Foundation Cigar Co. Ships Highclere Castle Senetjer

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.

Of note, Foundation Cigar Co. is shipping the cigars to retailers in the western U.S. first, and then progressively shipping to retailers in the midwest and east coast, so that all retailers land for everyone by the end of November. The company said there will be a second round of shipments going out in December to have those cigars available of the holiday season. The cigars were produced by AJ Fernandez.