Cigar Rolling Guide

Knowing how to roll a cigar can affect the quality of the cigar you are able to produce. Most people will attest that no matter how great the materials a cigar is made of, it won’t taste good if it is rolled poorly. A cigar that has been wrapped too tightly will be difficult to smoke and may not stay lit, while a loosely wrapped cigar will get too hot and taste poorly. Learn the proper technique to roll a cigar and you will have a great start to creating a quality cigar.

What you will need to roll a cigar:

• Filler tobacco
• Wrapper leaves
• Binder leaves
• Cigar cutter
• Cigar mold
• Mist bottle
• Chaveta (rollers knife)
• Pectin

1. Gather all the wrapper leaves and keep them wet with your mist bottle. Inspect the quality of the wrapper leaves. It is very important the leaves don't have rips because that will make the cigar burn poorly.
2. Gather the filler leaves and fold them in on themselves to form a bunch. Wrap the filler leaves up with a binder leaf. Cut off any remaining leaves at the bottom of the cigar with the cigar cutter.
3. Place the cigar in the cigar mold and close the lid in place. Tighten the mold and press the cigars together for around an hour. Make sure to turn the cigars over at least once.
4. Cut the wrapper leave to size with the chaveta. Make sure that the wrapper leaves are big enough to hold the filler inside.
5. Remove the filler from the mold and inspect it. Make sure there are no hard or soft spots. The filler should feel close to the same for a nice consistent burn.
6. Apply a small amount of pectin to the inside of the wrapper leaf. Roll the wrapper leaf around the cigar and apply more pectin to the wrapper. This will ensure that the cigar will not fall apart.
7. Cut away any excess at the head of the cigar. Roll the cigar a little bit to make sure the roll is going to stay together. This also helps to blend the filler a little better.
8. Hold onto the flag at the head of the cigar and roll the cigar. This process creates the head of the cigar. Cut away any excess left over.  

Tips:

• Make sure you use high quality materials. The wrapper leaves are important because they determine the flavor your cigar will have.