Isabela Releasing Time-Traveler 2019

On Friday, Isabela Cigar Co. will release its annual Ltd. Edition Time-Traveler 2019.

This year’s version measures 6 1/2 x 42 and uses 15 different types of tobacco. It starts with a barberpole wrapper: one leaf Ecuadorian Connecticut desflorado wrapper and the other Nicaraguan Prieto habano. Underneath the two wrappers are 13 different types of Nicaraguan fillers.

John Piette of Isabela told halfwheel that the filler includes medio tiempo leaves and “sliver of ligero.” Medio tiempo is the highest priming on a tobacco blend, above the ligero primings, that is only found on a fraction of plants.

“Every time we produce a run of the Time-Traveler, we are trying to get the intent of the blend, obviously sourcing the tobaccos that are available, which fluctuates every season of production,” said Piette. “We never really know when the blend is ready from batch to batch, so we project a two-year minimum, and then do the ‘fire one up’ every couple months after that, until the blend tells us it’s ready.”

Piette said the goal is to create a profile reminiscent of Cuban cigars of the 1990s. Time-Traveler is produced at a small, unnamed factory in Condega, Nicaragua.

For the 2019 release, the cigar was aged a total of two years and eight months. Time-Traveler has only been released once before, in 2017.

Production is limited to 100 boxes of 12, which will be numbered and signed, as well as 50 bundles of 25 cigars.

Pricing is set at $9.95 per cigar.