1806
Born in Portsmouth to a French engineer. He learns to draw before he learns to build.
SWISS HOUSE OF HAND-MADE NICARAGUAN CIGARS
70 % RH · CELLAR STABLE
EST. GENEVA · ROLLED IN ESTELÍ
SCROLL
DISTRIBUTION — BULGARIA
THE LEGEND · FIG. 1 — 3
Named for an engineer.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel drew railways, bridges and the Great Eastern — the largest ship the world had seen. He worked in a stovepipe hat, kept his drawings within reach, and smoked as many as forty cigars a day.
N. 02
IZAMBAR borrows his name and his method. Every blend is drawn before it is rolled: proportions set, materials scheduled, tolerances held. The top hat on the B is his.
“For real enjoyment.”
— HOUSE MOTTO
( The Legend, continued )
IZAMBAR is named for Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The name arrived with a method.
1859
The Great Eastern takes the water. He dies weeks later, at 53, having smoked as many as forty a day at the board. Nothing was ever built before it was drafted.
2015
A Swiss house borrows the method. Edmond writes about cigars, then draws his own humidors when the ones he can buy fall short.
TODAY
Six lines, four valleys. Drafted in Switzerland, rolled by hand in Nicaragua. The drawing decides the cigar.
1806 — TODAY
( THE LEAF )
The leaf remembers
the sun.
БГ
ЛИСТЪТ ПОМНИ СЛЪНЦЕТО.
THE COLLECTION · PLATES I — VI
SIX LINES · SIX PLATES
Six lines, drawn to tolerance.
Long filler, rolled by hand in Estelí. Each line carries its own band colour and its own plate.
( THE EMBER )
The ember does not hurry.
Neither should you.
БГ
ЖАРТА НЕ БЪРЗА. ТИ СЪЩО.
TERROIR · SURVEY OF NICARAGUA
Four valleys, one island.
Every leaf in the atelier is grown here. The blend is a matter of proportion between four soils.
SHEET T-01 · REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA
SCALE — AS DRAWN
01
Estelí
13°05′N 86°21′WDark, heavy soils and the strongest sun. The backbone: strength and dark earth in the filler.
ALTITUDE
600–800 M
SOIL
BLACK CLAY LOAM
HARVEST
JAN–MAR
LEAF ROLE
BINDER · FILLER
DRAWN ON BY — I · II · IV
02
Condega
13°21′N 86°24′WRiver-valley leaf, thinner and elastic. Balance, binding quality and a quiet spice.
ALTITUDE
550–700 M
SOIL
SANDY LOAM
HARVEST
JAN–MAR
LEAF ROLE
BINDER · FILLER
DRAWN ON BY — I · III · IV · V
03
Jalapa
13°55′N 86°08′WThe garden of Nicaragua. Sweetness, aroma and finesse — home of finca Matjeva.
ALTITUDE
700–900 M
SOIL
RED VOLCANIC LOAM
HARVEST
FEB–APR
LEAF ROLE
BINDER · FILLER
DRAWN ON BY — I · II · III · IV · V
04
Ometepe
11°30′N 85°35′WAn island of two volcanoes in Lake Nicaragua. Volcanic ash gives the leaf its mineral depth.
ALTITUDE
40–120 M
SOIL
VOLCANIC ASH
HARVEST
DEC–FEB
LEAF ROLE
FILLER — LIGERO
DRAWN ON BY — I · II · IV · V
( THE DRAW )
One draw —
and the room goes quiet.
БГ
ЕДНО ДРЪПВАНЕ — И СТАЯТА УТИХВА.
( THE HOUSE · FOUNDERS & MAKERS )
Two friends, one drawing office.
Edmond wrote about cigars for years and built humidors by hand — cabinets and tables with a climate under the lid. Antonio Urech shared the ashtray, and the opinion that the good ones could be better.
N. 02
The blog became a workshop, and the workshop became a house. They went to Estelí, chose their growers valley by valley, and drew a cigar of their own. It is still made the same way: by hand, in small series, checked one by one.
01
THE DRAW — MEASURED
02
THE PRESS — BY HAND
03
THE CHECK — EVERY CIGAR
