It’s a drizzly afternoon in late fall. Pulling a Bering Gold #1 Natural from its shiny sheath reminds me how dearly I’d like to be in a more sheltered position than leaning against the brick wall of a UW designated smoking area. The grout between eroded bricks is grimy; I’m sitting on a mat I got for $5 at a rummage sale last spring.

But as I withdraw this 8.5x52 smoke from its golden tube and take a gentle whiff along the length of the cigar, the aroma I intake — a spicy mesquite honey — wraps its arms around me. I feel safe here between a dirty public ashtray and a pile of soggy maple leaves.

My first draws of this light tobacco blend bring me, like Hans Christian Anderson’s Little Match Girl, to a warmer, more inviting place.

A flavor other than the very mild tobacco almost escapes me, but a closer taste presents the distinct tone of a dark-roast coffee. For a moment, I long for a warm mug of the same, but I shake my head — it would obscure these gentle flavors.

A less-than-snowy ash falls away in tight clumps. I sigh, content.

Stiller air would surely yield a slower burn in a cigar packed as carefully as this — not only is it hand-rolled but “hand-made,” the tube assures me. The wet weather brings me away from my imagined fireside rug.

The flavors are pleasant, but none stand out as particularly unique. A cheaper cigar would probably suffice for the clean, smooth taste I’m left with three inches into my experience. Earthy tones emerge, but halfway down, I might as well be sucking on a Marlboro Ultra Light.

After a relight — the breeze and humidity hardly allow me a pause to reflect on the subtle tastes and smells swirling around my mouth — I realize that “basic” and “plain” are not words I like to associate with the curls of smoke I pull into my mouth. I’m almost bored. For $4, I could have rented a couple movies or invested in an exciting flavored cigar by Acid.

Briefly, I’m treated to a nutty flavor, but toward the end, I’m forced to ash often and powerfully to retain a warm glow. My brief vacation is interrupted and swiftly ended by an unpleasantly harsh, sour taste, dreary, pervasive and not unlike the soggy, lonely afternoon I’ve been forced to return to.

Reach A&E editor Maddie Hall at arts@dailyuw.com.