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Foundation Cigars & Highclere Castle Make Senetjer an Annual Release


Foundation Cigar Company announces it will re-release its Highclere Castle Senetjer to select tobacconists annually. Highclere Castle Senetjer was created to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the unearthing of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb.


King Tut’s tomb was discovered by the famed archeologist Howard Carter and the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, great-grandfather to the current Earl and owner of Highclere Castle. “King Tutankhamun’s tomb is one of the greatest archeological finds of human history,” said Nicholas Melillo, owner and Master Blender of Foundation Cigars. “Due to the great demand for this fantastic blend, we have decided to release 500 boxes every November to honor the finding.


The Highclere Castle limited edition release was aptly named Senetjer, the ancient Egyptian word for incense, translating directly as “of the gods,” or “to make holy.


The Senetjer presentation box is a replica of the storage boxes discovered within Tutankhamun’s tomb to bring his worldly treasures to the afterlife. The Scarab is an authentic replica of a pectoral necklace worn by the boy king and discovered in the tomb. The Scarab represents Tutankhamun’s name.


To celebrate this amazing find, we have created the Senejter blend, which is a homage to the cigars enjoyed by my family in the roaring twenties,” states George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon. Like Lord Carnarvon today, the 5th Earl was an avid cigar connoisseur.


Highclere Castle Cigar co-founder Adam von Gootkin partnered with famous Egyptian archaeologists Colleen & John Darnell to advise on the project. "As a result, we have translated the Highclere Castle name into ancient hieroglyphics as presented on the box facing". The hieroglyphs express the exact translation of Highclere Castle into 3,000-year-old Egyptian as follows: “The Great Estate; she who is high, she who is bright or clear.” said Von Gootkin.


Highclere Castle Senetjer is a stunning 6 3⁄4 by 52 ring gauge perfecto composed of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with Brazilian Mata Fina binder and well aged undisclosed fillers, packaged in 12 count boxes with a suggested retail price of $33.00 per cigar. Foundation Cigar Company will only take pre-orders annually at the PCA trade show. Boxes will ship every November to commemorate the anniversary of the discovery.


Wrapper – 7th Priming Ecuadorian Habano

Binder – Brazilian Mata Fina

Fillers - Undisclosed (3 years old)

Stick MSRP - $33.00 per cigar

Box MSRP - $396.00 per 12-count box




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