Once again, I went on a theme stretch, this time smoking some E.P. Carillo offerings that I hadn’t smoked before. Ernesto has managed to produce a staggering number of facings in the short time since his re-emergence on the cigar scene, but I guess it has been nearly ten years already, hasn’t it? I’m still struggling to catch up, and I feel like I’ve smoked a bunch. I had a hankering for some big cigars this week, so I went with an Inch Natural to start my EPC bender, in the No 64 size, which is 6 1/8″ x 64, right in the middle of the Inch line up. This one has a Sumatra wrapper, a favorite of Ernesto’s from what I’ve heard. I’ve only smoked the maduro in the Inch line previously and I really liked that one, but I really, really enjoyed this natural offering. It was sweet and savory and really enjoyable. In addition to the Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, it has a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. For being a very large cigar, this was a tasty treat.
Another tasty treat was the E.P. Carillo Edicion Limitada 2013, a cigar I picked up a few months back at an event at the Wooden Indian with Jose Blanco. This cigar came out in 2013, as the name suggests, was the fifth Edicion Limitada. It has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over a dual binder of Nicaragua and Brazilian Habano, with fillers from Nicaragua. It was presented in a single vitola, a 6 1/8 x 54 parejo. I was coerced into picking one of these up, as they are rarer than hen’s teeth, and we have six hens, so I know how rare those are. I might have saved this cigar for a special occasion, but I have a load of special occasion cigars, and, lacking a special occasion, unfortunately, I figured there’s no time like the present. This was a fantastic cigar, another cigar that plays right into my wheelhouse from a flavor perspective. It was deep and rich, with some nice spice, earth and sweetness. It burned long and drew well and was a real treat.
These two cigar were the lead up to the newest release from E.P. Carillo, a sample of which reached my door last week, the Inch Ringmaster. This cigar should be available in the coming weeks, and will be in two vitolas, a 5 3/8″ x 64 and a 6 ½” x 64, of which I smoked the former. Here’s what the company says about this cigar:
“The Ringmaster is a testament to the Carrillo Cigars concept that size adds dimension to the smoking experience,” Perez-Carrillo said. “Within every inch you will find a different complexity, and you find that it changes as you smoke. Holding the Ringmaster in your fingers will absolutely be time well spent.”
As a new member of the INCH line, the Ringmaster is a true INCH-sized cigar, with a 64-ring gauge adorned with a dark Nicaraguan wrapper that covers Nicaraguan binders and fillers, making it the first Nicaraguan Puro in E.P. Carrillo Cigars’ INCH line. With a spicy
top note of black pepper, the Ringmaster leads to a set of mid notes containing wood, earth and nutty flavors that lead to a long, subtle and sweet finish. The cigar is easy on the draw and a full mouth of smoke that will entice the smoker with rich, creamy and balanced flavors. This complex cigar is sure to leave cigar lovers coming back for more.
“My father has very deep roots in the tobacco industry that go back to my grandfather, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Sr. Thanks to those beginnings, my father has masterminded all of our blends, and the Ringmaster is no exception,” says Lissette Perez-Carrillo, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s daughter and co-owner of E.P. Carrillo Cigars. “He definitely had his soul in it when he blended the Ringmaster, which speaks to his entire trajectory of mastering his true calling in life.”
I found the Ringmaster to be on the milder side, complex and refined. It was balanced, not powerful and in your face, but complex and subtle. It had a sweet, creamy feel, and was a pleasure, but very different from it’s Inch brethren. It’s still a formidable sized cigar, no doubt about that, but it requires some attention. Another wonderful cigar from Ernesto! Thanks
to Bradley Vazquez at InkLink Marketing for sending along the sample!
That’s all for now, until the next time,
CigarCraig
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I talk about his music career, his enjoyment of cigars and meander through various topics as we hang around the CigarCraig lounge enjoying Joya Cabinetta Belicosos. First saw Nik at an open mic night at a local coffee house several years ago, it might have been a night our son’s band played there too, I can’t remember, and we have a bunch of mutual friends. Check him out at nikeverett.com or his Facebook page or wherever excellent music is sold. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy this installment of the CigarCraig podcast.
