Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Halfwheel.com website)
The latest cigar from Foundation Cigar Co. is on its way to stores, as the company has begun shipping the limited edition Highclere Castle Senetjer, which honors the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb.
The cigar is a 6 3/4 x 52 perfecto that uses a 7th priming Ecuadorian habano wrapper, a Brazilian mata fina binder, and a filler of undisclosed origin, though the company notes it is three-year-old tobacco. The Highclere Castle Senetjer is priced at $33 per cigar and $396 for a box of 12 cigars, though the boxes are anything but traditional.
The boxes were designed in collaboration with archaeologists Colleen and John Darnell, who created a box that replicated one found in the tomb, complete with Highclere Castle being translated in ancient hieroglyphics and inscribed on the facing of the box. The Senetjer line gets it name from the ancient Egyptian word for incense, which has been translated as “of the gods” and “that which makes holy.”
The tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen was discovered by the famed archeologist Howard Carter and funded by the great-grandfather of Lord Carnarvon George Herbert.
“I have been in love with the culture and history of Egypt since I was a little boy,” said Nicholas Melillo of Foundation Cigar Co. in a press release. “It is a great honor to work on this project with Lord Carnarvon and Adam von Gootkin. This product is truly something unique and special,” he added.
The cigar is nicely made and has a nice feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were citrus peel, apple, brown sugar, and leather. There was black pepper rated at 8. Not a bad start.
At the first third (35 minutes) the cigar seems to be a little sweeter. Probably due to the introduction of nougat. The other notes are still in play; citrus peel, apple, brown sugar, and leather. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is leather with good lingering black pepper. The cigar is good but it's not wowing me. I rated the first third 93.
As I moved through the second third (1 hour 12 minutes) there was a little change. Now I had light cherry notes and cinnamon to add to the other notes. The apple notes are now more of a citrus. So now I had citrus, light citrus peel, brown sugar, cinnamon, nougat, light cherry, and leather. The cigar is still medium bodied. The finish is leather with very good lingering black pepper. The cigar made a little improvement. I rated the second third 94.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 32 minutes. In the final third the flavors morphed into a peach, light cherry, brown sugar, cinnamon, light nougat, and leather. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is leather with good lingering black pepper. The cigar has a significant amount of sweetness. I maintained 94 for the final third. This is a good cigar, not great. For a $33 cigar I expected to get scores of 96 or 97 but I didn't. You can decide if it's worth your money but overall it's a good cigar.
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