Foreign Affair Rothschild

Cigar smoking is an activity that has roots around the world, from the countries where tobacco is grown and cigars are produced to the numerous places around the globe where they are enjoyed. This globalization of the cigar industry and cigar smokers is the inspiration behind the Foreign Affair line, which debuted at the 2023 Total Products Expo (TPE) in February and shipped to stores in mid-April.

The line was developed by Luciano Meirelles, ceo and co-founder of Luciano Cigars, along with Mike Dounoulis, Luciano Cigars’ regional sales manager, and Frank Cossio, co-owner of Astorian Cigar Co. in West Palm Beach, Fla. It took the trio approximately a year to finalize the blend, which uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, binders from both Ecuador and Nicaragua, and fillers from Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

“You find boldness alongside sweetness, and it’s so balanced you can fully enjoy it without becoming overwhelmed,” said Cossio via a press release, adding that the blend offers a taste profile that contradicts itself.

Foreign Affair is offered in four vitolas, which are produced at the Luciano Cigars Factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

• Foreign Affair Corona (5 5/8 x 42) — $9.50 (Box of 24, $228)
• Foreign Affair Rothschild (4 1/2 x 48) — $10.35 (Box of 24, $248.40)
• Foreign Affair Toro Extra (6 1/2 x 52) — $11.80 (Box of 24, $283.20)
• Foreign Affair Belicoso (6 x 54) — $12.50 (Box of 24, $300)

“There is something extraordinarily magical that occurs in the shared space of smoke, cigars, and people,” said Meirelles in a press release. “It’s as if barriers are bridged, and guards lowered. The experience goes beyond language, culture, gender, or any sense of otherness. Varied pathways lead to this common ground, a sacred ambiance where we can connect and understand that no matter how foreign we may be to one another, the humanity in us overwhelms our perceptive differences. Those once strangers to one another are brought together, under the influence of a worldly cigar.”

Dounoulis added that the idea behind the cigar was to convey the unique and transcendent connection that happens between people when enjoying cigars.

“This cigar, to me, is emblematic of the relationships and bonds we’re able to build in our industry,” he said via a press release.

• Cigar Reviewed: Foreign Affair Rothchild
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Luciano Cigars Factory
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
• Binder: Ecuador & Nicaragua
• Filler: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 4 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Vitola: Rothschild
• MSRP: $10.35 (Box of 24, $248.40)
• Release Date: April 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 3
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: Regular Production

I have several friends and colleagues who love the Rothschild vitola, and while I like it, it always feels like I ordered a robusto and am being a bit short-changed. But beyond that, the cigar looks great, as it wears a well-tanned wrapper that is pretty evenly colored with a touch of mottling. It is smooth to the touch, with just a touch of dried oiliness and some parchment attributes, while the very small seams barely register on my fingers. I can feel the suppleness of the wrapper as the cigar is firm but still has a bit of give to it. The foot has a nose-cooling aroma of caramel corn and a spirit that has sweet, deep fruit notes, with just a bit of a peppery tingle on the finish. The cold draw is smooth, maybe a tick open for my liking but not enough to be loose. The flavor is mellower, with a subtle flavor of wheat bread, touches of lumber, some of the same caramel corn found in the aroma, and little to no pepper. It’s also a very soft textured profile on my taste buds.

The Foreign Affair Rothschild starts with a familiar profile, a bit toasty with some black pepper, dry wood and a thread of creaminess in the background that helps to tie things together and smooth out the edges of the other flavors. While it may be familiar, it is enjoyable and well-executed, delivering a solid amount of flavor and taste bud stimulation right out of the gate. There’s a touch of heat in the profile after the first clump of ash drops off, latching onto the black pepper. The final puffs of this section aren’t quite toasty, yet aren’t quite bready, but somewhere in the middle, and are occasionally marked by the heat and black pepper. The creaminess tries to hang around, but it seems the other flavors might be moving on from it. Construction is good, the draw may be a tick open but it doesn’t impact the cigar’s performance. Flavor is medium-plus, body is medium and strength is mild.

After looking like it was saying goodbye towards the end of the first third, a good bit of creaminess joins the profile not long into the second third, which helps the flavor and adds volume but not necessarily thickness body of the smoke. The profile then ventures towards a toasty lead flavor, a change that clears the way for the black pepper to stand out both through the nose and on the palate, and to do so with some vibrance. The profile is just a bit lighter at the midpoint than it had been earlier, as while I don’t think that there has been much earthiness thus far, it seems like that’s what’s absent at the moment. Creaminess continues to circle back into the profile, creating an interesting cycle of flavors in this section, something that feels a touch different than the progression of most cigars but one I am not complaining about. There is still some heat coming in and out at the end of this section, which intensifies the black pepper and makes it linger on the palate after each puff, and it’s the last of the flavors to leave my taste buds. Most of the second third is medium in flavor, medium-plus in body and still mild in strength. Construction is very good on the whole, but a touch-up is necessary occasionally, usually due to just a bit too much time between puffs.

The creaminess returns once again to thicken up the body of the smoke and seemingly add more volume to it. It does a good job fending off the sharper edges of the pepper that linger from the previous third, though it proves not to be a completely impenetrable defense. The cleaner expression of the black pepper is found via retrohales, where it needs no softening as it has no roughness. The flavor adds some of the toast back in, and the black pepper seems to have found some slightly rocky earth to latch onto. Almost on cue, the creaminess comes back, though in a lesser quantity than earlier, making it less of a counterbalance for the other flavors. The flavor really picks up the intensity in the final inch-plus of this section, adding earth and coffee grounds while keeping the black pepper and shifting the creaminess into a minor supporting role. The toastiness is largely gone until reappearing as part of the finish, but only as a spin on the black pepper. This pushes the flavor into full territory, the body follows right along and is now full, while strength has reached medium. The draw is smooth and easy, the burn line is even, and smoke production is plentiful, quite likely the most it has been throughout the cigar.

Final Notes

• After knocking off some ash going into the final third of one cigar, I noticed that the cigar was starting to tunnel a bit, which could have been tied into that particular cigar having the loosest draw of the three smoked for this review. Given how the majority of cigars seem so firmly rolled and well-packed these days, I can’t recall the last time I saw this kind of tunneling.
• I’ve occasionally remarked that I wish I had a better knowledge of design aesthetics and the names of certain styles, as I would love to put a name on the design aesthetic used for Foreign Affair. It does remind me a bit of an airline in the 1960s, for whatever that’s worth.
• The band reminds me of a ring as well, particularly the general style used for championship rings in athletics.
• Foreign Affair was also the name of Tina Turner’s seventh solo studio album. It’s also the name of a prominent magazine that covers international relations and U.S. foreign policy.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was two hours on average.