One of the most interesting cigar brand displays at IPCPR this year was the Foundry Cigars display in the General Cigar booth where they were debuting the new Foundry Cigars Time Flies.  The Time Flies is a collaboration between Foundry Cigars and AJ Fernandez.  There are two different versions of this cigar:  Time Flies and Time Flies Limited Edition.  The difference in the two is the wrapper.  The wrapper on the regular blend is an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper where the LE has an Sumatra wrapper.  For this review, I’ll be reviewing the regular release provided to us by Foundry Cigars and General Cigar at IPCPR.  Let’s take a look at the specs:

• Wrapper:  Ecuadorian Habano 2000
• Binder:  Nicaraguan
• Filler:  Nicaraguan
• MSRP:  $7.00

 

On the band, there are several sayings that tie into the “Time flies when….” saying listed around the band.  I won’t going into a lot of detail here about it and the special edition boxes here, but you can get the info from our interview with Justin Andrews and Michael Giannini here.

Construction

The cigar is well rolled with a nicely applied cap.  The draw is spot on and wrapper show no sign of water spots or large veins.  The cold draw has notes of cedar and earth.

First Half

The cigar wasn’t as strong as I was expecting, which is a pleasant surprise actually.  I got notes of oak, black cherry and pepper right off the bat.  The cigar was a little sour to me, but not overly so.  Around the midway point, the cigar started to get a little creamy as well.  The burn was quite good as well and never required any touch ups.

Last Half

The final half the cigar recessed somewhat. I still got the woody oak notes and black cherry, but the cigar got more bitter and earthy.  It lost the creaminess near the end, if was already faint anyway.  I did start picking up a leather note after the midway point as well.  The burn and draw were still really good.

Final Impressions

2016 seems to be the year of AJ Fernandez.  There were so many collaborations at this years IPCPR with several cigar companies besides his own new releases.  This was one of the better ones.  I enjoyed the rich flavors of the cigar and the construction was really good.  The only minor issue I had with the cigar was the slight sourness I got from the front of the cigar.  It wasn’t totally off putting, but it was something that kept me from enjoying the cigar fully.  I think a little age will tame that.  I think its a solid offering and one you should check out, especially the limited edition with the Sumatra wrapper.