Foundation Cigar Company: Highclere Castle Senetjer (Box of 12) Cigars

Merging Old World history with New World tobacco, Highclere Castle sees Foundation Cigar Company's owner and master blender, Nicholas Melillo, partnering with Sir George Herbert, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon and current Lord of Highclere Castle. Fans of the show Downton Abbey will no doubt recognize the 5,000 acre estate, located in Hampshire, England, while the more comically inclined might remember it from Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie's Jeeves and Wooster series.

The regular-production Highclere Castle is available in two version — Victorian and Edwardian — inspired by the look and flavor of cigars enjoyed during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when the first Earls of Carnarvon began importing cigars to Highclere Castle. The Victorian and Edwardian boast Ecuadorian Habano and Connecticut Shade wrappers, respectively, but the limited-edition Senetjer is a distinctive singular blend.

Immediately, the Senetjer is distinguished by dramatically different branding compared to the rest of the Highclere Castle line, featuring a stunning, Egyptian theme, with glimmering gold painted across the box depicting ancient Egyptian iconography and hieroglyphs. The motif commemorates Highclere's 5th Earl of Carnarvon who funded Howard Carter's expedition that uncovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1922. Hand-rolled a century later, the Senetjer cigar features a 7th priming Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with a Brazilian Mata Fina binder and three-year-aged fillers of undisclosed origin. Moreover, Foundation collaborated with archaeologists Colleen and John Darnell to create a cigar box that exactly replicates one found in the tomb, with the adorning hieroglyphs translating "Highclere Castle," and the Senetjer name is an ancient Egyptian word for incense, literally meaning "of the gods" or "that which makes holy." It's available in a single 6.75" x 52 Perfecto and was rolled at the prestigious AJ Fernandez tabacalera.