El Güegüense Adding Limited-Edition Anniversary Cigar
To commemorate five years in the cigar industry, Foundation Cigar Co. is adding a limited-edition perfecto to its El Güegüense line.
El Güegüense (pronounced El-Wah-When Say) was the debut brand from brand owner Nick Melillo, which is named after a traditional dance that is a part of Nicaragua’s annual Festival of San Sebastián. El Güegüense in English means “the wise man.”
The cigars will come in a special wooden collector’s chest that features artwork by Foundation’s art director Thief Operandi. The 20-count collector’s chest consists of a main tray with 10 cigars and two additional fold-out trays each containing five cigars. The inner lids are covered in artwork depicting the brand’s Wise Man character logo with one of his mules and two sons. The chest is designed to look similar to the one that is typically carried by the Wise Man character in the folklore dance.
Measuring 4 3/4 inches by 60 ring gauge, the 5 Year Aniversario perfecto will have a different blend from the original release, which was a Nicaraguan puro. The new blend consists of a Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder and a blend of filler tobaccos from Jalapa and Estelí. The cigars are rolled at the Aganorsa Leaf factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
The anniversary cigars will also have new bands and artwork showing the same image as seen on the collector chest’s main inner lid and a secondary band that reads “5 yr Aniversario.”
“We are proud to share this milestone with the many fine retailers and connoisseurs who have supported and believed in us these past five years. We look forward to many more exciting years together,” said Melillo.
The El Güegüense 5 Year Aniversario Collector’s Chest is expected to begin shipping to retailers in late-September and will retail for $300, or $15 per cigar.
El Güegüense and its maduro counterpart, Wise Man Maduro, both have appeared in Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25. The El Güegüense Corona Gorda was the No. 25 cigar of 2016 and the Wise Man Maduro Robusto was the No. 3 Cigar of 2018.
