Sighted Man's Truth: The Circle of Leaf

[nic]

Yeah, some lazy piece of crap is behind on reviewing

So, are you going to make the deadline?

 

[Hopduro]

So, are you going to make the deadline?

Submitted

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[blisscigarco]

We're just waiting on @webmost now.

 

[blisscigarco]

Sorry guys, I don't have all the results in yet. Still waiting on Web, and the results are hanging in the balance. I can't chill by the computer anymore tonight, so let's aim for manana.

 

[blisscigarco]

I've got the winners now, and have sent out PMs to get the blend infos for the big reveal.

 

[blisscigarco]

DRUM ROLL..........

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Your Circle of Leaf Blend Winners:

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1st PLACE WINNER:















Brazilian Villain Tweak #26, by Hopduro

Binder: LO Ecuador seco
Wrapper: LO Ecuador viso
Filler: 1:1 mata fina to flojo viso (WLT)






2nd Place Winners (tie):
















Flan, by Webmost:

Wrapper: LO Sumatra binder
Binder: LO Colombian
Filler: 1/2 leaf each WLT corojo seco, viso, ligero; & 1/2 leaf LO Dominican olor (seco?)



Nick Tubo #2:

Wrapper: HB2K WLT (marked as 2010 crop)
Binder: Nic (mojo'd) (LO)
Filler:
1 dom criollo 98 ligero WLT ( mojo'd and no stems)
2 dom seco WLT (stems in)
2 braz habano viso LO (stems in)
These are leaf counts , not exact ratios.

CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[Fusion555]

Congrats Guys, well done

 

[Hopduro]

Fantastic contest guys! I enjoyed all of these smokes!

I will say, that was a lot of smokes in a short period of time... plus it would be great to try these aged

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[nic]

First, this was a great idea, thanks @blisscigarco. I certainly hope we manage do to this again. If nothing else, just being able to smoke other homerolls made it absolutely worth participating.

@Fusion555, I especially enjoyed your cigars. They may not have been the prettiest, but they absolutely tasted how I like a cigar. The Yellow dot was very good. I'd love to see the blend if you don't mind.
@Hopduro, I can't believe how good you've gotten at this. Both of your submissions were very good. Even the one that tasted like horse shit!
@webmost, I completely agree with the judging. The "flan" was a great smoke, and without doubt the best I've had from you.
@nickgarrett, you're blends aren't my speed, but your construction is off the damn hook. Amazing work. I really didn't want to smoke #2, it was too pretty.
@blisscigarco, you're construction is better than most of the cubans I have sitting in my cabinet. You blend a far more mild cigar than I generally reach for, but I'd never turn down one of your cigars. You have managed to get flavor without strength down.

Here are the two blends that I submitted:
#12 :: 47x4.75 Filler: 2 LO Cameroon Seco, 1 WLT Habano Seco, 0.5 Jorge Ligero Binder: Jorge Ecuadorian Wrapper: Jorge Ecuadorian Shade
#13 :: 44x6 Filler: 1 WLT Criollo Seco, 1 WLT Criollo Viso, WLT 1 Criollo Ligero Binder: Jorge Ecuadorian Wrapper: LO Ecuadorian Ligero

 

[Fusion555]

Thanks for the kind words, here are my blends
Red
1 piloto cubano viso WLT, 1 Dom seco WLT, 1 piloto cubano ligero WLT, corojo 99 seco binder, WLT Habano 2000 wrapper WLT
Yellow
Same leaves different ratios
1/2 Piloto Cubano Ligero WLT, 1/2 Piloto Cubano Viso WLT, 2 Dom Seco WLT, Corojo 99 seco binder WLT, Habano 2000 wrapper WLT

 

[nic]

Thanks for the kind words, here are my blends
Red
1 piloto cubano viso WLT, 1 Dom seco WLT, 1 piloto cubano ligero WLT, corojo 99 seco binder, WLT Habano 2000 wrapper WLT
Yellow
Same leaves different ratios
1/2 Piloto Cubano Ligero WLT, 1/2 Piloto Cubano Viso WLT, 2 Dom Seco WLT, Corojo 99 seco binder WLT, Habano 2000 wrapper WLT

Man, I wish I'd had that list during WLT's black-friday sale. Thanks for sharing. Also, I wondered if the 2 cigars shared anything similar, but wasn't certain.

 

[Fusion555]

Its funny how just a slight variation makes 2 cigars so different, i didnt care much for the Red but loved the Yellow, that Dom Seco is my fav leaf so far.

 

[blisscigarco]

Nic hated his #12, which was my top choice, and Fusion didn't care so much for his red, which tied for my second favorite. Man, taste is so (100%, duh) subjective. This was a contest about taste. One thing I learned is, "Everybody here likes cigars much stronger than I do." Which, now I remember it, is one of the reasons I started rolling my own cigars. I was blowing too much dough on cigars that were too strong for me.

 

[Hopduro]

Nic hated his #12, which was my top choice, and Fusion didn't care so much for his red, which tied for my second favorite. Man, taste is so (100%, duh) subjective. This was a contest about taste. One thing I learned is, "Everybody here likes cigars much stronger than I do." Which, now I remember it, is one of the reasons I started rolling my own cigars. I was blowing too much dough on cigars that were too strong for me.

Bro, don't change your style for us! Seriously, just take my money now and send me 2 boxes of bliss no. 1! :O

Edit: by "us" i mean everyone else

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[webmost]

Man, taste is so (100%, duh) subjective.

Man, am so sick and tired of that hackneyed old chestnut. All it does is, it makes all discussion pointless. It's like saying gravity. So what? We know gravity. That's not the end; that's just the beginning. It's Galileo dropping a musket ball and a cannon ball simultaneously. It's Archimedes and Eureka. It's keels, pendulums, snowboards, linemen. It's not gravity -- it's how you overcome or adapt or utilize. Taste is the same exact proposition. Especially for our brothers rolling for friends. If your friend goes GACK you don't want to stand there and say taste any more than if he slips on his ass cause you neglected to salt the sidewalk you want to smugly remark gravity.

Knowing taste, how do you use it? That's the point of a contest like this.


Here's my approach: I used a very structured evaluation, scoring each of ten criteria on a scale of one to ten and comparing totals. I clawed back my submissions to that other contest a year ago, and threw them in to my other evals mid-way. My two winners tied at 82. My two from last year, one I scored 80 and the other 95. Now I get to chew on this: What have I learned? What have I blent well? What not so well?

 

[mwaller]

What does "mojo'd" mean in this context?

Nick Tubo #2:

Wrapper: HB2K WLT (marked as 2010 crop)
Binder: Nic (mojo'd) (LO)
Filler:
1 dom criollo 98 ligero WLT ( mojo'd and no stems)
2 dom seco WLT (stems in)
2 braz habano viso LO (stems in)
These are leaf counts , not exact ratios.

CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[nickgarrett]

What does "mojo'd" mean in this context?

just that these leaves were treated with mojo (a mixture of pineapple juice, rum, and vanilla) - here's a thread to reference :
http://www.botl.org/threads/mojo.86487/
In my limited experience, the mojo doesn't add flavor but just mellows out the tobacco. I use a good amount on harsh leaves (especially the ammonia smelling ones) and vacuum pack it away for 4 weeks. Then let it dry before rolling with it.

 

[Dominican56]

Mojo can be a variety of tincture, I’m learning. I’ve used chardonnay on Honduran viso to calm it down. Worked pretty well. I sprayed, let them set for a couple of days, dried them to a usable case and Walla! It worked pretty well.

I think you can use just about anything food safe with no sugar content to raise the PH of the leaf.

 

[Hopduro]

And i don't use any mojo, but look for leaf that tastes good in the initial Brazilian villain iteration screen

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