Menelik Corona Gorda Reemerges at Small Batch Cigar

In December 2022, Foundation Cigar Co. released the Menelik Corona Gorda as a limited edition in celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Humidour Cigar Shoppe in Cockeysville, Md. Now, the cigar is back. Once again a limited edition, single store exclusive, though this time it’s for a retailer on the opposite side of the country.

MAXAMAR Ultimate Cigars in Orange, Calif.—and its online storefront, SmallBatchCigar.com—have begun selling the Menelik Corona Gorda. Nicholas Melillo, founder of Foundation Cigar Co., told halfwheel that the cigar is the same as the 2022 release. That means it’s a 5 5/8 x 46 corona gorda version of the Menelik blend: a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over a corojo 99 binder from Jalapa, Nicaragua and fillers from the Condega, Estelí and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua.

SmallBatchCigar.com has listed the cigars at $15 per cigar., the same as what The Humidour Cigar Shoppe did in 2022. This run was limited to 100 boxes of 12 cigars.

Earlier this year, Foundation announced that it was effectively moving two lines from AGANORSA’s factory in Estelí to My Father Cigars S.A. Despite that move, these Menelik Corona Gordas were made by AGANORSA.

When asked if there were any more plans for the Menelik Corona Gorda, Melillo told halfwheel there were none for now.

The cigar gets its name from Menelik I, the ancient ruler of Ethiopia who is said to be the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Menelik also went by the name Ebna la-Hakim, which is Arabic for Son of the Wise, which relates to Foundation’s El Güegüense/The Wise Man releases.

Image via SmallBatchCigar.com