Come September 2020, there will be a new El Güegüense cigar, in the form of the 5yr Aniversario Collector’s chest. Nicholas Melillo debuted the original El Güegüense as one of the first lines in his Foundation Cigar Company in 2015. Now the company is releasing a limited edition 4 ¾ by 60 Perfecto in a special blend for the 5 year anniversary.
This year, at the IPCPR trade show in Las Vegas, Nick Melillo will release an extension to his release from last year's The Wise Man Maduro in a lancero format. The cigar scored a 95 in our blind review and earned #1 Cigar of the Year.
ACMEAllBalmoralBill PaleyCaldwellCamachoCAOCrowned HeadsCubaCubariquenoDanny MoyaDavidoffDion GiolitoDominican RepublicDon Pepin GarciaDrew EstateDunbarton Tobacco & TrustEditorialFeaturedFoundation CigarFred ReweyH. Upmann (Cuba)Hendrik KelnerHondurasIllusioneIPCPRJon HuberJonathan DrewKyle GellisL'AtelierLa PalinaManuel QuesadaMax FernandezMoyaRuizNelson RuizNewsNicaraguaNicholas MelilloPartagasPete JohnsonQuesadaRick RodriguezRobert CaldwellRoMa CraftSkip MartinSteve SakaTatuajeTop 25USAWarpedWilly Herrera
·Voting Process
Each of our 16 panelists were given 10 votes to cast. Our list is made up of cigars that were RELEASED in 2015. The cigars that are eligible do not have to have been reviewed on Blind Man's Puff, but the panelist must have smoke it at some point themselves.
Cigar Info Foundation Cigars debuted a new core line of cigars, Olmec, at the 2022 PCA trade show. Foundation Olmec...
Nick Mellio and Foundation Cigar Co. were showing off three new releases that this year's IPCPR Trade Show: The Tabernacle, Charter Oak, and The Upsetters. You can read the original press releases by clicking on the respective names.
Foundation Cigars is adding a 6 x 52 Toro to the Menelik line. The new size will be shown off at the PCA trade show next month. Menelik has been around since 2016 and was originally a event-only cigar. In 2019, it became more widely available in boxes of 12 as a limited release. The original size was a 4 1/2 x 52 short robusto.
AJ FernandezAllAVOCaldwellCamachoCarson SerinoClaudio SgroiCornelius & AnthonyCrowned HeadsDavidoffDominican RepublicDon Pepin GarciaDrew EstateDunbarton Tobacco & TrustErik EspinosaFeaturedFred ReweyH. UpmannHector Alfonso Sr.Hendrik KelnerHondurasIPCPRJaime GarciaJon HuberJonathan DrewMy FatherNicaraguaNicholas MelilloNomadPete JohnsonRobert CaldwellRobert HoltRoMa CraftSerinoSkip MartinSouthern DrawSteve SakaTatuajeTop 25Willy Herrera
·Each of our panelists were given 10 votes to towards our top 25. Order mattered on their votes as their #1 vote is worth twice as much as their #10. Our list is made up of cigars that had a wide release this year. The cigars that are eligible do not have to have been reviewed on Blind Man's Puff, but the reviewer must have smoke it at some point to vote for it.
The first event-only Foundation cigar, Menelik, became a national release earlier this year. Now, to replace that comes The Grasshopper. Like the original Menelik, The Grasshopper comes in packs of 5 cigars. However, the cigars in the pack are different blends, two with a San Andres Mexican wrapper, two with Candela wrapper, and one cigar with a barber pole of San Andres and Candela. The internals of the cigars is all the same using a Corojo binder from Jalapa, Nicaragua fillers from Esteli, Condega, and Jalapa Nicaragua. Each cigar measure 5 1/4 x 52.
This year, Foundation Cigars showed off three new products at IPCPR, all extensions of existing products. These included the Menelink, a previously event-only cigar, Tabernacle Havana Seed #142 lancero, a new size in the line, and the Highclere Victorian, a maduro followup to the previously Connecticut-shade wrapped Highclere Castle. All three of these products are now shipping to retailers.
"Solid mild to medium cigar. The spice and pepper on the front and end of the cigar were nice. With the middle, a tad more mild and less pepper and more earth and coffee it did not overwhelm you like som peppery cigar will to some people. This should be a cigar to try on many people's list. " -Jake P. (Jake P.)