Cigar Review: El Güegüense Robusto
8 Dec 2015
When anticipation runs high, the possibility of disappointment seems to run even higher. There’s no doubt that this year’s releases from two former Drew Estate notables were among the most anticipated events for cigar smokers.
I haven’t yet had Steve Saka’s Sobremasa so I can’t comment, but, for my taste, Nick Melillo’s El Güegüense more than lives up to expectations.
Melillo, whose work at Drew Estate ranged from factory oversight to blending during his decade-long tenure, started Foundation Cigar Co. after going out on his own. El Güegüense (which means “The Wise Man†and is pronounced “el-way-wen-sayâ€) honors a satirical play of that name which is an integral part of Nicaragua’s history.
Fittingly, the sticks are Nicaraguan puros and are rolled in EstelÃ. There are 5 sizes, packaged in boxes of 25. The 50-ring gauge Robusto is longer than average, at 5.5 inches. The individual stick price runs about $10.
Melillo went out of his way to give customers information about the cigar’s components. On his website, he describes not only the tobaccos but also the areas where they were grown, the primings used, and, in a video, even talks about the farms where he procured the tobacco.
The oily wrapper, which has a mouth-watering prelight aroma, is a shade-grown Jalapa Corojo with a nearly perfect cap. Other areas of construction and performance—draw, combustion, smoke production—are first-rate.
As you would expect, El Güegüense displays quite a bit of pepper, especially in the opening. But it is far from overwhelming, and there are many other subtle flavors that come and go.
There is not a lot of nicotine kick, and I’d say strength runs in the high-medium to low-strong range.
Overall, El Güegüense is a highly satisfying cigar, and one that I’d recommend any smoker try. In fact, it has my first five stogies rating of 2015.
[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. A list of other five-stogie rated cigars can be found here.]
–Patrick S
photo credit: Stogie Guys
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Co-Founder & Editor in Chief
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I guess it’s no surprise Sobremesa and El Güegüense have been getting such rave reviews. Saka and Nick, respectively, are very trusted and talented tobacco men. Though I wonder how much our enjoyment of these cigars is a self-fulfilling prophecy…
By the way, has anyone smoked a Liga 9 lately? Anyone else think quality is WAY down at Drew Estate? Couldn’t have anything to do with the departure of these guys, could it?
Reggie – I’d be interested in your thoughts when you smoke both the cigars. I hope you’ll post. I still haven’t had Sobremesa. As for the Liga 9 question, I’ve smoked so few of them — and none in probably the past 1-2 years — I can’t comment. (It’s not that I dislike them, it’s just that so much of my smoking time is spent on new smokes and sticks to review.)
For giving the rare rating of 5 Stogies, the review is a joke!
A 5 Stogie rating deserves a detailed review!
Please expound on the review. I agree with other poster that five stogie review needs more detail. Thank.