Last week, it was Vidiot giving us a peek into the world of drinking rye whiskey like the big boys do, and today it’s Mark at “Going Like Sixty” giving us the inside scoop on the manly man’s way to smoke a cigar.

Ah, the joys of middle age, where nobody can tell you you can’t smoke big smelly cigars and swill down throat-scorching alcoholic beverages. There are indeed advantages to sliding into geezerhood.

I used to enjoy an occasional cigar, and by “occasional” I mean like one or two a year. Even at that low frequency, though, I bet I haven’t puffed on a Cuban Death Log in a good ten years. I do have a good reason not to pick up a real smoking habit, but I don’t have any particular explanation for having gotten so far away from enjoying an occasional cigar. I szuppose sipping whiskey and smoking cigars are sort of complementary behaviors, actually. Done right, they just about cancel out the associated unpleasant flavors in the mouth and tell-tale odors on the breath, and induce a similar degree of buzziness in the head. And that can’t be all bad.

Once summer starts up around here, I might have to consider spending an evening on the deck with a glass in one hand and a cigar in the other, contemplating the fireflies.

Now, who’s the expert on chasing younger women?