Foundation Cigar Sampler — Build Your Own
From: Original price was: $42.34.$38.11Current price is: $38.11.
Design your perfect Foundation cigar sampler. Choose from Charter Oak, The Tabernacle, Wise Man Maduro, and more — all hand-blended by Nicholas Melillo. Every stick ships from our Orlando, FL humidor.
Premium cigars curated by Oxford Cigar Company. Ships from Orlando, FL.
The Foundation Cigar Sampler at Oxford Cigar Company lets you handpick your own lineup from the full Foundation portfolio — from silky Connecticut Shade milds to punishing San Andres maduros. No pre-set bundles, no filler sticks. Every cigar in this build-your-own sampler was blended by Nicholas Melillo and ships directly from our climate-controlled Orlando humidor. It is the most flexible way to explore the Foundation catalog across wrappers, strengths, and vitolas in a single order.
About Foundation Cigar Company
Nicholas Melillo launched Foundation Cigar Company in 2015 after spending years at Drew Estate mastering the craft of tobacco blending. His approach is sourcing-forward: hand-selecting aged tobaccos from Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, Brazil, and Ethiopia, then building blends designed to express those origins with clarity. Foundation’s catalog has collected a string of 90+ scores — including a 95 from Cigar Aficionado for The Wise Man Maduro — placing it among the most decorated boutique brands of the modern era. Every stick in this Oxford sampler reflects that sourcing discipline. You are not buying a house blend. You are buying a point of view.
What’s in the Foundation Sampler
Choose from six Foundation lines, each with a distinct blend signature:
Charter Oak — Mild to Medium
- Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Nicaraguan
- Flavors: Creamy cedar, gentle spice, clean finish
The entry point to Foundation — approachable construction, genuine complexity. Connecticut Shade wrapper keeps it smooth; Nicaraguan binder and filler add enough backbone to hold interest across the length.
Aksum — Medium
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
- Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
- Filler: Nicaraguan (Estelí + Jalapa)
- Flavors: Black tea, dried fruit, warm spice
Named for the ancient Ethiopian empire, Aksum is Melillo’s most textured blend. Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper adds a tea-forward sweetness; Connecticut Broadleaf binder anchors the body; Estelí and Jalapa fillers deliver the earth and spice underneath.
Highclere Castle — Medium
- Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
- Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
- Filler: Nicaraguan (Jalapa + Ometepe)
- Flavors: Cream, toasted grain, gentle pepper on the finish
A collaboration with George Herbert, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon and current owner of Highclere Castle. The blend was engineered to approximate the flavor of a pre-war cigar. Produced at A.J. Fernandez’s factory in Nicaragua, it punches above its mild-medium billing in refinement.
The Tabernacle — Full
- Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
- Binder: San Andrés
- Filler: Nicaraguan + Honduran
- Flavors: Dark earth, cocoa, espresso, black pepper
Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper brings the characteristic dark, oily sheen and a cocoa-forward sweetness. San Andrés binder and Nicaraguan + Honduran filler stack earthy depth and pepper behind it. Rolled at A.J. Fernandez’s factory. Foundation’s full-strength flagship.
Olmec — Full
- Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Nicaraguan (Estelí + Jalapa, 3-year aged)
- Flavors: Rich earth, dark chocolate, black pepper, leather
Olmec uses Mexican San Andrés wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and three-year-aged Nicaraguan filler from Estelí and Jalapa. The extra aging smooths the pepper and pushes the dark chocolate and leather notes forward.
The Wise Man Maduro — Full
- Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Garcia family estates (Estelí, Condega, Jalapa)
- Flavors: Wood, black licorice, baking spices, hickory, earth
Rated 95 by Cigar Aficionado. The Wise Man Maduro is the benchmark of the Foundation portfolio — dark, oily San Andrés wrapper over vintage tobaccos from Pepin and Jaime Garcia’s family estates. Now rolled at My Father Cigars in Estelí. If you are only trying one full-strength Foundation cigar, make it this one.
How to Build Your Foundation Sampler
Select your quantity and choose your sticks from the lines above. Mixing strengths is the recommended approach: start with Charter Oak or Highclere Castle to set a baseline, work toward Tabernacle or Olmec mid-sampler, and close with The Wise Man Maduro. Every sampler is hand-packed and ships from Oxford Cigar Company’s Orlando, Florida humidor.
Browse all Foundation Cigars or explore our full Cigar Sampler collection.
Foundation Charter Oak Connecticut
| Selection | Single – Lonsdale 6 1/4 x 46 |
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Foundation Charter Oak Habano
| Selection | Single – Rothschild 4 1/2 x 50, Single – Toro 6 x 52, Single – Torpedo 6 x 52 |
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Foundation Charter Oak Especiales Pegnataro
| Selection | Single – Pegnataro 5 1/2 x 48 |
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Foundation Aksum Claro
| Selection | Box – Robusto 5 x 50, 5 Pack – Robusto 5 x 50, Single – Robusto 5 x 50, Box – Toro 6 x 52, 5 Pack – Toro 6 x 52, Single – Toro 6 x 52, Box – Corona Gorda 5 1/2 x 48, 5 Pack – Corona Gorda 5 1/2 x 48, Single – Corona Gorda 5 1/2 x 48 |
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Foundation The Wise Man Maduro
| Selection | Box – Toro 6 x 52, 5 Pack – Toro 6 x 52, Single – Toro 6 x 52, Box – Robusto 5 1/2 x 50, 5 Pack – Robusto 5 1/2 x 50, Single – Robusto 5 1/2 x 50, Box – Corona 5 x 48, 5 Pack – Corona 5 x 48, Single – Corona 5 x 48 |
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Foundation Olmec Claro
| Selection | Single – Corona Gorda 5 1/2 x 48, Single – Toro 6 x 52 |
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Stephan Sandoval (verified owner) –
Bought the foundation sampler and picked five different cigars to introduce myself to their lineup. I have to say, I have been pleasantly surprised with each smoke! Oxford does an amazing job with their sample packages and foundation cigar is a brand I’m going to keep my eye on.
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nacan (verified owner) –
Very very happy with my purchase. This Foundation Cigars are definitely something! Some of them will be part of my humidor for the special moments’ smokes.
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albertoamezquitajr (verified owner) –
I love trying, samplers specially with premium cigars and these really turn me into some of my favorite cigars. Foundation is all solid and now I’m smoking these in my regular rotation.
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Alexander S (verified owner) –
I am in the Premiere Oxford program which comes with a 20% discount. With Oxford samplers, you save more which I did not know. For instance, The Tabernacle Corona is $10.33 MSRP. The Oxford Premiere will give you the Tabernacle Corona for $8.26. This sampler has it as $6.69. I had no idea the sampler gives you additional savings.
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