Vitola: 550 (Robusto)- 5” x 50 ring gauge
- MSRP $7.50
- Samples provided by General Cigar
Background
One of the more surprising stories from this year’s IPCPR coverage was the efforts by General Cigar to work with outside help on a couple new lines. Specifically, they collaborated with A.J. Fernandez on cigars for both their Hoyo de Monterrey and Foundry brands. At first, this might sound like an unusual pairing, but remember that Fernandez got his big start in the cigar industry making online-only sticks like Man O War and Diesel for Cigars International, a company that is owned by the same people that own General. Today I’m going to take a closer look at the Foundry product that AJF is making.
This is what the press release had to say about this new cigar:
Time Flies was conceived by FTC’s Michael Giannini to encourage cigar lovers to live in the moment and experience the new and unique. This line delivers just that — a rich, muscular smoke derived from tobaccos grown in the Quilali region of Nicaragua.
To bring to life his vision of a bold cigar that demands the smoker’s time and attention, Michael commissioned AJ Fernandez to create the blend and produce the cigars in his namesake factory in Esteli.
Time Flies uses filler and binder from Nicaraguan, along with an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 wrapper leaf. It is made in four sizes and each size has a color-coded box. Prices are under $10 for all sizes. I have had a few of these before the review stick and General provided those samples for me. Also of note, about a month ago, Giannini left General Cigar after being with them for a very long time. You can find out more details about that on Cigar-Coop.
Prelight
Foundry has been a bit of a confounding brand from a packaging and marketing standpoint. They started with a steampunk look, before moving to a “retro/futuristic” motif, and now they are using odd skulls paint splatter. I think it will stand out on the shelf and I don’t dislike the look, but I wish they would get a better focus on what the brand is going to be and stick with it.
The band on the cigar uses holographic foil as the main element, giving off the rainbow reflections, broken up just by the use of embossing, debossing, and black ink. The skull is reminiscent of the “day of the dead” skulls seen in Mexican culture (and on Crowned Heads’ Las Calaveras releases), but the weird “pentagram in a gear” on the forehead and the upside-down heart with an arrow through it for the nose…these things are just kind of inexplicable. Then the fortune cookie/motivational poster sayings on the back of the band…at this point, I’ve lost the thread. I know this cigar is supposed to be about “living in the moment” but when I read the list aloud to people a couple months ago, they were either confused or laughing out loud, neither of which is the reaction you’d seem to want for this. Decent try…but the attempt didn’t really clear the bar this time.
The cigar under the band was a shade of brown in between milk and dark chocolate, putting it in the range of “darkest Ecuadorian Habano leaves” that I’ve seen. It’s not absolutely the darkest, but it is dark. It had an oily feel to it and an aroma of earth and leather. The foot had more earth, along with some grass and wood notes. The cold draw on Time Flies was good and had a mix of cedar, leather and earth.
Flavor
It was an almost-perfect fall day…just “almost” because it was warmer than I would have liked. But the air was dry, the breeze was active, the leaves were in the middle of changing, and the sunlight had that odd quality that October brings to it. I fired up George Winston playing the music of Vince Guaraldi (it always makes me think of this season) and fired up the Time Flies. Off the bat, the cigar had strong flavors of cedar and earth on the palate, with just touches of dark roast coffee bean and cocoa powder. The retrohale had more coffee bean, along with a fierce red pepper. As the first third burned, I got more leather and coffee bean, while the cocoa powder and earth eased off a bit.
The second third prominently featured espresso bean and notes of charred meat. The pepper had backed off to a minimal burn and wood notes were still hanging around in the background.
The char petered out by the time the last third started, but there was still a lot of espresso bean in the mix. I also detected resurgent notes of earth and a slight return of pepper spice.
Construction
I had a great draw, a very even burn line and a solid ash.
Value
As with most of General’s other recent offerings, the price tag on this is basically “bargain priced.”
Conclusions
The Time Flies turned out to be a good smoking experience that is totally unique in the Foundry catalog. It was full-bodied and savory, overall just about exactly what you would expect from an A.J. Fernandez blend. I personally would have liked some sweetness in the mix to help the balance, but it was a good smoke for a good price. If you like other AJF cigars, especially the more full-bodied ones, you will likely enjoy this one.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10
