Foundation Cigars Aksum formerly Metapa Maduro

If the Aksum cigar from Foundation Cigar Co. looks oddly similar to a former Foundation project, that's because it is a former project from Foundation... You see, the Aksum first launched in 2023, then going by the name Metapa (a nod to the famed Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío). But Foundation did a one-eighty not a year later, transitioning the cigar to better align with former Biblically themed lines such as The Tabernacle and Menelik. Like those aforementioned cigars, the Aksum draws inspiration from the Ark of the Covenant and its ties to Ethiopian lineage. Specifically, Aksum is considered to be the resting place for the Ark of the Covenant, and the cigar's band features the likeness of Ras Makonnen, father of Haile Selassie (who is pictured on The Tabernacle band). The Foundation Aksum line is rolled in two varieties: Aksum Maduro and Aksum Claro. The cigars use the same blend and sizes as the former Metapa. For the Aksum Maduro cigar, this includes a dark Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper atop a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and all-Nicaraguan fillers from the regions of Estelí and Jalapa. Finished with a soft-press shape out of the acclaimed AJ Fernández factory in Nicaragua, Aksum Maduro boasts a medium-full profile, hitting notes of rain-soaked hardwoods, sweet molasses bread, toasted nutmeg, and burnt caramel through the finish.