Charter Oak Pegnaturo by Foundation Cigar Company

Today, we review the Charter Oak Pegnaturo from Foundation Cigar Company. Charter Oak is one of the core premium brands in the Foundation Cigar portfolio. Charter Oak features three different blends, all at an approachable price point. In 2023, Melillo created a couple of limited production offerings to extend the line known collectively as Charter Oak Especiales. Melillo would pay homage to his two grandfathers by naming each of the blends after them. These blends are Charter Oak Pegnaturo and Charter Oak Pasquale.

If you have followed Foundation Cigar Company, one differentiating factor to many of its brands is that it pays homage to different cultures. We’ve seen Foundation releases pay homage to Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Egypt, Jamaica, and England. Charter Oak goes to Melillo’s roots as it pays homage to the state of Connecticut. Charter Oak was the name of an enormous white oak tree in Hartford that was close to 1,000 years old when it fell during a storm. Melillo decided this was essential to his home state’s history and created a core brand known as Charter Oak. Paying tribute to his grandfathers extends Melillo’s personal story with the Charter Oak brand.

Let’s turn our attention to the Charter Oak Pegnaturo and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Charter Oak Pegnaturo by Foundation Cigar Company – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Nicaraguan (Jalapa)
Filler: Nicaraguan (Estelí, Jalapa)
Country: Nicaraguan
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Pasquale is offered in one size: a 5 1/2 x 48 soft box-pressed vitola. It comes in 12-count boxes, and Foundation Cigars has said production is limited to 500 boxes per quarter. The Charter Oak Pegnaturo is the same size and production numbers as the Pasquale.

Appearance (*)

The Connecticut Shade wrapper of the Pegnaturo was a slightly weathered light brown color. A light amount of oil was present on its surface. Some thin, visible veins were on the wrapper’s surface, and any wrapper seams were minimally visible. The Pegnataro has a slight soft press and is finished with a pigtail affixed to the cap.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Instead of removing the pigtail of the Pegnaturo, a straight cut was employed to simultaneously remove both the pigtail and the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw experience. The cold draw delivered a mix of cream, earth, a slight amount of wood, and a sweetness reminiscent of berry. This was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to toast up the footer of the Pegnaturo and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Pegnaturo opened up with notes of cream, earth, baker’s spice, and berry notes. The berry had a slightly burnt quality, but this was not a negative by any means. Early on, the earth notes moved to the forefront. The cream and baker’s spice settled in the background. For the most part, the berry note was secondary but occasionally made its way as a primary note with the earth. The retro-hale had a combination of mixed pepper and a slight amount of burnt berry quality.

By the start of the second third of the Pegnaturo, the mixed pepper notes surfaced on the tongue along with a chestnut note. The pepper and chestnut joined the baker’s spice and cream in the background. By this stage, the berry notes had receded from the forefront and slowly diminished. As the Pegnaturo moved toward the latter part of the second third, the earth notes remained primary and were rounded out by the pepper, chestnut, baker’s spices, and some residual cream.

By the final third, the earth notes were still grounded in the forefront. The pepper notes were a more prominent secondary note. There still were residual notes of chestnut and baker’s spice, while most of the cream had chestnut dissipated. This is the way the Pegnaturo came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Pegnaturo’s burn performed quite well. This cigar maintained a straight burn path and relatively straight burn line while not requiring many touch-ups. The resulting ash was silver-gray, skewed toward the firmer side. The burn rate and burn temperature both maintained ideal levels.

Draw

Pegnaturo’s draw performed exceptionally well. It had a touch of resistance, which I like. At the same time, it was a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor.

Strength and Body

The Pegnaturo is a Connecticut Shade cigar that I would consider bolder. It maintained medium strength from start to finish. At the same time, the body started off on the medium side, but by the second third, it was in medium to full territory.

In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained a slight edge during the smoking experience.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

My comments on banding and packaging are similar to when I assessed the Charter Oak Pasquale:

The Charter Oak Especiales (Pasquale and Pegnaturo) are based on the existing Charter Oak packaging but are slightly different. The cedar boxes use a Charter Oak logo on both the box and the band. In addition, the bands are more embellished and have gold foil on them. I would say both the Especiales packaging is better than the original Charter Oak.

Packaging of the Charter Oak Especial (Left: Pasquale; Right Pegnaturo)

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

When I assessed the Pegnaturo’s sibling cigar, the Pasquale, one comment was that the cigar had an old-school vibe. Outside of the packaging of the Pegnaturo, this was not the case when it came to the cigar. If anything, the Pegnaturo had the new-age Connecticut vibe of being a bolder, more robust Connecticut. While I usually prefer milder Connecticut Shade cigars, I will say the Pegnaturo holds its own – and, most notably, does well in the flavor category. While I’m inclined to smoke this again, I also think this cigar isn’t for everyone, and given the price point, I’d recommend trying a sample first.

Summary

Key Flavors: Earth, Berry, Cream, Chestnut, Baker’s Spice, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st Third), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good