The Wise Man Corojo Corona

In 2015, Nicholas Melillo’s Foundation Cigar Co. debuted with El Güegüense—which means the wise man in Spanish—a cigar made by Aganorsa, using entirely Nicaraguan tobacco including a corojo wrapper. In 2017, Foundation added The Wise Man Maduro, a different blend made with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper. Since their introductions, both brands were made by Aganorsa.

Earlier this year, Foundation announced it was ending its relationship with the Aganorsa factory in Estelí. This coincided with a bit of a makeover for the two brands. The Wise Man Maduro is continuing, but the cigar is now made by the García family of My Father fame. It still use a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over Nicaraguan tobaccos, but now gets slightly different packaging.

El Güegüense is no more. Instead, Foundation has The Wise Man Corojo, which like El Güegüense uses a corojo-seed wrapper from Nicaragua, albeit, not the same exact wrapper. Both blends are made by My Father Cigars S.A. in Estelí and both use the same internal blend: two binders from Nicaragua—grown in the Estelí and Jalapa regions—and filler tobaccos that hail from the Condega, Estelí and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua.

In addition, both blends are offered in the same four sizes.

“We are excited to introduce the new Wise Man Corojo and Wise Man Maduro to our lineup,” said Nicholas Melillo, owner of Foundation, in a press release when the cigars were announced in March. “Working with Pepín García and his family has been a dream come true, and we believe that cigar enthusiasts will appreciate the craftsmanship and flavor profiles of these new offerings.”

• Cigar Reviewed: The Wise Man Corojo Corona
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Corojo)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Estelí & Jalapa)
• Filler: Nicaragua (Condega, Estelí & Jalapa)
• Length: 5 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Vitola: Robusto
• MSRP: $10.50 (Box of 20, $210)
• Release Date: April 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: [acf field=”number_of_cigars_smoked_for_review”

Dry-to-the-touch, medium-brown wrappers cover all three of The Wise Man Corojo Coronas, and there is a lack of both oil and overt, protruding veins. The cigars are spongy when squeezed, and my second cigar has a small soft spot just under the main band. Aromas from the wrappers are very similar and include creamy woodiness, barnyard, earthiness and generic nuts, along with a sweetness that reminds me of bubble gum. Cashews and leather are the strongest scents emanating from the feet, but I can also make out hay, toasted bread, cocoa nibs, generic woodiness and graham crackers. After punch cuts, the cold draws bring flavors of nutmeg, creamy cedar, coffee beans, white pepper and honey sweetness.

A blast of white pepper and spice starts the cigars off, along with distinct flavors of coffee beans and fudge sweetness. Interestingly, while both the spice and pepper stick around for the entirety of the first third at around the same levels, the main flavors change to a combination of dried tea leaves and aromatic cedar after about 10 puffs. Secondary flavors include the aforementioned coffee beans along with dry straw, peanut butter, plain white rice, leather and light lemongrass, while a bready donut sweetness combines with a significant amount of white pepper on the retrohale. Flavor ends the first third at full, while the body is at mild-plus, and the strength hits a point just under the medium mark. When it comes to construction, my first cigar needs a minor burn correction—the other two are fine in that regard—but the smoke production and draws for all three cigars are excellent.

The rich peanut butter flavor moves to the forefront of the profile during the second third, where it combines with the cedar flavor, which is still quite prominent and becomes the top note. Additional flavors of gritty earth, cinnamon, lemongrass, sawdust and cocoa nibs flit in and out at various points, and while the amount of spice present on my lips and tongue has actually increased slightly, it is still far from overwhelming. The combination of bready donut sweetness and strong white pepper continues to dominate the retrohale, although the latter note seems to be increasing as the second third burns down. Flavor remains at full, but the strength has increased to land at a point just over medium, and the body hits a solid medium. Minor burn issues are rampant—all three cigars need a touch-up to stay on track—but both the draws give me no problems at all, and a copious amount of smoke continues to emanate from the feet of all three cigars.

For a short time during the finish of my second cigar during the final third, a metallic note becomes obvious, but other than that, the profiles of all three cigars are quite similar to the second third, including the main flavors of creamy cedar and rich peanut butter. The secondary flavors still include cinnamon, cocoa nibs and sawdust, but I also taste some salted potato chips, dried tea leaves and a floral note a various points. White pepper and bready donut sweetness remain extremely obvious on the retrohale, and the level of spice on my tongue and lips does not recede at all. The burn issues do a complete 180—meaning I have no issues at all—while the draws and smoke production continue along their excellent paths until I am finished with each cigar.

Final Notes

• The name of Foundation’s El Güegüense line was inspired by a Nicaraguan folk dance.
• While The Wise Man Corojo and Maduro cigars are now made at the My Father Cigars S.A. factory, a number of Foundation’s other lines are still being produced by AJ Fernandez in Nicaragua.
• I loved the original El Güegüense blend, and while noticeably different when it comes to the flavor profiles, the new The Wise Man Corojo Corona is just as enjoyable..
• Each cigar needed at least one burn correction with my lighter, but there was never a point when I thought the burn was close to getting out of control in any major way.
• There is a Foundation logo printed on the back of each band of The Wise Man Corojo Coronas I smoked for this review.
• I would love to do a redux review of this cigar after some time has passed to see if the overt spiciness wanes any, perhaps allowing more of the sweetness that I tasted in the profile to move to the forefront.

• These cigars are officially listed as being 5 x 48, which is closer to a robusto vitola rather than a corona.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• The final smoking time for all three cigars averaged out to one hour and 28 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of The Wise Man Corojo Corona cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co., Famous Smoke Shop, JR Cigars and Smokingpipes have them for sale.