Steam Punk and a New Cigar – Foundry

One of the most different things to be encountered at the recent cigar industry trade show was the introduction of Foundry, from General Cigar.

FOUNDRY is a stark juxtaposition between the old and the new.  This visually-arresting collection was inspired by the art form of “steampunk,” which is both a retrospective and futuristic interpretation of innovation.

FOUNDRY is the brainchild of Michael Giannini who led the team that created the breakthrough brand. “Innovation comes from many sources,” he notes. “It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to call upon our greatest resources: the collective talent of cigar masters, our expertise in tobacco cultivation, processing and blending and the creativity of our artisan cigar rollers and box makers to bring FOUNDRY to fruition.”

Featuring an indulgent collection of five proprietary tobaccos from four different countries, each aged between three and six years, Foundry’s foundation is amplified through an eight year old wrapper developed by General Cigar. Called H-47 Pleno Sol, the lustrous wrapper imparts a deeply complex, layered smoking experience like no other.

The four-cigar collection is accessibly-priced, and will make its mark on tobacco retail starting in late-October. Foundry features these new cigars: Wells (6”x 50, SRP per cigar is $7.95); Lovelace (6 ¼ ” x 54, SRP per cigar is $8.45); Talbot (5” x 60, SRP per cigar is $8.95) and Cayley (6  ½” x 60 x 56 x 43, SRP per cigar is $9.45). Each frontmark is presented with a unique box design and features both a traditional paper band and a steampunk-inspired metal gear band.

The cigar that I smoked was the Wells.  Obviously, when you first encounter this stick, the gear band jumps out at you.  You wonder what it is and why it’s there.  But, it makes you look at the stick.  And when you do, you’ll find a nice medium brown wrapper on a significant smoke.  You will also notice a half cellophane wrapper.  The cigar has a presence, it looks and feels substantial.  I punched the end without problem and lit my cigar.  It produced a nice smoke.  Before lighting the cold draw was open and flavorful.

After the light and first draw, the cigar settled into a nice even burn.  Over the past couple of weeks I have enjoyed a few of these cigars and found each of them to be uniformly well made. The burn was consistently even, the ash full and long.  It held a nice 2 inch white gray ash that only dropped off when I was bumped reaching for a drink.  Ah, the prices we have to pay…

The tobaccos for this cigar come from four unspecified countries.  Whatever the blend , they have provided for a nice medium bodied or ‘lunch’ cigar.  When I first lit up I had some tastes of cinnamon and maybe nutmeg and I thought we were going to have a spicy cigar.  But after a few minutes, the cigar settled down.  For the most part I found the flavors consistent throughout the rest of the smoke.  A light cream or vanilla, with hints of citrus were the predominant tastes.  As the cigar progressed through its entire length the flavor remained.  For anyone who likes a medium cigar, you will definitely find this to be very nice.

These cigars are priced in the $7 to $10 range making them more expensive than an every day smoke.  But, I think that you will find a nice value for an occasional smoke since there is a nice flavor, a substantial stick with a great story.  Certainly friends and fellow smokers would want some of these in their humidors.