Isabela Cigars go back as far as 1997, and their newest release, the Time-Traveler was 3 years in the making. Here is a little of the story from the manufacturer:
When we set out with the idea of the “Time-Traveler”, we wanted to make a cigar that harkened back to the flavors we remembered of the different popular Cuban cigars of the 90s…the Romeo, The Cohiba, the spicy Por Larranaga, etc…
that just don’t taste the same at present, partially due to the fact that they changed wrappers to a bug proof,
disease resistant wrapper..etc etcSo we started blending with many different tobaccos, many different primings, etc, produced many different samples,
aged them, and NONE of them had it right…Then while working on the Isabela Guerrilla , which is the largest ring
gauge we ever produced, we had to figure out how to get our unique Isabela personality as well as power into a cigar
with such a large amount of filler, and we came up with the idea of aging at each of the different tobaccos at
different lengths…and the result worked with the Guerrillas, and we went back to the Time-Traveler and took
this idea much further….and the results were mind-blowing.
The Isabela Time Traveler is a 6¼”x 42 long corona, with a barber pole wrapper. It’s nice looking cigar, well made with a god draw and a decent burn. In my experience, barber pole cigars are hit and miss in how they burn, and of the examples I smoked, one needed some touch-ups. The website boasts eight distinct flavor transitions, which is far too ambitious for my palate to detect, although there was a build in flavors through the course of the cigar. It built in strength as well, but remained smooth down to a short, finger-burning nub. There is a very nice sweetness to the flavor, especially in the finish. I really enjoyed the format, very nice to smoke, and very tasty. I have to admit that I am a sucker for barber pole wrapped cigars, I wish I knew more about the make-up of this particular cigar, all I really got was the way they age the tobacco. I can guess that the wrappers are Habano and Connecticut, but that’s about as far out as I’m willing to stick my neck! The bottom like is that it’s a very good cigar!
In other news, check out the trivia quiz at Best Cigar Prices site, take it, and post your score in the comments! I thought it was a fun test of my cigar knowledge. Also, Famous Smoke Shop has launched their Cigar Smoker’s Rights Page to outline the fight against FDA regulation. Check out both of those sites!
That’s all for now, until the next time,
CigarCraig
CigarCraig
