Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona is light brown with some fine toothiness that has a bit of a darker color to it. There are some raised veins present that carry a lighter color to them and the foot has been cut at a bit of an angle. The seams are a bit raised while the caps are very well applied. The band is blue, gold, green and red and carries the line name. The aroma from the wrapper is a light mix of hay and earth while the foot brings cedar and dusty earth. The pre-light draw brings musty cedar and dusty earth.
Seth: Finished with a lovely wrapper that is between Natural and light Colorado in coloring, there is a sand and dry red earth coloring to the Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona. It is silky in texture and there are small veins throughout. It is slightly firm in hand, and has aromas of sweet spices, leather, tobacco, earth and stone fruit.
John: The Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona comes in cellophane and there is no UPC sticker. The cigar has a single ‘The Wise Man’ band with gold on blue with green and red accent colors. I weighed the cigar at 12.0 grams, and measured the humidity at 62.4% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet tobacco, mild bread and wood. Out of the foot, there was very faint wood along with tobacco and hay.

Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted oak and some dry earth. At a quarter inch in, a bit of walnut shell joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted oak and light, dry earth. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak is just ahead of the dry earth with some walnut shell a bit behind. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The first third opens with a sweet spice profile that is paired with some tobacco and hay notes. I am picking up some graham crackers with cedar qualities, and there is a slight bit of fruitiness as well. It has a finish of minerals and earth while smoking at a medium level.
John: My initial flavor impressions are dry wood and tobacco. Some medium spices and malty tobacco are present through the retrohale, as dry wood finishes. The spices recede to light plus as the first third settles in. As the cigar continues to evolve it moves down from medium strength to light plus.

Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the dry earth is now even with the toasted oak up front. At a quarter inch in, the walnut shell picks up a bit and adds more dryness to the profile. The retrohale is now an even mix of toasted oak, dry earth and walnut shell. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak and dry earth are even up front and the walnut shell is a bit behind and now carries a light bitterness to it. The strength remained at slightly below medium.
Seth: The second third is in line with the first. Consistent, but solid flavor profile. Hay, tobacco, sweet spices, graham and cedar. Still has a fruity, mineral and earth finish. Medium in strength and body.
John: Tobacco starts the second third, followed by spices, bread and wood. The spices build up to medium strength on the retrohale. By the halfway point, the profile has receded to light plus strength with wood defining the post draw.

Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the walnut shell with light bitterness becomes a mix of walnut shell and the walnut itself that brings the bitterness. The retrohale is now back to just toasted oak and dry earth. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted oak and dry earth remain even up front with the mix of walnut shell and lightly bitter walnut not far behind. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The final third is in line with the second. A little bit of harshness with the mineral notes, but still showing some dry earth qualities. Tobacco, hay and sweet spices are present as well. Like before, medium in strength and body.
John: My first few puffs in the last third are light wood, tobacco and dry wood that carries into the post draw. The wood takes on a tannic accent by the halfway point through the finish. Dry hay joins the finish in the bottom half.

Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona

Burn

Aaron: The burn was about as straight as you can get with the ash holding on in one inch increments.
Seth: Very good burn.
John: The burn was razor straight to start, with the ash holding on over one inch. The burn started to stall nearing the halfway mark of the first third but continued. Straight burn through the second third. In the last third, the cigar went out, requiring a re-light.

Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: Great draw.
John: The initial draw was roughly 2 to 2-1/2 notches towards the resistant spectrum, but as I smoked it the draw opened up to 1-1/2 to 2 notches into the resistant spectrum which moves it from a good to very good score.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted oak and some dry earth. Some walnut shell joined in fairly quickly. The second third saw the walnut shell increase, adding to the dryness and gained a light bitterness at the end of the third. The final third saw some walnut with bitterness pair up with the walnut shell. Construction was absolutely perfect. The Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona had an average flavor profile throughout. While I would describer the flavor as full, it was just too dry to make it all that enjoyable. From what I’ve smoked here, I would put the original release from Aganorsa a fair bit higher, but I understand the move to a new factory. I might need to try another vitola for this, but I’m interested to see how the Maduro fares.
Seth: I am enjoying the new Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona. It’s not a mind-blowing cigar, or a cigar that is going to win cigar of the year, but it is good to smoke the line again and enjoy what’s being delivered. The cigars still come off as young to me, a little bit harsh, but I would have no problem putting some of them down to see how they age. There’s also something enjoyable about the profile in the summer as well. Not wowing, but significantly better over the releases from TABSA, and a step in the right direction.
John: The Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona is the newest Foundation release now out of the My Father factory. This cigar is surprising in that the profile is nothing like anything I’ve smoked coming out of the My Father factory. Unfortunately, while the overall flavor profile is pleasant, there’s a distracting dryness throughout the review that never allowed the cigar to be dynamic or engaging during the experience. The draw was slightly into the resistant spectrum, while the cigar went out in the last third, requiring a re-light. The review was of the Corona size and while it didn’t hit for me I’d be interested in seeing how the Robusto or Toro stacked up. The price point is very reasonable for the current 2024 market. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 43 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.83

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.50

Cost/Point

$1.91

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$1.94

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Foundation Wise Man Corojo Corona