TheFoundation Charter Oak Especiales Pegnataro may be the most personal Connecticut Shade cigar Nicholas Melillo has created. Melillo has often credited his grandfathers with introducing him to handmade cigars—one favored Connecticut Broadleaf, while his grandfatherPegnataro was devoted to Connecticut Shade. The Especiales project honors both men with individual blends bearing their names, while also celebrating Foundation's return to the heart of Connecticut tobacco country with a new home on a 300-acre farm in the Connecticut River Valley. Pegnataro isn't simply another size of the original Charter Oak; Melillo describes the Especiales as richer, more complex cigars conceived to stand distinctly apart from the everyday core line.
The softly box-pressed5½" x 48 Pegnataro places a goldenConnecticut Shade wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder from Jalapa and fillers grown inEstelí and Jalapa. It's a thoughtful combination: the Shade leaf contributes the creaminess, cedar and restrained sweetness expected from fine Connecticut tobacco, while the Nicaraguan interior gives the cigar considerably more depth and backbone than its pale wrapper might suggest. Almond, earth and baking spice move through the profile alongside creamier impressions, making this a medium-bodied Connecticut cigar intended for smokers who appreciate nuance but don't equate Shade tobacco with being timid.
The48-ring Corona Gorda proportions are particularly well chosen. They keep the Connecticut wrapper firmly involved while giving the Estelí and Jalapa tobaccos enough room to supply richness underneath, and the soft box press and pigtail cap further distinguish Pegnataro from the regular Charter Oak line. More importantly, there's authenticity behind the cigar. This is a Connecticut-born cigar maker honoring the grandfather who helped kindle his fascination with cigars, using the tobacco style that grandfather actually loved.Pegnataro takes the approachable spirit of Charter Oak and elevates it into something more contemplative—a Connecticut Shade cigar with family history, tobacco pedigree and a genuine reason for existing.
Box of 12
