Foundation El Gueguense The Wise Man Lancero Cigar - Box of 13

Length: 7 1/2"
Ring Gauge: 40
Strength: Medium

Packaging: Box of 13 Cigars
Vitola: Lancero
Smoking Time: 45 Minutes

Wrapper: Corojo '99
Binder: Corojo '99
Filler: Corojo '99

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.

EL GUEGUENSE THE WISE MAN

For 500 years, Nicaragua has served as a crossroads of cultures, ever since indigenous inhabitants mocked arriving Spanish Conquistadors in a colourful, costumed satirical masterpiece called El Gueguense. The dance continues to this day, transcending all cultural, social and political barriers - if you are Nicaraguan, the El Gueguense brings you ever closer to your roots, encompassing true National peace in those few precious moments of timeless art and humour.

It is with this great inspiration that Nick Melillo created the El Gueguense brand in 2015, celebrating the rich history Nicaragua - the country that has greeted him with open arms for over 20 years. A true tribute to its father nation as a Nicaraguan Puro (a blend certainly not easy to perfect), El Gueguense showcases what Melillo has learned from a lifetime at the pioneering edge of the cigar industry. True to Melillo's previous record, El Gueguense proved and continues to prove to be a ground-breaking series, transcending barriers and launching this ancient dance into the 21st Century.

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