JR Cigar continues to celebrate its 50th anniversary with special releases and collaborations, the latest being a new version of Foundation Cigar Co.’s very first release, El Güegüense.
The El Güegüense JR 50th’s blend consists of aged Corojo ’99 and Criollo ’99 filler tobaccos from Nicaragua. The cigar uses a special Mexican San Andrés leaf that is draped in what the company refers to as a “flawless” Corojo ’99 wrapper from Nicaragua’s Jalapa region. The Nicaraguan tobaccos in the blend give this cigar a sweetness with touches of spice and richness that comes mostly from the Mexican San Andrés binder.
“It is an incredible honor to work with JR Cigar on this project and to bring a touch of Foundation Cigars to the 50th Celebration,” Foundation’s Nick Melillo said. “El Güegüense was our first release and will always hold a special place in my heart, and seeing as how we just released a special 5th anniversary edition, I thought it would be perfect to turn this tweaked blend into something special for JR Cigar.”
El Güegüense is Spanish for “The Wise Man” and the name of a Nicaraguan dramatic 16th century theater piece. El Güegüense is one fo the oldest indigenous works in the Western Hemisphere and was chosen as the name of Foundation’s first release by Melillo as a way to honor his love and respect for Nicaragua and its people. In 2020, Foundation released a 5th anniversary edition of El Güegüense with a slightly tweaked blend. This year’s El Güegüense JR 50th cigar’s blend is based on the special 2020 blend.
El Güegüense JR 50th is offered in 10-count boxes with special art on the inside cover designed by Melillo and Foundation’s art director, Alex Garcia. The cigar will be offered in just one size, a 6 1/4 x 46 Lonsdale. Only 500 boxes of this cigar will be released with each box selling for $116.95 and each cigar priced at $13 before applicable taxes. It will be released exclusively on jrcigars.com on August 17.
