LIMITED EDITION - ONLY 14 BOXES IN THE UK!
Length: 6 3/4"
Ring Gauge: 52
Strength: Medium to Full
Packaging: 1 Single
Vitola: Perfecto
Smoking Time: 60 Minutes
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Mexican San Andres
Filler: Estelí & Jalapa, Nicaragua
FOUNDATION CIGARS
In 2014 Nick Melillo faced a stark choice - He could well have stayed on as Executive Vice President of International Operations and Head Blender of Drew Estate (a role he had held since 2003), or he could seize the chance to finally use his 20 years of hard-earned experience and his access to the highest quality cigar tobacco to make his own cigars – the cigars of his dreams!
The choice was easy, and in 2015 Foundation Cigar Company was born, all for the love of the leaf.
Nick’s cigar journey started in high school, on Saturdays he would go for a smoke with his grandfather and brother at their local shop in New Haven, Connecticut. After memorising all details of every cigar in the humidor; Nick persuaded them to give him a weekend job.
Nick’s passion for working with cigars was immediately apparent, but following four years at Calabash Shoppe, the wide world was calling, and Nick took off to travel the globe. Following a lengthy global trip remarkably reminiscent of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, it was in 2003 that Nick received a call from Jonathan Drew...
Jonathan needed someone who knew and loved cigars and was willing to move to Nicaragua to oversee the setup and operations of his new cigar company - Drew Estate. Nick jumped on board and immediately started blending cigars and fermenting tobacco; cigars and tobacco that completely changed the cigar industry in the early 21st Century.
In 2015 Melillo branched out on his own, finally forming the Foundation Cigar Company.
Famously and without being prompted, paid or promoted, the cigars are now regularly being championed as the best cigars available by Joe Rogan (the world’s most popular podcaster) and winning awards and ratings such as #1 Best Buy (Cigar Afficionado), Cigar Of The Year (Cigar Snob) and #3 in Cigar Afficionado’s top 25 2019.
But what is at the heart of Foundation Cigar Company is the cigar smoker themselves – that smoke-filled moment of pure presence, that quietly thunderous connection to ancient heritage, modern science, and genuine passion for the leaf. This is something that Melillo and Foundation Cigar Company will provide endlessly to any who will sit and take audience. All for the love of the leaf.
THE TABERNACLE KNIGHT COMMANDER
The Tabernacle Knight Commander commemorates Melillo’s title as Knight Commander of The Ethiopian Star of Honour, an honour bestowed by the Ethiopian Crown Council. Established by Emperor Menelik II in 1889, this esteemed title recognizes extraordinary service to Ethiopia and this cigar serves as a tribute to this honour, underscoring Melillo’s enduring relationship with the Ethiopian community.
As would be expected from arguably the most important figure in Connecticut Broadleaf history, the Knight Commander features the highest quality Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper available anywhere on the market, a truly exceptional Mexican San Andrés binder, and rare and delectable fillers from Estelí and Jalapa, Nicaragua. This limited-edition cigar is then aged for 15 months in cedar, and delivers complexity, depth and sonorous notes not even seen before within the renowned Tabernacle range.