fine a day to return straight home, so I got myself lost. Not hard to do. Stopped ast a tobacconist in Westminster MD & sampled some pipe baccy. There was one guy playing hookey from the test range, another playing hookey from the fire dept., another playing hookey from I forget. Bought a couple ounces this and a couple that. Got lost again. Stopped for a chocolate chip cookie at a stand, in, what, Cockeysville?. There was a guy playing hookey from the Navy, another playing hookey from I forget, another retired didn't want to fool in the garden. I think it was National Hookey Day. Rolled on down the road, until, finally, the sun approached the trees, so I followed my nose until I found a road the number of which I knew. Home after six. Battlebots rocked.

BTW -- The seat works good. Not even so much as a whimper of monkey-butt.

So what you guys been up to? Not posting, I see.
Since you can't bare the Indo in your mouth I'm surprised you didn't bind with it and wrap with the Peru.

Sounds like it was a beautiful day.

I've been doing what I always do, plus trying to stay warm.
 
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159188

I reckon I finally figured out La Cholita. Took damned long enough. That's for sure.

4 leaves Peru seco.
Double bound in Peru seco.
Yep, almost a Peru Puro.
Except that it's wrapped in gossamer Indonesian I scored from FX Smith's.

The burn:
I find that I can solve my Peru won't burn prob by leaving both ends open. I spose you would call this a headless gar. I also leave the seco bastante seco. So dry, in fact, that the bind wants to fall apart in pieces, with flakes falling out as I fist them up. The binder is a regular dampness. But the bunch is left in Maks' mold overnight so that the spruce mold dries out the binder much as possible. Finally, I cut the wrapper strip narrower than usual, so that there's less overlap. Cut the stick short. Leave set for a couple days, and it works.

The wrap:
What really surprises me is this gossamer Indo wrapper. I've never fancied the Indo wrap right on my tongue. I only tried it cause I scored a new batch of Indo from FX a couple weeks back to satisfy the request of a brother roller. These were dry as dust from long storage in a container outside over Winter, in quarantine against beetles. I wanted to condition a leaf or two to see how bad the bug bite may have affected them. Having damped one, I threw it on a Cholita doll for a lark. Wow. Does the trick. Indo works with so few blends. Works here. And, of course, as you will never find a thinner leaf, it dries quickly, leaving Las Cholitas quemar XLNT. Never would have tried it other than this serendipity.

They're rustic lookin' short rolls ... but then, so's a cholita.

I tell you, Peru seco smells very fine each time you open the bag.
 
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View attachment 159188

I reckon I finally figured out La Cholita. Took damned long enough. That's for sure.

4 leaves Peru seco.
Double bound in Peru seco.
Yep, almost a Peru Puro.
Except that it's wrapped in gossamer Indonesian I scored from FX Smith's.

The burn:
I find that I can solve my Peru won't burn prob by leaving both ends open. I spose you would call this a headless gar. I also leave the seco bastante seco. So dry, in fact, that the bind wants to fall apart in pieces, with flakes falling out as I fist them up. The binder is a regular dampness. But the bunch is left in Maks' mold overnight so that the spruce mold dries out the binder much as possible. Finally, I cut the wrapper strip narrower than usual, so that there's less overlap. Cut the stick short. Leave set for a couple days, and it works.

The wrap:
What really surprises me is this gossamer Indo wrapper. I've never fancied the Indo wrap right on my tongue. I only tried it cause I scored a new batch of Indo from FX a couple weeks back to satisfy the request of a brother roller. These were dry as dust from long storage in a container outside over Winter, in quarantine against beetles. I wanted to condition a leaf or two to see how bad the bug bite may have affected them. Having damped one, I threw it on a Cholita doll for a lark. Wow. Does the trick. Indo works with so few blends. Works here. And, of course, as you will never find a thinner leaf, it dries quickly, leaving Las Cholitas quemar XLNT. Never would have tried it other than this serendipity.

They're rustic lookin' short rolls ... but then, so's a cholita.

I tell you, Peru seco smells very fine each time you open the bag.
Yeah, when that wrapper hits the right blend it's much better than almost anything else we can make with WLT/LO leaf. I'll have to try that Peru someday. I'll ask them to throw in a sample next retail purchase I make, which'll probably be in 2022, earliest. I think my longer-term conditioning of sticks would allow me to cap those things and use normal-seco seco. I use a combo of natural air and Boveda'd ziplocs to get them down to a read of 65 max (better is around 58) at the head with my Humidimeter. This has solved so many problems, measuring the head and adjusting the environment of the stick as needed until it's in primo smokable conditon.
 
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About a year and a half ago, I rolled several dozen of these Daily Habit #45. I musta thought they were good, since I took the time to roll so many #45s. My spreadsheet rates them 10s.

159251

5 little T-13 viso, 1 piloto seco, bound in Honduran habano, wrapped with FX Smith's CT shade. I'm breaking out couple dozen 45s now, to find out why I rolled so many. Rainy day. I'll snug out on the smoking porch when it warms up, fire one. Got some new Puerto Rican rum needs tasted. Prolly dig last night's UFC prelims via YouTube.


Life is good.
 
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Heading to the cedar lined porch to enjoy Spring. Will fire up this rustic little SteamPunk:

A headless corona, filled with equal parts Piloto Cubano and Rene seco, bound in doubled Indonesian wrapper, wrapped in Nicaraguan Rosado. Very tasty little buggers. Aged since January 2020.

The Deejo knife is only there on accounta the prop department loves it.
 
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While stashing the Cholitas, I found this un-labelled stick kicking round the big fish cooler:

159622


I believe it is a "69", rolled February last year. 3 T-13, one Piloto, Dom binder, Corojo Oscuro wrap. Should provide a good basis to start the next blend, aiming a a Dominican roll and featuring PC and Olor. So I'll burn this this afternoon, after I return from yoga.

God bless the man who invented yoga pants.
If it was a gal who invented, then I want to meet her.
 
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While stashing the Cholitas, I found this un-labelled stick kicking round the big fish cooler:

View attachment 159622


I believe it is a "69", rolled February last year. 3 T-13, one Piloto, Dom binder, Corojo Oscuro wrap. Should provide a good basis to start the next blend, aiming a a Dominican roll and featuring PC and Olor. So I'll burn this this afternoon, after I return from yoga.

God bless the man who invented yoga pants.
If it was a gal who invented, then I want to meet her.
This reminds me of why I switched from English Lit to French Lit after my first year of college.
 
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