Foundation Charter Oak Connecticut Grande 6″ * 60

Handmade in Nicaragua, the Foundation Charter Oak Connecticut Grande is a Connecticut-wrapped gordo from Nicholas Melillo’s Foundation Cigar Co. Nicholas Melillo spent years sourcing Nicaraguan leaf before founding the brand.

It blends a Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and filler at a mild to medium body, leading with cream, cedar, blanched almond, and a gentle white-pepper snap. At 6 by 60, a ring this wide draws easy and burns cool, and it takes a proper toast to get the whole foot lit.

Connecticut Shade is grown under cloth to keep the sun off, which keeps the leaf thin, pale and mild. Ecuador is the exception worth knowing: the cloud cover there sits low enough year round that growers skip the cloth entirely and let nature do it.

Pairs well with coffee, cream ale, or amber ale.