Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona is medium brown with some raised veins and fine toothiness. The seams are a bit loose and the caps are decently applied. The band is red, gold and green and has the line name on front. The aroma from the wrapper is musty earth and some cedar while the foot brings cedar, sweet breadiness and light earth. The pre-light draw is a mix of cedar and floral notes along with a light earthiness.
Seth: The Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona has a very rich aroma. Manure, spices, chocolate, rich earth and coffee. Nice bit of tooth present on the wrapper with small veins throughout. Oily and silky in texture. Beautiful maduro coloring. Truly a solid maduro. Firm cigar in hand as well. Great appearance.
John: The Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona came in cellophane and did not have a UPC sticker. There is a single gold, red and green Wise Man band. I weighed the cigar at 11.4 grams and the humidity was measured at 62.3% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper were a dry wood and musty earth. Out of the foot, I was getting aromas of hay and light wood.

Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with a slightly stale mix of toasted oak and earth. At a half inch in, the staleness goes away. The retrohale is toasted oak and earth. At an inch in, a mild black pepper becomes present. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak is a bit ahead of the earth with some mild black pepper in the background. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The first third begins with some maple syrup and molasses qualities. Rich earth is present with some damp wood and tobacco notes. Soft spices are present as well. Rich with some mocha cream qualities on the finish. Medium in strength and body.
John: Earth and wood starts the first third with espresso and earth combining on the finish. The earth has a toasted quality to it as it settles on the post draw. Creaminess is present through the retrohale, and a chocolate moves into the center of the retrohale as it settles in. Sweet wood leads each puff as it continues towards the halfway point, with wood and light plus earth to follow and finish.

Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the earth is now right behind the toasted oak. The retrohale is an even mix of toasted oak and earth. At an inch in, a light minerality joins the profile. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak is just ahead of the earth with some black pepper and minerality in the background. The strength remained at slightly below medium.
Seth: The second third delivers a combination of tobacco, earth, maple syrup and molasses qualities. You can pick up on the transitioning from the first third, but it’s a rough progression. It’s not harsh, but there’s this muddled flavor profile for a brief time. Medium in strength and body.
John: Creamy, mild earth starts here with wood in the center. The wood also comes into the post draw with some mild dryness to it. The wood moves up to medium minus as the second third settles. I find the profile to be very stable until the bottom half where medium minus strength earth with a toasted quality joins the finish.

Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the minerality picks up a bit. At half an inch in, the toasted oak and earth are now even up front. The retrohale is now an even mix of toasted oak, earth and minerality. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted oak and earth are even up front, with minerality in the middle and some black pepper in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The final third is very balanced with some tobacco, earth, warm spices, leather and wood notes. Balanced with some mocha creamy qualities. Very nice ending. Medium in strength and body. Really a nice conclusion following the second third. Starts solid, gets a little lost in the second third, but finishes strong.
John: Creamy earth is my initial flavor impression with a more intense toasted earth to finish and linger between each puff. Tannic wood also joins the finish as the last third settles in. As the cigar is nearing the halfway point, earth is the primary flavor driver. In the bottom half, the post draw is defined by tannic wood.

Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout and the ash held on in near inch and a half increments.
Seth: Perfect burn from start to finish.
John: The burn is straight through the entire review process.

Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: Great draw from beginning to end.
John: The draw has at most a 1/2 notch of resistance to it which puts it in the ideal range between open and resistant for an amazing draw score.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with a slightly stale mix of toasted oak and earth. The staleness departed about a half inch in and then some black pepper joined a bit later. The second third saw some light minerality join in and it moved to the middle of the profile in the final third. The construction was absolutely perfect. The Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona had an average flavor experience throughout. It was focused on the toasted oak and earth with black pepper and minerality as supporting notes. Not an exciting cigar and not an offensive cigar, but just a cigar. Not something I’d see myself coming back to.
Seth: The Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona is not what the cigar once was when initially released from TABSA, but it is superior to recent production and past years of The Wise Man Maduro out of TABSA. The finish is very nice on the cigar, and it’s a shame the second third was a low point. Seeing the growth from the first third to the final third with some positivity in the middle would have gone a long way. Overall, a medium bodied maduro with solid flavors. Would come back to the cigar and smoke in different vitolas as well.
John: The Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona had a good start to it with a more earthy foundation to the profile. The second third was still pleasant but I didn’t find the same level of complexity as the start. The last third was relatively straightforward with not much in the way of flavor changes or dynamic combinations. My burn experience was flawless and so was the draw. I think the natural comparison here is going to be with the original Wise Man Maduro from 2017 which earned a lot of high scores and end of year placements. Unfortunately for me, this cigar experience, while enjoyable, is a big step down in terms of complexity, balance and overall flavor delivery. The price point is quite reasonable for the market and I think worth revisiting in the other three sizes. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 36 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.83

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.95

Cost/Point

$1.76

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$1.72

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Foundation Wise Man Maduro Corona