Foundry H20 – H

The Foundry H20 – H is a small batch release by Foundry Tobacco Company as a part of their Compounds, Elements and Musings line.  Foundry Tobacco Company is a brand under the General Cigar Company portfolio.  At the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show, it was General Cigar Company who was the leader in terms of new product releases.  The Compounds, Elements and Musings line was perhaps the most ambitious as it introduced 12 new offerings and 18 blends under those offerings.  Six of the offerings would go brick and mortar exclusive, and six would become internet/catalog exclusive.   H20 was one of the brick and mortar offerings.  It would consist of three distinct blends – “H”, “2”, and “O” in one package.  Today we take a closer look at the H20 – “H” blend.  Overall, I found this to be a small cigar that delivers an excellent cigar experience.

Compounds, Elements, and Musings pays homage to the periodic table of elements.  In the case of the H20, this is the formula for water.  The name is also appropriate because there are three blends packaged together.  Each package contains 12 cigars of the “H”, “2”, and “O” blends respectively.  Foundry has deemed the H20 as a small batch offering and once the cigars are sold out, they are sold out.

Packaging of the Foundy H20 (Photo credit foundrytobaccocompany.com)

Without further ado, let’s break down the H20 – H and see what this particular cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

Foundry is choosing to keep much of the blend details a secret.  They do mention that the “H” contains Costa Rican and “mysterioso” tobacco.  No specifics on wrapper, binder, and filler have been disclosed.  In general,  Compounds, Elements, and Musings line uses tobaccos that are rare and limited.

Wrapper: Unknown
Binder: Unknown
Filler: Unknown

Vitolas Available

Each of the three vitolas measure 4 x 49 x 48.  The cigar is an artesian-designed perfecto with a fuse on the footer.

Appearance

The wrapper to the H20 – H is a mix between coffee brown and colorado red.  The wrapper definitely has an oily complexion to it.  The wrapper seams are well hidden and there wasn’t much in the way of visible veins.

The band is big – covering much of the cigar.  It has a white background with black font on it.  Prominently at the center of the band is a large black “H”.  It is surrounded by a thick black ring and a thin black ring.  The remainder of the band has additional black adornments on it.  The “2” and “O” blends have a similar band design other than the “2” and “O” is what is prominent on the center of the band.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up my H20 – H, I went with a straight cut to remove the cap.  From that point, I moved on to the pre-light draw.  The cold draw provided a mix of coffee, earth, and a mild cedar spice.  Overall, I was quite pleased with the pre-light draw provided by the H.  I was now ready to light up this cigar. As I normally do with cigars that have a “fuse-like” footer, I toasted the entire footer before smoking.  Once this was completed it was on to see what the smoking experience would deliver.

Flavor Profile

The H began with some cedar spice.  This was soon joined by notes of coffee and earth.  The cedar, coffee, and earth were the main notes in the early stages with no flavor having a significant edge over the others.  However, on the retro-hale, the cedar spice was prominent.

By the time the H reached the middle of the first half, the coffee and earth notes were now the primary flavors.  The cedar notes moved to the background and took on more of a sweet quality as opposed to a spice quality.  The spice was now more of a classic pepper.  This pepper floated between the forefront and background.

In the second half, the earth notes took over as a primary note.    The coffee and cedar sweetness remained secondary.  The pepper spice still floated between being a primary and secondary note.  This is the way the flavor profile held until the end.  The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

From a burn perspective, the H20 – H performed nicely.  Overall, I found the H scored very nicely.  The burn line didn’t require much maintenance to keep it straight.  From time to time there was a little jaggedness, but it was nothing that was significant.   The resulting ash was a darker charcoal gray with some darker spots.  The ash remained on the firm side throughout the smoke.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the H20 – H

The draw was terrific.  Normally I think when it comes to figuardos / perfectos, the draw usually is a place where they don’t stand up to parejos. This draw had that touch of resistance – which is something that I like.  As a result this was an enjoyable cigar.

Strength and Body

For a small little cigar, the H20 – H definitely had some more pop when it came to its strength and body.  From a strength perspective, I found the H to smoke on the medium to full side.  It wasn’t overpowering, but it still had enough kick.  As for the flavors, I found them to be robust and have some weight on my pallet.  I definitely assessed this as a full-bodied smoke.  When comparing strength versus body, the edge had to go to the body.

Final Thoughts

This cigar was a nice surprise to me.  One negative is that the Compounds, Elements and Musings line is 18 blends deep, and it is possible for this cigar to get “lost” in the shuffle.  At the same time, the fact that this is a small cigar works in its favor.  I think this cigar provides that excellent “short, quick” smoke.   Since this is a fuller smoke,  I would lean toward recommending this to a more experienced cigar enthusiast.  At the same time, the short smoke is a nice way for a novice to cut one’s teeth on something fuller.  As for myself, this is worth a “box split”, but I’m assuming the “box” is the 12 “H” cigars packaged in the H20 as the others still have not been assessed.

Summary

Burn: Excellent