A couple years ago, Foundation Cigars ended production of their original release—El Gueguense—and the Wise Man Maduro that went with it, both of which were made at the Aganorsa Leaf facilities. They then started making a new “Wise Man” at My Father Cigars, in both Corojo and Maduro versions. Like the original, the filler and binder of this version are Nicaraguan…with fillers from Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa, along with dual binders from Estelí & Jalapa…and the wrapper is still a Mexican San Andrés Maduro leaf. Even if they were using the exact same blend, the result would likely be different, but this blend is most definitely not the same…thus the complete rebranding.
The wrapper leaf was between milk and dark chocolate brown…not nearly as dark as the original as far as I can remember. It had a decent amount of tooth and oiliness to it, like some of the best Maduro wrappers I can remember. It had an aroma that mixed earth with cocoa powder and espresso bean, while the foot of the stick had a rich earthy smell, with additional notes of grass and cedar.
You would expect a Mexican Maduro from the My Father factory to be strong, full-bodied, and punchy…but this really didn’t start out that way. Instead, it was medium-plus in body with a nice sweet and spicy balance over notes of cedar and earth. Red pepper came through on the nose, as well. Nick Melillo, blender and owner of Foundation Cigars, really puts his stamp on this blend, making it both different from the old Wise Man Maduro and from anything else made in this factory. It is smooth and refined…a truly elegant Maduro experience.
I paired it with some Castle & Key Small Batch Wheated Bourbon from my recent Kentucky trip. This new Wise Man Maduro definitely surpassed the original for me…thankfully it’s not a limited release so it should be available for the foreseeable future.
