Wise Man Corojo Staff Review
In 2024, Nick Melillo, owner of Foundation Cigars, debuted his first cigars blended and produced by Pepin and Jaime Garcia at the My Father factory in Estelí, Nicaragua: Wise Man Corojo and Wise Man Maduro. Today I’m smoking the Wise Man Corojo in a 6-by-52 Toro. Wise Man is considered a new incarnation of Melillo’s original El Güegüense cigars, a small-batch blend that became popular shortly after he launched Foundation in 2015.
Most of Melillo’s cigars are blended and produced by AJ Fernandez, but he has also relied on other factories to handle his growing portfolio. One thing’s for sure: if you get the chance to get your cigars made by legendary father-and-son cigar-makers Pepin and Jaime Garcia, you go for it. In addition to their award-winning My Father brand, the duo produces La Aroma de Cuba, San Cristobal, and Tatuaje in one of Nicaragua’s premier cigar-making operations, where they grow much of their own tobacco on an extensive network of estates. Working with the Garcias is a dream come true for Melillo.
For Wise Man Corojo, a light-brown Corojo wrapper leaf, grown in Nicaragua, surrounds an intricate recipe of premium long-filler tobaccos from Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa. Wise Man Corojo cigars come in colorful blue boxes of 20, and they’re handmade in a handful of classic sizes, including the Toro I’m about to fire up. It’s easy to distinguish the level of quality and meticulous construction the Garcias are known for when I crack open a fresh box of Wise Man Corojo cigars. A delicious aroma of cedar, wheat, and mesquite emerges from the top row of the box.
After clipping the cap on an attractive Toro, the cold draw imparts consistent flavors of leather, sweetened coffee, and spice. The cigar is perfectly humidified from head to foot and exhibits excellent density and structure when I gently perform a pinch test. My fellow aficionado, Zack D., has reviewed plenty of Foundation cigars to date, including Menelik, The Tabernacle, and Charter Oak Broadleaf. I will be interested to compare notes when I’m done smoking the new Wise Man Corojo today.
After toasting the foot for a few minutes, lively notes of black pepper and leather create a solid introduction. I’m definitely picking up Pepin’s signature spice from Wise Man Corojo; however, it isn’t overpowering in the first minutes as the binder, filler, and wrapper begin to burn at an even pace as the cigar comes to life. I also get a creamy, nutty impression in the background. This versatile smoke could appeal to both newer cigar smokers and more experienced connoisseurs.
Tasting notes of cocoa and molasses provide a nice contrast to the cigar’s peppery character as it progresses, but the flavors all work well together. When I smoke some of my other favorites from Pepin, like Flor de las Antillas Maduro and My Father The Judge, I’m generally adamant about smoking them after dinner due to their strength and intensity.
In the second half, a delicious sequence of nougat and cayenne tasting notes mingle over the cigar’s steady foundation of cedar and black pepper. At the same time the texture stays malty and approachable. I’ve tapped the ash off about four times over the course of forty minutes, and the draw has been easy from the first puff. I’m prepared to savor the entire nub by the time I’ve got the band off.
Wise Man Corojo culminates in a profile of leather, fresh-ground pepper, and molasses in the final five to seven minutes. Suppose you enjoy Don Pepin Garcia Original cigars, which are also finished in a Corojo-seed wrapper. In that case, Wise Man Corojo from Foundation is a slightly milder, less spicy specimen that definitely deserves your attention. Order a few today and explore the Garcias’ interpretation of Nick Melillo’s latest handmade with Wise Man Corojo.
