Kyle Chayka: President Biden seems to be backing off a proposed ban on menthol cigarettes in the United States, which is probably for the best: Itâs not worth any hypothetical political points lost and in a time when you can buy hallucinogenic mushroom chocolates legally on any street in our nationâs capital it would seem slightly hypocritical. We vanquished vapes for a while; at least leave us the minty tobacco that makes us nostalgic for high school. (Clove cigarettes are somehow still banned, RIP 16-year-old me.) My friend Tatiana is partial to menthol Camel Crushes, which are satisfying to Crush but I always found them too chemical, like what I imagine windshield washer fluid to taste like. Hestias are too hipster and American Spirits too dense, but I still want to keep at least some notes of tobacco.
It turns out thereâs a better kind of menthol cigarette, for grown-ups. Friend of One Thing (FOOT) Delia Cai brought back a pack of BOHEM Mojito No. 6 cigarettes from a trip to Japan. She picked it up at the Tanaka Cigarette Shop in Kyoto, a stall by the Kamo river. (Google reviews complain about the ownerâs grumpiness but Delia had a positive experience.) The brand is actually Korean in origin, not Japanese, but the Japanese packaging is very evocative, advertising a âCuban scent.â The cigarettes themselves have a purple gradient on the filter. Most importantly, the flavor is a light minty breeze, adding an herbal quality that I found pleasant. For Camel Crush lovers, however, it may not be enough: âI need to be punched in the face with extreme artificial minty flavor,â Tatiana said.
You can buy a similar BOHEM product online, but beware, they make mini-cigars too and itâs hard to tell which is which. Cigars are where I â wholly arbitrarily, like Biden taking on menthol â draw the line at purchasing.
Previously on One Thing: A consideration of the fan reaction to Taylor Swiftâs latest album. Taste and culture are often policed on the internet, but can such âgatekeepingâ sometimes be a good thing when it comes to combatting homogeneity?