Category Archives: Review

When I last wrote I went on a little rant about buying a box of cigars I didn’t really need based on the  packaging. I wanted to give the new cigars some humidor time, so I figured I’d smoke a couple other cigars from he same line while the newbies rested. I asked Michael Giannini, the mastermind behind Foundry Cigar Co. to give me a quote to accompany today’s post, just so I can look like I do more than just smoke cigars and yammer on about them. He gave me this:

“Introducing Foundry Tobacco Company. Think mad scientists. Pioneers. Cigar guys who love cigars—creation born from the soul, intent on shaking up the world of cigars. Throw away any notions of corporate suits and conventional approaches. This is Foundry Tobacco Company. It’s provocative. We do what inspires us and we like it that way—we do what’s right. And it’s here to stay. Buckle up for the ride of your life.”

“CE&M is my interpretation of vexing demons during my academic career having to learn the periodic table, this still haunts me, so I created my own by my own rules..”

 

I had picked up a Compounds, Elements & Musings Helium a few weeks ago

at a local shop.  This is a beefy 6¼x 54 toro with tobaccos from Honduras, Nicaragua, and a leaf known only as Mysterioso. The wrapper was pretty dark underneath the large bands, the primary one featuring an airship exploding. Ironically, helium is not flammable, in it’s gas form, at least. This cigar was, indeed, flammable and burned quite nicely. This is a small batch offering from Foundry Tobacco, and I  don’t believe this is limited to brick and mortar tobacconists.  I thought this cigar was pretty darned tasty.  I joked that it would be light, considering the name, and I was right, but it was full flavored at the same time. I tasted a little dark chocolate and coffee. This wasn’t an expensive cigar considering it is a limited Nice Sunday afternoon cigar.

Monday evening’s walk featured the Foundry W.Orange a 5½” x 50 robusto. I like this size a lot. In the days of large ring gauges, this seemed almost corona-ish.  I liked the original Foundry that was released at the 2012 IPCPR show, which had a Steampunk theme. This years release is called the War of Currents, so this W. Orange represents Thomas Edison’s contribution to electricity as we know it today. I found this to have bright flavors, it was fresh, new and unusual, much the same way the original Foundry release struck me. The specifics for this blend are not published. The Foundry brand revolves around using tobacco from General Cigar’s vast library of tobacco, so it wouldn’t surprise me if, once again, there were no components from what we would consider traditional tobacco countries. The result, whatever the ingredients, is a  delicious cigar that’s full of surprises and entertaining to smoke.  My example was from the IPCPR show, so it doesn’t have the electrical fuse around the band.  Not a powerhouse in any way, but lot’s of unique and interesting flavors.

Tuesday night I would usually take a cigar for a walk, but it was brutally cold, so I put it off until tonight. I had 20 Compounds, Elements & Musings Vanadium cigars that came in on Saturday taunting me. As I said, I bought these largely based on the packaging, a cool “V” shaped box, which, when I find a “C” shaped box will represent my initials, CV. Dorky thing to do, I realize, and if I didn’t have confidence in the manufacturer and Michael Giannini, it wouldn’t have been a consideration.  I do not recommend buying a box of cigars blind, ever. I’ve bee

n stuck with cigars I ended up not really liking, so if you can try one or two before buying I would strongly advise it. That being said, I really wish this had been a box of 25 instead of 20, because then I’d still have 24 instead of just 19!   The cigar is listed at  a 6 1/8 x 54/36 perfecto shape with a maduro wrapper. The only hint at the composition of the blend is on the box, which has a label with Nicaragua, Brazil and Mexico checked off. So far I like the shape, I like the countries of origin, I’m liking how this is looking. Perfectos are easy to light, this one lit and burned perfectly.  The flavor was, once again, unique. Nice, dark, rich flavors, and about half way through I got a nice black licorice flavor, and I like black licorice.  This cigar burned perfectly and I nubbed it. If this was this tasty 4 days off the truck these are going to be really enjoyable in a few months. I can see going to these pretty regularly this spring and summer. Too bad these are a limited edition. If I buy another box I’ll be having a fight with Victor Vitale over them. 🙂

Of course, after I started on this weeks Foundry kick I noticed that my blogger-bro David over at Tikibaronline.com reviewed the Compounds, Elements & Musings H2O cigars, check out what he had to say about them.  Of course, my buddy Coop over at . My limited sampling of this line has been positive, and I’ll be looking for more to try in my journeys.  We all know I’m a fan of La Gloria Cubana cigars, and these come from the same factory and Michael Giannini has a hand in everything going on in that line, so I was pretty sure these would suit my palate.  They are different from any other cigars out there, they have flavors that just don’t happen in other cigars.  Here are some photos from the Foundry portion of General Cigar Co.‘s Booth at last year’s IPCPR show. I wish I had taken more and better pictures, the booth was pretty amazing. Click on any image for a slideshow.

That’s it for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig