Mike's 1950 Cigars

All seven of us old farts are probably the last people on the planet that never went to a high school reunion. And because the ones at our age are dropping like flies, or laying in an iron lung while a nurse sings Jamaican nursery rhymes to them.....high schools now make a compromise of several graduating years, at one reunion. It usually spans 10 years.

Last year, was our 41st anniversary for escaping high school. And seven of us, from all over the world decided to go. As a group, we hadn't been together for 25 years. We've all kept in touch through email and phone calls and Skype but this was the real thing.
All of us were born in 1950. The same year that Mike Mersel started Mike's Cigars in Miami,

Since I'm a lot smarter than my friends, I thought it would be cool to bring some Mike's 1950 cigars with me. These house brands are dedicated to the 61 year history of the B & M and then, online store.

I brought Churchills. They are made in Honduras. The filler is Nicaraguan and Dominican. The binder is Honduran and the so is the wrapper. They are a medium-full bodied smoke. And they cost lest than a C Note for a box of 20. The box they come in is a work of art with dovetailed corners and a lift out wood shelf.

I shall cut to the quick. We all left our wives at home. We just wanted the camaraderie of us old guys.
At the Saturday night party, we met at the historic Villa Riviera right on Ocean Blvd. Since this was California, smoking is against the law, punishable by lethal injection. So we sneaked out to the pool area and took up court at a nice table. Warm June night. I handed out the 1950's and everyone laughed. At first, they thought it was something I did just for the get together but I explained the story.

The prelight had a dark cocoa and espresso aroma....even stronger at the foot. The construction was solid. No soft spots. But lots of veins. The color of the stick is a medium tan.
We all brought our own cutters and we snipped away. Upon light up, there was a strong earthy and nutty flavor. It had a solid, easy draw. Mine started to burn unevenly the first inch but quickly corrected itself without my help. A couple of the other guys had the same issue.

The flavor profile remained earthy and nutty, the first third. No surprises.
At the second third, a medium spice profile entered the panoply of flavors making this much more complex. There was also a taste of black walnuts. Just delicious.

We talked about all the girls we had crushes on but who wouldn't give us the time of day. We were either musicians or geeks or both. I personally played in my first band in '65. My first year of high school. The band was called Renaissance Faire. Oooh. Hippie-ish. And we played all the great tunes of the mid 60's. What a great time!

Into the last third, the cigar emanated lots of buttery cream. The spiciness was still there, as well as the walnuts, so now we had a complex dynamite cigar!
One of the hotel sycophants came out, entering our haze of smoke and told us we couldn't smoke, even outside. We each handed him a $20 and he made sure there was no more comments or trouble. Thank you Governator!

We finished up the stick but not before it was completely down to the nub. The stick never got harsh or bitter. And the creaminess just increased.

It was a great night for a bunch of great guys. Back in the day, we would have shared another other kind of smoke. But now we were all fathers to grown children and some were Grand Dads. It actually never occurred to anyone to bring the other stuff. Getting old is not pretty. Unless you've got a 1950 in your maw.

[kelmac07]

Nice review and an even better story Phil. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by kelmac07

Nice review and an even better story Phil. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Mac,
Boy if the name of that stick ain't serendipitous, I don't know what is?
I should start a thread about high school reunions...but then I'd get spanked.
It was 2 years before my mob lawyer grandfather was rubbed out. And my dad had just graduated law school and had gone to work for him. He did the "feets don't fail me now" routine after that and we got out of Dodge(Cleveland).
He took us as far west as he could....L.A. But then the Family followed shortly thereafter. New pickin's in L.A.
My dad went back to school and became a civil engineer. He would never give me a straight answer as to why he didn't take the bar exam in California.