Full Circle: From Miles to Milestones
By Michael Herklots
Ferio Tego recently announced our latest project, Ferio Tego Milestones, a limited edition cigar created in collaboration with the Miles Davis Estate and Reservoir Media as part of the official Miles Davis Centennial celebration throughout 2026. This project is a full-circle moment for me. I was introduced to Miles Davis’ music in high school while performing locally with a jazz trio and playing music associated with the early part of his career. I arrived at Berklee College of Music in Boston in the fall of 1998 to pursue a career as a drummer. It was during my first semester that I was introduced to cigars.
In high school, music and playing drums were the things I loved most. They were my hobby and my escape. When I arrived at Berklee, I loved music more than ever. But it had also become the work. Cigars became my hobby and my escape.
While at Berklee, I was a member of several ensembles, including the Miles Davis Ensemble. In May of 1999, I began working in the premium cigar industry in retail as a day job to support my education and my pursuit of music. After graduating with a degree in Drum Set Performance, I moved to New York City, where I continued performing while also building a career in the premium cigar industry, first with Davidoff of Geneva, then Nat Sherman, and now Ferio Tego.
Miles Davis has long influenced the way I approach creativity. His work taught me the importance of structure, expression, restraint, and the responsibility to create something meaningful. The breadth of what he created is immeasurable. To define him by any one period, sound, style, or medium is impossible.
One does not need to be an expert to love Miles Davis, but experts have spent lifetimes studying his music. We created this cigar with that same philosophy in mind. It reflects the qualities I admire in Miles’ most enduring work. It is approachable and appealing, yet structured and nuanced. Easy for anyone to enjoy, with plenty of depth for the developed palate.
The name Milestones honors both the landmark 1958 Miles Davis album and its title track. It also acknowledges the significance of the Centennial celebration, and the role cigars often play in celebrating meaningful moments.
Jazz and handmade premium cigars share a great deal. Both are often misunderstood and underappreciated. Both require tremendous discipline to create. And both instill joy, inspire passion, and foster community.
I have played the music of Miles Davis countless times with musicians I had never met, who spoke languages I could not understand and came from places I had never been, yet we could all play the same tune. Premium cigars offer the same thing. It is probably the thing I love the most about them both… the instant kinship they create.
Miles’ creative expression was not limited to music. His drawings and paintings reflected the same expressive spirit found throughout his work. Each box of Ferio Tego Milestones includes one of four commemorative 5" × 7" reproductions of original Miles Davis sketches, presented in an envelope inside the box.
Four hundred boxes of each sketch edition were produced. The editions are identified as Sketch One, Sketch Two, Sketch Three, and Sketch Four. Retailers will receive the release in complete four-sketch box sets, made up of one box of each edition. The cigar is presented in ten-count boxes featuring the iconic silhouette of Miles Davis prominently on the lid.
Each box also includes a QR code linking to a playlist curated by me, Reservoir Media, and the Miles Davis Estate. The tracks were selected to accompany the experience of enjoying a Ferio Tego cigar.
Thirty years after listening to Kind of Blue for the first time, music and cigars have come together through a project honoring the artist whose work has influenced me more than any other.
I am deeply grateful.
Michael Herklots is the cofounder and blender of Ferio Tego.
Ferio Tego Milestones
Size: 6" × 50 Toro
Produced by: Agroindustrias, Honduras
Wrapper: Ecuador-grown Connecticut seed
Binder: Honduras
Fillers: Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic
Production: Limited to 1,600 boxes
Distributed in the United States by: Davidoff of Geneva USA
