The Particulars

The Review

This review for the Foundation 10 Year Aniversario - Salomon (7 x 58) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-04-01

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Good (3)

Impossibly dark, super toothy, and oily. Nicholas Melillo can really source some fantastic-looking Connecticut leaves. You’ll probably never get a straight answer, but given his Drew Estate history, I wonder how closely related this wrapper is to the one on the Liga Privada T52. There are a couple of thicker veins running through this wrapper, but it doesn’t affect the roll or seam tightness. A little bit of the edge of the leaf used to secure the foot is coming loose, but I don’t expect it to cause an issue, so I’m not bothering with the cigar glue. I love the Salomon vitola. Big, beefy, and bulbous, it takes skill to roll and dedicated time to smoke. The presentation on these is just top-notch from the bands to the box.

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Good (3) / Average (2)

The resistance is spot-on and the burn starts cleanly. Any figurado with a tapered foot needs a tight flame to avoid scorching too much of the wrapper, and they can be difficult to light if the draw is tight until it starts to burn. But no problems here; the burn line is a little uneven as it rounds the taper, but it’s quickly self-correcting. This one is a bit of a smoke bomb, creating thick, heavy smoke on each draw.

The ash is a medium gray with broader spacing between cracks and striations. The thicker veins on this wrapper are pulling away from the ash stack as they burn, and little bits start to flake off, though the main stack holds tightly. The burn line is super wavy and uneven, but we’re not at risk of canoeing or developing other burn issues—it’s just drunk looking. It’s stumbling home from the bar, but it hasn’t fallen in the bushes yet. It’s the kind of burn where the OCD among us will do a minor correction after ashing, but the heathens won’t. And the ash falls just after finishing the first third, and I apply that minor correction.

The burn is the only real complaint about this example. It’s not canoeing, going out, or making a huge mess, but it’s also uneven, triggering me to make corrections every time I dump the ash. In the second third, the burn starts following the wrapper seam, cutting in along that edge.

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Excellent (5)

Charred oak and hickory flavors greet you on light-up with dense earth and a little bit of mustiness. But then red pepper and baking spices come as the flavors start to pick up with the burn reaching the widest part of the vitola. Additionally, I’m getting dark roast coffee, baking cocoa, black pepper, and a super healthy dose of syrupy raisin sweetness and lemony citrus brightness. The finish is fairly creamy and smooth. And we’re only an inch in.

With the start of the second third, I’m just loving the blend. It’s savory and sweet hickory-smoked BBQ. That charred oak and hickory flavor, heavy on the earth, light on the barnyard, just gives a rich and savory domain for the medium blend of spices to build in. Red pepper hits the tongue, black pepper the back of the palate, and cinnamon and nutmeg provide the flavor. But the sweetness—oh, that thick raisin sweetness with just a hint of citrus zest really cuts through. A creamier finish would be delightful, but this is medium-ish and it’s just enough to create a super smooth finish. Aside from some of the pepper burn, there’s not a hint of harshness. The dark chocolate powdered cocoa and coffee notes add natural bitterness, but it’s delightful.

Overall, complexity is on point with a lot of medium to medium-plus flavors working in beautiful harmony, but it’s a straight shooter that doesn’t transition. So the final third carries the same profile and flavors, just with an uptick in intensity as the ring gauge decreases.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Excellent (5)

As I mentioned in my original review, there are shades of the Liga Privada T52 in this blend, with similar tobacco resulting in some common flavor notes. But while I find the Liga a bit underwhelming, I enjoyed this blend quite a lot. It’s a far more expensive option, but when this blend hits, it’s straight 🔥.

I honestly don’t know why the first one I smoked was such a dud, but the last several definitely redeemed it. I will say there does seem to be a higher level of variability in these cigars than I’m used to seeing. With today’s review, I smoked two, and the second was much stronger in coffee notes, more bitter with bits of black licorice, and had less spice. Shades of the very first one I smoked, but still far better. But it also had a much whiter ash than the one before it. It’s frustrating this one isn’t more consistent, but the ones that really deliver are fantastic. It’s up to your budget if the risk is outweighed by the reward.

Review Base Rating (0-5):

4.50

Would I Buy It Again?

Signs point to yes (recommended)

Review Final Score (0-10):

8.83

Postscript

If anything, this cigar is a great example of why it’s always worth trying any cigar multiple times.  Occasionally you get a shit example, or in this case, underperforming.  With cigar tobacco being all natural, there’s always a possibility you harvest leaves from a plant that don’t provide the flavors that it should, as we see a level of variability in leaf to leaf and cigar to cigar as it is.  Sometimes you just get an extreme example.  But beyond that, an issue with fermentation, the aging process, the roll, humidification or storage can always affect how a cigar performs and tastes too.  It sucks, but it happens.  But after smoking the Foundation 10 Year Aniversario multiple times, I feel confident in saying that first smoke was the exception and not the norm.

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.