Foundation The Tabernacle

It's been too long since I've reviewed a cigar. It's one of my favorite things to do when I'm running out of things to do in the office. That is, things I do to pretend like I'm working when I'm really just looking for an excuse to smoke cigars and get paid to do it. So to try and get myself back into the swing of things, I decided to pull the trigger and do another blind review. This cigar comes courtesy of my buddy Jason, so if it sucks, I'll be breaking down his door. 

At first glance, this cigar is relatively well made. While the wrapper leaf has a rough and rustic exterior appearance, the cap is perfect and there isn't a single blemish that would have me second-guessing the quality of this cigar. The wrapper leaf is a smooth Maduro with a bit of tooth to it, and a cut immediately reveals a bit of ligero throughout the center, so I'm guessing that this will be a fuller-bodied experience, just by appearance. The cold-draw is very distinct and unique. Normally I find a bit of raisin or dark fruit sweetness, but not with this bad boy. It's savory, a bit of minerally salt, and cedar. 

After lighting it up, Nicaragua is the first thing on my mind. Pepper immediately hits my tongue, and the retrohale gives off plenty of earthiness, salt, and oak that all take a backseat to the red pepper that pushes on all cylinders. I'm not usually one to comment on strength, but it may be too early in the day for me to be puffing on something like this. After a few more puffs, leather shows its gorgeous head and adds a nice balance to the heavy profile I've experienced thus far. I've also noticed that the wrapper is leaving a saltiness on my lips and distinct nuttiness and cedar appear on the finish. After about an inch, the flavor profile expands more, leading into black pepper and savoriness on top of the leather and red pepper that have dominated thus far. Calling this a pepper bomb would be an understatement. I might be screwed on my cigar selection for the rest of the day, because I don't have many cigars on me that I'll be able to taste after this thing. 

Guessing the blend, I feel like the only possibilities for wrapper leaf are Nicaraguan Habano or Criollo '98. Anything else just wouldn't make sense. If someone told me the long-fillers had anything other than Nicaraguan tobacco in them, I may not believe them. I'm going to be very surprised if this cigar doesn't have Aganorsa tobacco in it, it has the same bite and saltiness that I find in their Criollo '98. Regardless, the flavor profile continues in waves of pepper and earth with leather on the backend. 

So far, so good. The burn has been almost immaculate and the draw is just where I like it, with just a bit of resistance, but far from sucking a softball through a garden hose. At around the halfway point, just a hint of sweetness is left on the finish, barely enough to even detect through the pepper. I couldn’t even place what kind of sweetness, I just know it's there. Or maybe my tongue is so fried I'm starting to get sweetness out of the different kinds of pepper that have been bombarding my taste buds for the last 45 minutes or so. 

It's at this point that I've been told the details of the blend, but not the brand. Needless to say, I'm a bit shocked. I almost always get rich natural sweetness from Connecticut Broadleaf, and the lack of that in this blend up until the last third has me very surprised. The San Andres binder definitely shows, what with the pepper and whatnot. The long-fillers check out pretty well, and the bit of Honduran leaf that I didn't taste as much was likely a contributor to the earthiness got throughout the experience. The Nicaraguan Jalapa leaf lines up perfectly with the pepper and saltiness that I got, and the Esteli tobacco definitely contributed to the earthiness and leather. I have definitely smoked this cigar before, but it's difficult to place what brand. I have a feeling AJ had something to do with this cigar, but that doesn't really narrow it down, since he's made countless amazing blends for himself and others. 

Well, you've all known this entire time, and now I do too. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't figure out I was smoking the Tabernacle, especially since I've smoked more than enough of them. The flavor profile was pretty spot on for me, but I think smoking it so early in the day had me tasting more of the pepper than I normally do, which is a wonderful thing. Just goes to show the value of a fresh palate. This is one of Foundation's finest blends, and it definitely shows. Even smoking it blind, I was amazed at the punch it has and the complexity it has underneath the heavy Nicaraguan characteristics that make up a quintessential AJ Fernandez cigar. This is, in my humblest of opinions, Nick Melillo's finest blend, and picking it up and loving it all over again through a blind smoking has been a fantastic experience.