Letting My Mind Wander With A: 55 Year Old Cigar

[polarbear]

Firstly, I want to thank Callum Harris for gifting me the cigar, because without him this would not have been possible.

Sigmund Freud was once quoted “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”. Now I know when he uttered those words he was referring to the phallic comparisons people often made to his cigars. While in that regard I agree with him, in the broader interpretation of his quote I find myself disagreeing. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but sometimes it’s not. Tonight I find myself sitting with a cigar that is not just a cigar. This cigar was rolled sometime around 1955. 58 years ago a torcedor gathered his leaves and rolled this cigar. It was then placed in a box and sold. In that box it sat for over 5 decades as the world rolled by it. Times changed and then changed again until one day the box was cracked open and this cigar handed to Callum. He generously offered me this one on the condition I review it for him. So here we are.

I sit here on my deck. The cigar resting on my cutter, a glass of gin and tonic (my preferred alcoholic cigar beverage) on one side, my tall Stinky ashtray on the other and a cedar spill above it all. I sit and try to prepare myself for my first foray into Vintage cigars. Up until this point the oldest cigar that has ever touched my lips was rolled in 2000 (It was a Cohiba Millennium Piramdes, it was fantastic, but more on that later). Now I get to set the bar a little higher. 1955, more than twice my age. I pick up the cigar and run my fingers over the wrapper. It smells of aged tobacco. The standard Barnyard scent usually found with a new cigar has long since vanished. Left in its place is the scent of pure vintage tobacco.

This is a daunting proposition for me. 5 cigars. All the same age, sent to 5 people the owner considered to be aficionados. I’ve been called many things but cigar aficionado is never one I’ve been comfortable with. I smoke, I taste, I enjoy. I’m just a regular guy who has been lucky enough to have been doing this for a while and learned what I like. Now I smoke this 55 year old cigar and leave my notes on-line to be compared to the other 4 aficionados to see if we are similar. Lets hope I know what I’m doing…

I pick up the cigar and cut the cap. I take only a couple of millimetres. I don’t want to cut to far down and have the aged and fragile wrapper come apart. I test the draw and despite the very tapered foot and small cut the draw is perfect. I taste the cold draw and ponder for a moment. Sweet musk, a touch of spice and a floral note I cant put my finger on.

I light my spill using my lighter and toast the foot gently, never letting the flame touch the foot. After a few moments of this I take my first puff to ensure even combustion. The cigar never fights the flame and the tapered foot is lit easily. The first few puffs reward me with a touch of sweetness, only a touch, I think its left over from the cedar spill I lit it with. The seriously tapered foot offers me a small amount of smoke but a lovely draw all the same. I decided to give it some time to get going and let my mind wander.

All this talk of aged cigars takes me back to the day I was gifted that Cohiba. It wasn’t that long ago. I was sitting in a bar in Singapore with a group of guys on the way home from on oil platform. We’d gone out for dinner and then moved onto this bar for a few more drinks. I had an early flight the next day so my enthusiasm toward the local brew (I’m pretty sure it was Tiger, that’s a hard beer to get enthused about at the best of times) was waning a little. The lads are carrying on like a group of guys who haven’t had a beer or seen a woman in over 4 weeks (probably cause we hadn’t).

The cigar has opened up a little now. Each puff rewards me with a decent volume of smoke bringing with it a bitter creaminess similar to a Latté without sugar in it. The cedar sweetness is still there but only through the retrohale. The burn is razor sharp and the ash a brilliant white colour.

The beers in Singapore are flowing and its not long before someone brings up the place where we all figured this night would lead us. Someone says “lets go to the Four Floors!” and this suggestion is met with enthusiasm from everyone at the table except for me. If you don’t know what the Four Floor is I’ll clarify by giving you its full name, its known by many as The Four Floors Of Whores. That’s where the lads were heading. Personally, I couldn’t be less interested. I had a missus at home waiting for me and while that might not stop some people it was enough to put my brakes on. The lads all got up to leave and I said I’d stick around, have another beer and head back to the hotel. The usual cracks from the lads about being soft/whipped/*** all followed but were quickly dispurst when they figured they were wasting valuable “bonking time” talking to me about it. I got up from the table and moved to the bar.

As the cigar moves into the 2^nd third the burn and draw are still perfect in every way. There is a thin black line just below the ash where unburnt tobacco is charred by the embers in its centre and there is no trace of harshness or bitterness. The smoke production has increased slightly and I am reacquainted with the toasted floral note that I encountered during the cold draw. It reminds me of the Pot Puree my mother used to leave in the bathroom when I was a kid. That mixed with a toasted tobacco character that one would expect from a cigar of this age. As the cigar progresses that milk coffee flavour from the first third returns for only a few moments before the cigar moves into its last phase.

As I sit at the bar, “enjoying” what I tell myself will be my last Tiger beer before heading back to the hotel room an Middle Eastern man walks up to the bar dressed in a black suit with a grey shirt and no tie. He orders 4 glasses of scotch, neat and wait for the barman to prepare his order. As they are placed in a row on the bar. Something is shouted in Arabic from the table this gentleman has come from and when he turns to respond he knocks one of the glasses off the bar with his elbow. Sitting close to him I am able to throw my hand out and catch it, spilling none of the glasses contents. I place it back on the bar in line and the gentleman turns to thank me. His English is perfect with a hint of a British accent. He introduces himself, but his name now escapes me, and thanks me for my quick hands. I respond that it was nothing and seemed a shame to waist good Scotch. He places on of the glasses in front of me and says “40 year old, the best!” I thank him but decline. I am not a scotch fan and such a fine spirit would be wasted on me. He smiles and asks “why are you drinking alone”. I reply that I was with a group but they left a little while ago. “Ah” he replies, “the Four Floors?” “It would seem so” I reply with a smile. He asks “why did you not join?” I simply say “Because I have a woman”. He looks at me with a subtle confusion on his face “is your woman here with you now?”. I laugh, “No” I say “but she doesn’t do that to me so I don’t do it to her”.

The gentleman smiles, “ah, you are a good man, a foolish one, perhaps, but a good one. Would you care to join us then?” The night is young, what have I got to loose really? I order a Zacappa 23 (neat) and get up to join the table.

The final 3^rd of this aged cigar is well underway. The flavour has picked up considerably, moving from a medium body into a full blown flavour powerhouse. The smoke production has increased again and every puff on the cigar coats my pallet with a think sweet smoke. I find myself having to keep an eye on my watch so as not to draw to often, heating the cigar up and ruining the flavours I’m getting. This cigar has found its sweet spot and it has changed from a very good smoke to an amazing powerhouse of sweet spice and dry cocoa powder. There is no harshness or bitterness to be found in the profile with less than 2 inches to go. The cigar has warmed, but not gotten hot (unless you count my fingers) and the burn and draw are still the perfection they’ve been the whole way through. As the heat increases there is a touch of cream to be found on the retrohale.

I sit at the table surrounded by 4 well dressed middle eastern men. The talk of business and pleasures. Of money and travels. The countries and women they’ve experienced. These are men of some means and money. On the table I see what I guess to be at least $6000 worth of Dunhill lighter sitting next to a packet of Turkish cigarettes. My one rum turns into many as the night carries on. The laughs flow and people that share little in common find common ground on which to converse. They are interested in Australia. The people, the weather, the sights, the kangaroos (no, we don’t ride them!) and the lifestyle. I am only too happy to talk of my home and the life I lead as they are happy to share their adventures. They are four friends from the UAE who have done well for themselves in oil. Various business commitments have brought them all to Singapore at the same time so they talk and converse like teenagers once again, each person “one upping” the previous ones stories of business and pleasure. As the night continues the boys start discussing moving on to a place that they are permitted to smoke in. I look at my watch (it’s a little more blurry than it was a couple of hours ago) and realise my flight back to Darwin leaves in 4 hours. The offer of continuing the night with them is there and I offer my regrets that I wont be able to join them. They ask if it’s the smoke, I reply that I actually love cigars and have many at home. This comment brings about another 30min worth of cigar related conversation (now my flight leaves in 3.5 hours). I finally get up to leave and shake the hands of the 4 gentlemen I’ve spent my night with. As I gather my things to go, the first gentleman reaches into his coat and produces a stainless steel single cigar case. “Here, take this with you and smoke it when you get home. As a thankyou for the company and saving me from looking the fool with the scotch.” I thank him and place it in my pocket and begin the short walk back to my hotel. I checked the case the next day and found it contained a beautiful torpedo sporting the iconic black and yellow Millenium band.

The cigar has less than an inch to go. The sweet spice and cream that has coated my pallet all through the final third of this cigar shows no sign of getting harsh or bitter. My fingers are red and blistered from heat of the nub and my lips are not far behind. I place it on the ashtray and let it go out slowly, still filling the air with the sweet floral smoke.

This was a VERY good cigar. The time it has spent in its box has removed any trace of the bad manners you often find in younger cigars (when I sat to edit this review I fired up a 6 months old Partagas 898, the differences are astounding)

I don’t like to offer numbered ratings for cigars most people will never get a chance to try for themselves because I see no point to it. I will conclude by saying this cigar is in the top 3 cigars I’ve smoked this year and one of the most complex I’ve smoked in a very long time.

[Charltonc]

Great review, keep them coming.

[paulF]

Very well written review

Loved the mind wandering parts too and the fact that the Cigar is around 55 years old is simply mind boggling

[Dimmers]

Amazing review and the story-wthin-a-story elements. Just to clarify, was this cigar a custom roll, and if not, do you know what brand ?

Edit - or has this been a blind tasting for the 5 lucky chaps sent the cigar?

[polarbear]

This was a Dutch cigar, i think, I'm not sure what kind of tobacco was used

Not sure of the brand but they didnt come banded

It was sent to me by a friend on another site. I'm not sure if the other 4 guys ever got around to posting thier reviews. Mine went up first

[Larsy]

What an awesome experience. Thanks for sharing with us!

[Habanos2000]

Great review and story!

[nikesupremedunk]

Nice review! It's cool that you smoked a cigar with my dad's birth year. That's what I like about this hobby...you can still smoke and enjoy cigars that were enjoyed decades ago.

[bugman78629]

GREAT SHORT STORY...............

[laficion]

All I can say Is Bravo ,mate. !!!!!!!!!GREAT review. Thank you .

[Louich]

Wow what a review !

[Puros Y Vino]

Nicely done. I liked the way you weaved in and out of the stories. Though I did find the Singapore tale more enticing than the review.

[CaptainQuintero]

Fantastic story, this should be pinned ot show what this hobby is all about. Glad you enjoyed such an evening!

[davidl]

Fantastic review And excellent story!

[Fshaw]

I enjoyed reading your prose.

[jimb2u]

Excellent read and a nicely crafted window into your experience with this cigar interlaced with another gifted stick that I look forward to heading about. Thanks for sharing!

Cheers

Jim

[maverickdrinker]

great review!!!! thanks for sharing

[B3n]

That was a good read! Thanks for sharing!

[GammerSmokes]

Great review! I love it when a cigar reminds of a particular time in your life... makes the hobby very sentimental. Enjoyed the story too!

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

[TheoCincy]

Great review appreciate the story story format of your review.