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Like many people, I love the idea of Sailor Cigar from the Pen & Message shop in Kobe, Japan, but am exhausted by the idea of finagling a way to obtain it. The legend and scarcity have grown so large as to make one consider pitching a tent on the sidewalk outside the shop on Kitanagasadori and waiting, like fans of a new iPhone. But this is an ink revolt, and we are not going to do that. The work of Chrissy, Tas, dcpritch and others inspires us all to mix an ink that matches the color of the world's best cigars, rolled from tobacco grown in Vuelta Abajo, Cuba. I did not succeed in my first attempt, but it was not a failure, either. This formulation is a derivation of Chrissy's work, which uses a single-dye permanent blue, a yellowish-green, a golden brown, and a rust-like orangy red. The result closely resembles Stipula verde muschiato. When we succeed, we shall call our ink "Vuelta Abajo." This humble first attempt in our revolution, however, is "Route 54 Motor Oil." Draft 1.5 of the New Cigar Manifesto 1 part Noodler's Bad Blue Heron 1 part Diamine sepia 1 part Diamine evergreen 1 part Diamine terra cotta Writing sample with Pilot Plumix italic nib on Staples 32-pound ivory laser paper.