There are two ways to make your own cigarette, the rolling format (RYO) and the stuffing format (MYO). With the rolling method, you use a simple hand-held machine, a loose cigarette paper and a loose filter (if you want a filter). Rolling a cigarette takes a certain amount of manual dexterity, but can be mastered with practice. RYO cigarette papers are currently available from a variety of manufacturers in regular, king size, and 100mm lengths. There are extra-long paper variations (i.e., multi-cigarette length that you cut to order) in the rolling format, but the machines and supplies are not reliably available at present. These extra-long papers are also much more expensive than MYO tubes so we do not support this line of products.

The second format for making or "stuffing" a cigarette employs a stuffing machine (hand-held or desktop) and a cigarette tube. A cigarette tube looks like a finished cigarette without any tobacco in it. Stuffing/injection machines range in price and complexity, but the tubes actually cost less than the separate papers and filters. The stuffing method is more economical, quicker to use, and produces a cigarette with a manufactured look. The stuffing machines work best when not over-packed with tobacco, must be cleaned regularly, and they require some strength to pull the mechanism. Tubes are available in regular (filter and non-filter), king-size, ultra-slim and 100mm lengths.

The main reason people make their own cigarettes, even with the excise tax and tobacco settlement (MSA) costs included, is lower price. Our refill kits, including shipping and handling charges to anywhere in the United States, will allow you to make your own cigarettes for under $11.00 per carton. This is around one half to one third the price our customers used to pay for manufactured cigarettes.

The second most common reason people make their own cigarettes is quality of the smoke. Economists call this purchasing pattern "conspicuous consumption." (Some folks just want to be seen smoking a superior quality, premium cigarette). Customers coming from the generic brands are most appreciative of our products, but all our customers would agree that a D&R tobacco, homemade cigarette just tastes better.

A manufactured, name brand cigarette is a propriety blend of tobaccos and chemical flavorings that consequently would not have an exact match in the RYO category. (Almost all manufactured cigarettes contain chemical flavorings). Nevertheless, our customers tell us that a D&R Tobacco, homemade cigarette is a satisfying and enjoyable substitute for their name brand cigarette. From our assortment of RYO products, select a tobacco and cigarette tube/paper combination that is similar (or superior) to your current smoke and you're off to a good start. Recommending a specific tobacco is like trying to suggest a wine that you might enjoy. It is difficult because the taste and smell sensations are subjective from the perspective of each individual smoker, and I might bias your own impressions. With this caveat in mind in advance, I'll walk you through the fine selection of tobaccos available at D&R.

We currently offer sixteen blends of tobacco, with a range of tastes and aromas to choose from. Our two most popular selling cigarette tobaccos are Vengeur^TM (U.S. Blend) and Windsail^TM (American Gold), and they contain no added chemical flavorings. Our U.S. Blend is a true blend and includes a combination of flue-cured Gold Leaf, air-cured Burley and Oriental tobaccos. It has been designed to be smooth and satisfying without a bitter aftertaste on the palate. In a blind taste test, smokers said our Vengeur^TM tasted to them most like a medium name brand manufactured cigarette. Our Windsail^TM tobacco, on the other hand, is composed of 100% flue-cured Gold Leaf tobacco and is similar to a national brand marketed as "natural". It has a lighter, almost yellow appearance, and has a great smell that reminds me of the local tobacco warehouses when the farmers bring their tobacco to market. Opinions vary among our customers (and staff) as to whether Windsail^TM is lighter or stronger in taste than the Vengeur^TM. We have also recently added lighter versions of both Vengeur^TM and Windsail^TM. We believe that our Vengeur Light^TM and Windsail Light^TM brands are the highest quality light blends available in the RYO market. We developed these outstanding light brands after years of testing and evaluation in order to ensure that the blends were up to stringent D&R Tobacco quality standards. (See description of light blends below in answer to question 7). After carefully selecting the best tobaccos, we blended back the flavor and then taste-tested the results. We hope you will agree that our light blends are without equal in the RYO industry.

For our customers who desire the flavor of flue-cured tobacco blends (such as Windsail^TM and Windsail Light^TM), we have developed another outstanding brand that we think is truly unique and exceptional, Three Sails^TM. Our new Three Sails^TM brand took us years to bring to market because it required special leaf selection, distinctive processing, and a particular style cut. We have been working on this British style "Virginia blend" since the mid-90's and the time has been worth the wait. We can honestly say that this is one of the best RYO blends ever produced (by anyone) and we believe it will have a significant impact on the RYO industry over the coming years.

Two of our newer brands, TwoTimer^TM and Cockstrong^TM, have been described as similar in taste to American brands from the middle of the 20th century. Our TwoTimer^TM is an incredible tasting blend of 100% burley, double toasted to reduce the unpleasant vegetative components that are so often present in burley. The result is nothing less than astounding and we believe that TwoTimer^TM could very well be one of the best tasting RYO blends ever produced. This may sound like just another marketing message, but we are sincerely proud of TwoTimer^TM and look forward (with hopeful optimism) that our customers will concur with our view that TwoTimer^TM is another exceptional brand from D&R Tobacco. In response to our customers who have requested a stronger tasting blend over the years, we developed Cockstrong^TM. Our Cockstrong^TM is a blend of flue-cured, burley and oriental tobaccos from an old cigarette recipe from the mid-20th century. If you desire a robust RYO blend, with no chemical flavorings, you now have an ideal tobacco selection.

Our Rowland^TM brand (Ameriflavor), is a quality tobacco combination that has been flavored to taste similar to premium U.S. manufactured cigarettes. We introduced this blend especially for our customers who requested a conventional tasting, American flavored cigarette. I think it smells terrific and comforting when I open a Rowland^TM pouch and recognize the pleasant aroma of chocolate wafting out. The cocoa flavoring is not evident while smoking, but it smells great when handling the loose tobacco. Among the many flavored tobaccos available, this is my pick as the best on the market. Another popular flavored tobacco is our Wingate^TM (U.S. Menthol). Our Wingate^TM is a traditional mentholated tobacco blend for the purist and connoisseur. Since we begin with pure menthol crystals and use the freshest tobaccos, our menthol is superior in flavor to that "canned" stuff available from our competition. The cheap bagged stuff from our competition can often metholate an entire room and may require storage in a Tupperware (or equivalent) container. In contrast, our superior premium pouch does not allow the menthol aroma to dissipate into your room. If you prefer a milder menthol cigarette, just mix with one of our other fine tobaccos to obtain the desired strength. A popular combination according to some of our customers is to mix the Wingate^TM with Rowland^TM to get a "mint chocolate chip" combination blend. Our Vengeur^TM and Windsail^TM blends add another terrific combination of flavors and aromas when mixed with Wingate^TM. We have also recently released Wingate Light^TM for customers who desire a lighter mentholation as well as a lighter tobacco base. We hope you will enjoy both of our excellent methol blends. For our customers who desire a flavored blend other than menthol, we have introduced an exciting combination of flue-cured gold leaf tobacco and wintergreen leaf oil to produce WinterGold^TM. WinterGold^TM is a delicious new blend and is a terrific menthol alternative.

Our Ryback^TM brand (Premium Dutch Blend) was developed for the smoker who has acquired a taste for the European or Dutch style of extra fine cut tobacco. The highest grades of tobacco, from specific growth areas, have been selected to provide a superior taste and aroma. This style of dark tobacco is created by employing a fire-cured process. Most fire cured tobaccos are blended with a flue-cured tobacco to create what is known as a "halfzware shag" in the RYO industry. As soon as you open a Ryback^TM pouch you can tell that special attention was given to the methods of blending and cutting the tobaccos. Although to me the aroma smells strong and almost like a pipe tobacco, the taste is smooth and medium bodied. Our Ryback^TM is comparable if not superior to the high cost alternatives for this "Holland tobacco" market. Athey^TM (Old Timer's Blend) is another fine crafted blend of tobaccos that are combined and flavored by a very old and guarded recipe. This special tobacco preparation is then "old fashioned" cut in a manner that resembles flakes or chips. Since the cutting methods used in producing this interesting blend are especially for the rolling format, Athey^TM does not work as well by itself in a stuffing machine. (However, Athey^TM works great as a component in your own personal blend). The aroma coming from an open bag is absolutely fantastic and reminds me of a Scotch Whisky or maybe an imported Liqueur. You don't have to be a cowboy to enjoy the relaxing and gratifying experience of rolling your own cigarettes, made from our Athey^TM tobacco.

Ramback^TM is a blend of Turkish tobaccos with a surprisingly smooth taste, and a delicious/sensual flavor and aroma. For prospective customers who like Turkish style cigarettes (or remember what a terrific Turkish tobacco cigarette used to taste like), this is the RYO blend to satisfy your pallet. We believe Ramback^TM is one of the finest RYO blends you will ever smoke and will give you an appreciation for the great cigarette flavors of the past. We are proud to report (yet with a sense of humility) that our Ramback^TM is the highest rated RYO tobacco on the market. Ramback^TM is incredible by itself or blended with other D&R brands. Another distinctive brand is our new PenHooker^TM, composed of a Canadian blend of 100% flue-cured tobacco. PenHooker^TM has a varietal character which is similar to many of the popular and tradition tasting manufactured Canadian cigarette brands. PenHooker^TM is also available in an incredible tasting light version, PenHooker Light^TM.

Most people do not realize that you make a "light" or "full flavor" cigarette by selecting the correct type of tube, and not by selecting a tobacco with light characteristics. We currently sell a wide range of brands and styles of cigarette tubes to satisfy the needs of our customers. I believe you will find that our prices for tubes are the lowest anywhere. If you desire a regular length (70mm), non-filter tube, you would select the Excel tube made by Clinton Tube Company (CTC). When making price comparisons, remember that these non-filter, short cigarette tubes are packaged 500/box. We sell two brands of filtered 70mm (regular length) tubes for our customers who desire a short smoke, Rayo Regular length and Century. Most of the remaining tubes in our current assortment are king-size or 100mm, filter tipped, and packaged either 200/box or 100/box with brand variations. We have recently added two new sizes of MYO tubes. The first is a "cigarette size" tube sold by Rizla to be the same dimension as a manufactured cigarette. The other size variation is the new "ultra slim" from Clinton Tube, available in Premier and Rayo brand tubes. Another exciting new option available to the MYO smoker is the revolutionary brown tube from Vera Cruz.

CTC manufactures Premier, Premier Light, Escort, Filterite, Filterite Light, Windsail (our private label brand), Vera Cruz (the exciting new brown tube) and the Rayo brand cigarette tubes. The Premier tube is full flavor with a brown filter tip, Premier Light has a white filter tip, and the Escort is a light (ventilated) tube with a brown filter tip. Windsail is the world's only full flavor tube with a white filter tip. (A white tip is sometimes associated with menthol cigarettes). Rayo cigarette tubes are available in full flavor with a brown filter tip, and in a light tube with a white filter tip.

In addition to the U.S. and Canadian made tubes from CTC, we are pleased to offer an extensive selection of cigarette tubes made by the best manufacturers from around the world. Our line of tubes now includes Gizeh (SilverTip), ElRey, Rizla, Club, Zig-Zag, Mascotte, Top, Buglar and SixtyOne. The German (EFKA) made El Rey is a superior quality, full flavor and light tube (both with a brown filter tip). SilverTip from Gizeh are excellent quality full flavor and light tubes (both brown tipped) with a reputation for dropping less ash. Gizeh also makes Charbon, a charcoal filtered tube, and an attractive new brand called Twister. Rizla and Club are also excellent quality tubes from EFKA and Rizla has a chlorine free tube (blue box). The Zig Zag tubes are also of exceptional quality and are available in full flavor with a brown filter tip, and a light version with a white filter tip. The Zig-Zag light tubes have a ring of small perforations around the filter tip. Mascotte is the biggest selling brand in Holland and they have a reputation for superior quality. Both full flavor and light Mascotte tubes are brown tipped. Top tubes are available in full flavor (brown tip) and light (white tip). Buglar and SixtyOne tubes are only available in full flavor. We also carry four brands of mentholated filter tubes: MenthoTip, ElRey Menthol, Mascotte Menthol, and Premier Menthol. We have recently added the new 100mm full flavor and light tubes from Zig-Zag and a full flavor 100mm tube from SixtyOne to our product line.

In addition to the physical variations described among the tubes above, there is also a subtle, subjective difference in the "taste" of the different tubes to some of our customers. You may want to try out more than one brand before you make a final decision on which is the best cigarette tube for you. Although there will always be the occasional defective tube, all these manufacturers make an excellent quality cigarette tube. A consideration for your selection may also be that the Canadian tubes are less expensive than the European tubes (favorable exchange rate and low transportation charges). Once you determine the most pleasurable combination of D&R tobacco and tubes, we know that you will enjoy "a connoisseur's cigarette at an economy price."

If cost is a primary factor in the decision to roll your own cigarettes, then you are going to have to go with the regular length cigarette papers (70mm). King size (78mm) and 100mm papers generally cost about twice as much per pack, and only have around one half to one third the number of papers/booklet as their regular length counterparts. Other factors to consider when selecting a cigarette paper are burn rate, thickness and taste of the paper, and the way the paper feels on your lips and fingers. We have selected papers from four to five manufacturers for each of the 70mm, 78mm, and 100mm formats. We have found that customer's preferences for cigarette papers vary significantly. Somebody might want a sturdy paper that will be easy to roll, while another may want the thinnest paper achievable. Since it is not possible to recommend one single paper that might be to everyone's best liking, we carry what we hope represents the best value selection from fine quality manufacturers. Please let us know if there is some other paper that you would like for us to add to our inventory. We strive to provide the best quality and greatest value cigarette papers available on the market.

The best values we have found in regular length cigarette papers are the Escort and Rayo Free Burn brands from CTC. These papers are inexpensive, high quality and (most importantly) packed 100 sheets per booklet. (By the box they are $.45 per 100 sheet booklet. All the other papers range from $.40 to $.60 per fifty sheets). If you prefer a thinner cigarette paper, we also carry Rice papers and Hemp papers from Rayo. When making price comparisons, remember that the Rayo Rice and Rayo Hemp papers are packed 48/booklet. The Escort is an "aquafuge" or "wet proof" paper which means that it is a light paper and will not stick to your lips. The Escort, Rice and Hemp papers from CTC are also slow burn cigarette papers (gives you a longer lasting cigarette than the length would suggest). In the 70mm length, we offer four to five styles of papers from each of Gizeh, Rizla and Mascotte. Different styles include fine, light, medium, rice, hemp and licorice flavored.

Among the many name brand alternatives for king size rolling papers, our picks as the best values, are D&R King Size papers (50/booklet), the French Light from JOB (48/booklet), and Sawah from Gizeh (64/booklet). We recommend these papers as a value because they are high quality and are somewhat reasonably priced compared to most other manufacturers of king size papers. (Most other king size rolling papers are packaged 24 to 32 papers/booklet). The good news is that we've found a good variety of brands and styles of king sized papers especially for our customers. We're excited to offer this range of high quality king size (78/79 mm) cigarette papers, including our own D&R king size papers. Our D&R king size papers come wrapped 50 per packet in a paper sleeve. We've saved on the packaging in order to lower your cost of a roll your own, king size length cigarette. Just pinch the paper sleeve between your fingers to open, and then slide out the cigarette paper. We believe that our king size D&R cigarette papers are among the lowest priced king size papers available anywhere.

For our RYO customers who want a really long smoke, we now offer a variety of 100mm cigarette papers. We currently carry 100mm papers in fine, medium, ultra thin, rice and licorice - just about every style you might desire.

When we opened our doors a decade ago, packaging of RYO products by most of the national brand companies were influenced by, or manufactured for the Canadian or export market. A pouch or tin of tobacco typically contained 200 grams (7.02 ounces) to make about one carton. Today these companies have trimmed their packages down to 5-6 ounces. At D&R Tobacco, we still package tobacco in 14-ounce pouches, which makes about two cartons of cigarettes, in order to be consistent with the old standard. Even our new 3.5 ounce Ten Slash Two Pack is about 100 grams and is designed to make around 100 sticks. As a rule of thumb, one gram of tobacco makes one MYO cigarette. For a hand-made RYO cigarette, the weight can range from ¾ to one gram of tobacco per stick.

As we mentioned earlier in our discussion of MYO cigarette tubes, you generally obtain a light cigarette by selecting a light tube, not by selecting a light tobacco. There are, however, several ways that a tobacco manufacturer might make a light tobacco. A manufacturer could add more stems, more lower grade (bottom stalk) leaf, or add reconstituted tobacco products to the blend (made into a sheet and cut like tobacco). A newer trend, especially in manufactured cigarettes, is to add expanded tobacco. (Expanded tobacco is chemically puffed-up like popcorn to four times its size). When these reduced tobacco components are added to a blend, you get a diluted tobacco that may be called light. With consumer demand for what they perceive as a light product, many manufacturers have answered to the call and produced these diluted blends. D&R Tobacco takes pride in manufacturing only premium quality RYO blends; and over the years did not believe that the available light tobacco blends were are up to our vision for a high quality D&R Light Blend. As you might have already experienced, most of the tobacco blends in the light category have been harsh and lacking in flavor. Resultantly, we have held off releasing any light brands until we were able to achieve a premium light RYO tobacco up to stringent D&R Tobacco standards.

We are proud to announce that after years of dreams and expectations of producing a great RYO light tobacco, we have achieved this new milestone in the history of our Company. And we are not just reaching it. We are blowing it away with the introduction of four fantastic new light tobacco brands! Get ready for the introduction of Vengeur Light^TM, Windsail Light^TM, Wingate Light^TM and PenHooker Light^TM. How did we do it? We began by carefully selecting tobacco from the best regions and plant stalk height (lowest no good, highest too strong), and tested it for the desired characteristics. We then blended these great tobaccos to create a rich and complex flavor. Finally, we taste-tested the blends to fine tune our creation and produce the ultimate light RYO tobacco. Why are we so confident that our new brands are so outstanding? You will just have to try these four amazing treats to find out for yourself. Click on the links below to learn more about these exciting new products.

We frequently get calls from prospective customers who are looking for a way to make their own "ultra-light" cigarette. We sell light cigarette kits, but we do not currently offer an "ultra" light option. Unfortunately, there are no true ultra-light cigarette tubes currently available in the MYO category. We hope that the tube manufacturers will eventually catch on and produce an ultra-light tube. (As we mentioned in answer to question 7, the light or ultra-light tobaccos from companies other than D&R are in our opinion an inferior product and should be avoided). If you've got to have an ultra-light smoke, an option might be to use a light tube, light tobacco from D&R Tobacco and add a cigarette holder with a second, disposable filter. (We sell disposable filters from David Ross, Magic25, Denicotea, Medico and Crown). We will keep an eye out for new developments and will offer our customers other ultra-light options as soon as products become available.

D&R Tobacco currently offers 100mm cigarette kits in both RYO and MYO formats. We now sell two hand-held 100mm rolling machines and six styles of 100mm papers from four manufacturers. On the stuffing side, 100mm tubes are currently available from Premier (full flavor and light) Zig-Zag (full flavor and light) and SixtyOne (full flavor only), and we believe several other manufacturers will introduce 100mm tubes in 2004. We carry hand-held 100mm stuffing machines from Zig-Zag and Maiker, and the new Premier Supermatic has a 100mm setting. Another way presently to make a 100mm cigarette is to get a desktop rolling machine that makes a very long "cigarette" that is then cut down to whatever length you want. These machines are improving in reliability, but the papers are not widely available (and are relatively expensive). We are monitoring and evaluating this technology and may offer this format in the future.

There are currently two new products on the market that offer MYO smokers an alternative to the present standard diameter (8.1mm) MYO tube. They are the Ultra Slim from CTC and the "Cigarette Size" from Rizla. The Ultra Slim is a petite tube, 6.5mm in diameter and 80mm long. A special Rayo 6.5mm machine is available and CTC currently manufactures Rayo and Premier Ultra Slim tubes (in full flavor only). The new "Cigarette Size" tubes from Rizla look like a manufactured cigarette and are designed to provide a smoke comparable to a factory-made cigarette. They are 84mm long and 7.8mm in diameter. Most importantly, the length of filter is 22mm (all other MYO tube filters are 15mm-17mm) and they use 20% less tobacco. The Cigarette Size tubes are currently available in full flavor. Both these new size formats require their own special machines; these Ultra Slim and Cigarette Size tubes do not work on a standard MYO stuffing machine.

There are two primary reasons that cause the stuffing machines to jam. When you first receive your D&R tobacco (or most any other brand of RYO tobacco), it will generally be too moist for the stuffing machine right out of the package. Moist tobacco can gum-up a machine, jam the moving parts, and produce a cigarette that is not completely filled. If your tobacco is too moist, let the tobacco air dry for a short while before making any cigarettes (time will vary depending upon your local climate). The tobacco is at the optimum moisture content when it has a slight crisp feel. Furthermore, periodically brush the machine clean with a dry paintbrush and oil all moving parts. Use hot water, gentle soap and a soft cloth to clean stubborn gummed-up residue. All stuffing machines must be periodically cleaned, tightened and lubricated. Regular maintenance is essential to a smoothly operating stuffing machine and a well made cigarette.

The second most common cause of a jammed machine is trying to use too much tobacco to make a cigarette. When you first begin "stuffing" cigarettes, practice making them with less tobacco and work up to the desired level of compactness. Overloading will jam and damage any cigarette machine. This is important advice and worth repeating - DO NOT USE TOO MUCH TOBACCO! As a rule of thumb, if the tobacco is sticking up out of the "tobacco slot" on your machine, you are using too much. You may want to gain a reference point by opening a finished cigarette and observing how little tobacco is used in making a cigarette. We occasionally hear from some customer (or their apologetic spouse) who thought they could force the machine arm through its range of motion. If you have problems when first learning how to make a cigarette, call us and we will walk you through it. (In ten years of experience, I can count on one hand the number of machines that were truly defective from the manufacturer). As specified in the instruction booklet that comes with the machine, if a CTC machine requires service, return it directly to the manufacturer. They are a terrific company and will generally rebuild your machine for free or for a minor service charge (you pay postage).

Getting the menthol concentration "just right" for every customer would be an impossible task for us. We have, therefore, admittedly elected to mentholate our tobacco rather heavily for the strong menthol smokers. In order to get a lighter menthol cigarette, all you have to do is blend the menthol with one of our other fine tobaccos to obtain your desired strength. You may also want to try a light cigarette tube to lighten the menthol.

Sitting on a store shelf or being transported across the country can cause any tobacco to dry out. That may not necessarily be a problem. The biggest problem to RYO/MYO is when tobacco is moist and gets moldy. Mold is the greatest enemy because it spoils the tobacco; dry tobacco can be recovered. The best cigarette tobaccos are actually aged in a tobacco warehouse for a minimum three years before they are ready for rehydration, blending and cutting. (Tobacco has to "sweat out" at least six times, twice per year). If the tobacco is dry, but not molded, it can be revitalized with a humidor. Bring the moisture content of the tobacco back up slowly (with a humidifier or sponge - indirect humidity) and do not handle the tobacco too much when it is dry (it will crumble into powder). The moisture content for optimum rolling will vary depending on your geographic area.

For regular consumption, keep your working "stash" in a container that preserves freshness and store your excess tobacco in a dry dark area (cabinet or drawer). Some of our customers buy in bulk and want to know a safe way to store tobacco for much later use. You can freeze the tobacco for extended periods as long as the tobacco does not go through multiple defrost cycles. Frozen tobacco will last a very long time. When you defrost the tobacco, do not touch it until it has come to room temperature. It will probably be dry after freezing and will have to be rehydrated with a humidifier.

Smoking a home-made cigarette is not a safe alternative to smoking a manufactured cigarette. Please consult the Health Warnings listed on our side panel. If you have health concerns about smoking, do not start smoking.

We are not aware of any research that has investigated reduced cigarette consumption among MYO/RYO smokers. We do, however, have some anecdotal evidence from some of our customers that they are smoking less. Reasons have varied for them cutting back. The two we would expect to hear most (and do) is that the MYO cigarette tastes better so they smoke fewer to be satisfied, and second that it is less convenient (i.e., the hassle factor). Another reason we have heard is that it eliminates the mindless smoke. You know that cigarette you really didn't want or need, but you found it in your mouth so you smoked it anyway. If you have to make a cigarette, you will not smoke it as automatically. I also think there is an element of "Pavlov's dog" acting here as well. (Remember, Pavlov discovered that his dogs salivated when he rang the bell, before he delivered the food). The physical process of sitting down, getting out the accessories, and making a cigarette appears to have a reward component to it. If the cigarette making process helps some people smoke less, then we are for it. Some former customers have also used MYO/RYO as a bridge to quit smoking completely.