E.P. Carrillo Limited Edition 2015

In 1959, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Sr. decided to flee from Cuba to Miami until political tensions settled. With little money, he took what jobs he could before realizing that he should continue what he does best – making cigars. Close to a decade later, he managed to buy a small cigar factory, El Credito, and began producing cigars with his son. When Ernesto Sr. died in 1980 the financial responsibilities almost seemed too daunting for Ernesto Jr., but his friends in the cigar trade continued to encourage him to do what his family did best, and that was to make cigars. Over the next several years, Ernesto Jr. experimented with several blends and created the now-famed La Gloria Cubana. At the time, this cigar remained local to Miami, but once the fairly recently founded Cigar Aficionado rated four of his blends with a score of 90 or higher, La Gloria Cubana became one of the most sought after cigars in the world. After selling El Credito in 1999, Ernesto Jr. continued to work with the new owners until 2009 when he launched E.P. Carrillo Cigar Company.

Unveiled at the 2015 IPCPR (International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association) Convention and Trade Show, the E.P. Carrillo Limited Edition 2015 is the 6th annual limited edition release but the first in other areas for the brand. Traditionally, these limited edition cigars bear the name Edición Limitada, but the 2015 version has the English wording and it also features just one band instead of the brand’s usual two. But what isn’t new is the age-old Cuban technique to ripen the amazingly beautiful, chocolate brown Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. The wrapper is aged by gathering and folding 25 leaves around the center vein which will help in smoothing out the flavor and giving them a silky texture. Inside is a robust blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan long-fillers held securely by a Nicaraguan binder. Medium to full-bodied in strength, expect notes of red pepper and baking spices right up front with it then lending flavors of leather, hay, and wood as the smoke progresses. Our panel recommended pairing it with your favorite after dinner bourbon.

Though tobacco is indigenous to Hispaniola, the tobacco industry in the Dominican Republic existed in the shadow of Cuba’s dominance through the 1960s. When the exodus of Cuban cigar makers began in the wake of the revolution, many decided the Dominican Republic would be ideal for the resumption of their livelihoods. Unrest in Nicaragua in the 1980s fueled the Dominican cigar industry further. The country now makes more than half of the premium cigars imported into the U.S.

The Cibao Valley and the nearby city of Santiago are the center of cigar production in the Dominican Republic. Three main varieties are grown here: the mild and native Olor Dominicano; the intense Piloto Cubano, brought from the Vuelta Abajo of Cuba; and San Vicente, a milder and more acidic Piloto hybrid. Dominican puros were once unheard of as it was widely thought impossible to grow quality wrapper leaf on the island, but new growing techniques are now allowing some exceptional puros to be produced.