Foundation Aksum Maduro Corona Gorda 5 1/2″ x 48

The Foundation Aksum Maduro Corona Gorda is a box-pressed 5 1/2 x 48 from Nick Melillo’s Foundation Cigar Co., handmade at AJ Fernandez’s Tabacalera Fernandez factory in Nicaragua. The line was first sold as Metapa and kept the same blend when it took the Aksum name, a nod to the ancient Aksumite Kingdom in what is now Ethiopia.

A dark Ecuadorian Sumatra seed maduro wrapper sits over a USA Connecticut Broadleaf binder and filler from Estelí and Jalapa, at a medium to full body. Dark cocoa and espresso open it, cedar and black pepper build through the middle, and it finishes long on earth.

The corona gorda size keeps the smoke to about an hour, so it fits an evening when you want maduro depth without a big ring gauge. It sits alongside the Robusto and Toro in the same line.

Pairs well with bourbon, espresso, or porter.