E.P. Carrillo Cigars
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo gained fame in the cigar industry as the original blending legend behind the bestselling La Gloria Cubana franchise during the Cigar Boom of the 1990s. Cigar lovers have lauded Ernesto’s return to the business as a master cigar-maker with the debut of his eponymous E.P. Carrillo brand. Scores of sky-high ratings over 90-points, in addition to a handful of rankings in Cigar Aficionado’s annual ‘Top 10 Cigars of Year’ have catapulted E.P. Carrillo cigars onto the radars of boutique fanatics in search of name brand quality for a great value. In 2018, E.P. Carrillo Encore scored 96 points and the ‘#1 Cigar of the Year’ title. Taste the decades of expertise Ernesto pours into each handcrafted, Dominican-made release with a versatile portfolio of primarily medium to full-bodied profiles. A diverse collection of blend and wrapper varietals delivers complex transitions of flavor and aroma at an unbeatable everyday value. Indulge in every variety of E.P. Carrillo at the lowest prices online, exclusively from your pals at Holt’s!
CIGARS
E.P. Carrillo Encore
Price Per Cigar:$11.79 - $14.006 options availableStrength: Medium-FullCountry: Dominican RepublicWrapper: Nicaraguan15 Reviewsread more
E.P. Carrillo Inch
Price Per Cigar:$8.49 - $10.854 options availableStrength: Medium-FullCountry: Dominican RepublicWrapper: Ecuador Sumatra7 Reviewsread more
E.P. Carrillo Inch Maduro
Price Per Cigar:$9.33 - $11.504 options availableStrength: Medium-FullCountry: Dominican RepublicWrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf12 Reviewsread more
E.P. Carrillo La Historia
Price Per Cigar:$10.99 - $13.408 options availableStrength: Medium-FullCountry: Dominican RepublicWrapper: San Andres56 Reviewsread more
E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut
Price Per Cigar:$6.24 - $10.456 options availableStrength: Mild-MediumCountry: Dominican RepublicWrapper: Ecuador Connecticut17 Reviewsread more
E.P. Carrillo Pledge
Price Per Cigar:$10.79 - $13.254 options availableStrength: MediumCountry: Dominican RepublicWrapper: Connecticut Habano8 Reviewsread more
ACCESSORIES
E.P. CARRILLO BRAND HISTORY
E.P. Carrillo (also called EPC Cigar Co.) is named for brand founder Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, a master cigar-maker who built his career as the man behind La Gloria Cubana. The success of the La Gloria brand coincided with the Cigar Boom of the 1990s and a significant increase in demand for premium cigars. With the debut of Cigar Aficionado, Perez-Carrillo gained much respect as the publication promoted a number of critically acclaimed La Gloria releases.
Like many revered cigar-makers, Perez-Carrillo traces his roots back to pre-revolution Cuba. His father, Ernesto Sr., was a seasoned cigar-maker and respected member of the Senate in Cuba. The Perez-Carrillo family fled the nation in 1959 in the wake of revolutionary turmoil. Ernesto Sr. initially anticipated his family’s arrival in Miami would be temporary until political tensions in Cuba settled. Roughly a decade passed and the notion of returning to Cuba became a distant reality. Ernesto Sr. purchased a small cigar factory he named El Credito (after his original factory in Cuba) in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood where he began to rebuild his beloved cigar company.
Young Ernesto originally set out to pursue his passion for music as a jazz percussionist in New York City. Although his musical pursuits didn’t go as intended, his intense love of music has never receded. He had returned to Miami by 1976 at a time when his father contemplated selling El Credito. It was at this pivotal moment when Ernesto Jr. decided to immerse himself in his family’s business, committing himself to the delicate craft of creating fine cigars he had learned from his father. After the passing of Ernesto Sr. in 1980, 29-year-old Ernesto Jr. found himself in charge of the El Credito factory during a period of low demand for premium cigars and tough economic times.
Dedication to his craft, support from colleagues in the cigar trade, and a fair amount of resilience propelled Perez-Carrillo through a lean period. Inspired by the profile of a Cuban Davidoff, Ernesto endeavored to recreate the experience in the early La Gloria Cubana cigars. The brand became a hit and connoisseurs readily gravitated toward La Gloria’s approachable Dominican blends during the Cigar Boom years. By 1999, Perez-Carrillo made the decision to sell La Gloria Cubana to Swedish Match, the parent corporation of General Cigar Company. The brand was folded into General’s portfolio of premium cigar brands, including Macanudo, Cohiba, Partagas, and others. Following the sale, Ernesto stayed on with General Cigar for roughly the next decade as a master blender and brand ambassador for La Gloria Cubana.
In 2009, Ernesto unveiled his eponymous E.P. Carrillo brand, a small-batch boutique franchise that he runs with his daughter, Lissette Perez-Carrillo, and son, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo III. Although production is smaller in scale than La Gloria Cubana, E.P. Carrillo cigars have gained a core audience of connoisseurs as well as a number of high ratings and accolades. Ernesto’s talent and reputation as a veteran cigar-maker are on full display in the E.P. Carrillo portfolio today. In 2018, the brand scored 96 points and the Cigar Aficionado’s ‘#1 Cigar of the Year’ title for E.P. Carrillo Encore, in addition to a handful of previous ‘Top 10’ rankings with 94 and 95-point releases. E.P. Carrillo is handcrafted in Ernesto’s Tabacalera La Alianza factory in the Dominican Republic.
E.P. CARRILLO BRAND OVERVIEW
Since the brand’s debut, its portfolio has expanded prodigiously with a burgeoning variety of product lines. In a short time, the family has re-branded or re-released a handful of its original cigars with updated brand names and packaging. Ernesto’s unbridled capacity to create a deep menu of blends has resulted in a portfolio that resonates with a number of different palates.
The company’s most lauded releases to date include Cigar Aficionado’s ‘#1 Cigar of the Year’ for 2018, the 96-rated E.P. Carrillo Encore, the 94-rated E.P. Carrillo Elencos Edicion Limitada 2010, the 95-rated La Historia, and the 94-rated E.P. Carrillo Seleccion Oscuro. E.P. Carrillo Encore is drafted from a woody and sweet profile of all-Nicaraguan tobaccos. Notes of cedar and dried fruit offer a zesty, balanced finish.
Elencos Edicion Limitada 2010 was ranked as the ‘#8 Cigar of the Year’ for 2010 with its sweet profile of caramel, smoky spices and leathery texture. The medium to full-bodied blend was drafted from a Brazilian wrapper with a lighter complexion and a combination of Dominican and Nicaraguan long-fillers. La Historia achieved Cigar Aficionado’s ‘#2 Cigar of the Year’ slot for 2014 with a lustrous, reddish wrapper from San Andrés over a balanced interior of tobaccos from Nicaragua and Ecuador. The family spent 2 years perfecting the cigar’s profile of nutmeg, earth, cedar and coffee with cream. The 94-rated E.P. Carrillo Seleccion Oscuro earned the ‘#4 Cigar of the Year’ as recent as 2016 for its toasted flavors of dried fruit, raisins and wood. A dark brown San Andrés wrapper envelops dynamic long-fillers from Ecuador and Nicaragua.
E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut delivers a mild to medium-bodied taste with toasted notes of wood, leather, and peppers. An Ecuador Connecticut wrappers marries an approachable core of Nicaraguan long-fillers. Trendier experiments include E.P. Carrillo E-Stunner and the Inch. E-Stunner is crafted to show off an intense kick, not unlike the surge an energy drink provides. An Ecuador Sumatra wrapper conceals binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The feisty, full-bodied smoke is a bit nicotine-dense, yet entices with flavors of dried black cherries, cedar and red peppers.
Years ago when Ernesto was developing the bestselling La Gloria Cubana Serie R line, he proclaimed that thicker, big ring gauge cigars would be here to stay. Today, their popularity is virtually unquestioned. As an homage to the demand for big rings, Ernesto unveiled Inch, a plus-sized brand for which the name is a nod to the cigar’s diameter. The gargantuan shape scored 90 points with an Ecuador wrapper in Cigar Aficionado in 2016.
Past releases that still get a bit of attention include E.P. Carrillo Short Run, which is an annual blend made from some of Ernesto’s prized tobacco reserves. Availability may vary with some of the brand’s small-batch projects, like Short Run. Give E.P. Carrillo Core or E.P. Carrillo Cardinal a try. Each line offers a handful of blends that serve as a great introduction to Ernesto’s latest chapter of work.
Because the family has made so many strides with their brand, a number of releases have been discontinued or closed out to make room for the new blends they have introduced. As a result, much of the E.P. Carrillo portfolio is accessible to a wide range of connoisseurs regardless of their budgets. It’s a rare occasion to discover cigars formerly ranked in Cigar Aficionado’s in ‘Top 10 Cigars of the Year’ for under $5, but E.P. Carrillo has produced a number of critically celebrated blends you can sample for a lucrative discount. Read what many of the biggest Ernesto fans have to say in their E.P. Carrillo reviews, or pick up a sampler from the brand when you’re exploring it for the first time. Taste a tradition that dates back generations to Cuba, has influenced the tremendous success of La Gloria Cubana, and culminates today in the boutique portfolio of E.P. Carrillo.
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