Final thoughts. This is an enjoyable cigar. I loved how all of the sweet chocolate notes transition smoothly into darker deeper dark chocolate and espresso notes. I also loved how the dark pepper notes were saved to the end. It made for a nice little surprise that had you wanting a little more. This would be great with a latte, an orange soda, or some Knob Creek 9.
Veteran owned Founders Cigar Company was born out of a desire to connect at a time of isolation. In 2020 a small group of close friends gathered outside to enjoy cigars and a bonfire. It quickly became a weekly tradition. The Minnesota-based brand is dedicated to creating a community as reliable and enjoyable as their cigars and openly strives to create cigars that foster camaraderie and inspire conversation.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Maduro / Binder: Ecuadorian / Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
Vitola: Robusto / Size: 5 x 50
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Sweet sweet tobacco, dark fruit, and floral
Fruit and milk chocolate
Very sweet tobacco
On the light I get lots of milk chocolate with a slight black pepper taste and tingle on the tongue. The retro brings mild chocolate and hay. No spice at all. Into the 3rd I still get notes of dark chocolate sweetness and espresso on the palate and a slight chocolate and floral note on the retro. The smoke is thick and chewy the burn is amazing and the ash holds all the way through the 3rd. I finished the 3rd with a little more white pepper in the retro. The strength is medium. The draw is loose to medium loose but a little looser than what I tend to like like
Into the 2nd I still get lots of thick chewy smoke. Notes of milk chocolate have been replaced with a dark chocolate and black coffee. New notes of Earth, black pepper, and a slight salty note on the finish. The retro brings out the coffee notes and the white pepper. No sting on the sinuses at all. A slight floral note on the palate and the retro shows up every now and then. Still an excellent burn and tight ash. The strength has moved up to a medium plus
The final 3rd brings the biggest change of all. All of the chocolate and floral notes have left completely. What I now have is black coffee, charred oak, and white pepper. The retro brings a slight black pepper sting on the sinus. The finish is black pepper with a salty cracker finish. Smoke texture is still thick and full and the burn is the best that I’ve seen in a while. Strength has now bumped up to full.
