Tag Archives: E.P. Carrillo

by | June 30, 2024 · 10:31 am

E.P. Carrillo Sumatra, Dias de Gloria Brazil and Reinado Capablanca Cigars

It’s the end of June already, we’ve reached the halfway point of 2024! One of my favorite things about summer is that I can write my Sunday blog post on the porch with a cigar.  This morning it’s a Macanudo Gold Label 2023, which is a 4½” x 60.  I think my friends at Best Cigar Prices would call this a Robolo, they used to have a whole series of them!  Anyway, that’s not what I was planning to talk about today!  Last week I smoked the new E.P. Carrillo Maduro from their new Essence Series, This week I smoked the Sumatra. Lately I’ve been surprised at how many times the Maduro has come in second to another wrapper when I’ve sampled cigars in the same line with different wrappers, so I was half expecting this to happen again.  The Sumatra I smoked is the Toro, a 6″ x 52 with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, binders from Nicaragua and Honduras, and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.  This was a really interesting cigar!  It had a heavy, almost cloying, flavors of dark dried fruit, to me. It was mouth coating, like black licorice can be, with a pretty long finish.  Where the Maduro brought back memories of the old La Gloria Cubana maduros, this was something new and different.  I enjoyed it, although not as much as the Maduro, and look forward to seeing what other wrapper combinations they come out with in the future.  This line is priced in the $10 range, so it should be a hit!  

 

I stopped by a local shop on the way home Friday and grabbed a couple of the new A.J. Fernandez Dias de Gloria Brazil in a corona size.  They call it a corona, it’s 6½” x 44, more of a lonsdale, really, which is why I picked a couple up. I’m not overly fond of smaller cigars.  This has a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  It’s a nice, dark cigar, which started off with a bit if tanginess. It progressed to a savoriness with some sweet notes.  I liked it very much.  The price tag made me recall a few years back when they released the Ramon Allones at around $14 and we all thought that was a pricey A.J. Fernandez cigar.  This Corona was $14.   How times have quickly changed.  Geat smoke though!  Worth the price.

 

I go back about nearly a dozen years with Antonio Lam of Reinado Cigars.  I think we first met at Cigar Emporium in Lyndhurst, NJ back in April of 2013. He sent me his newest project, the Capablanca.  This cigar, like the rest of his recent work, is a tribute to his father. My first thought, looking at the name as a non-spanish speaker, I was expecting a shade wrapped cigar. It’s not, it has a Cameroon wrapper, over undisclosed filler and binder, and it’s made at an also undisclosed factory in the Dominican Republic.  Capablanca refers to the Cuban chess master José Raúl Capablanca, who was the world chess champion in the 1920s.  Antonio’s father would replay Capablanca’s chess games with his brother, and taught Antonio to play chess, often replaying the Capablanca games.  Because of Antonio’s father suffering from dementia, a portion of all sales of Reinado cigars goes to the Dementia Society of America. The cigar is listed at 5½” x 54, but if felt more like 6″, but that might have been the inch of wrapper hangin over the foot.  It also had a pigtail cap.  I’ll admit that. I pulled a bit of the loose wrapper off pre-light because I’ve burned to many shirts, pants, rugs with flying burning debris!  This is a really nice smoke.  It has some nuttiness along with a pit of creaminess.  It was medium bodied and burned well. It wasn’t overwhelmingly Cameroony, but that flavor was still there.  I smoked it to a small nub while enjoying a movie on the porch with me family.  I highly recommend anything from Reinado, this included.

 

I heard someone talking about what cut they prefer, and it got me thinking that I really don’t have a preference.  I have three cutters sitting next to me, a Colibri V cutter, a CigarMedics Baller, and my Screwpop MagPulse straight cutter and I use them all depending on my whim.  I have an Adorini Double Cigar Punch that I use (mostly the large end) when I absolutely need a Punch (flat capped cigars).  I really am not that picky about what I use, as long as the cigar draws and doesn’t come apart.  I have a variety of straight cutters which work fine, if I’m out and about it’s usually with a Xikar, due to the pocketability.  Whatever works.  Anyway, that’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

Share

Comments Off on E.P. Carrillo Sumatra, Dias de Gloria Brazil and Reinado Capablanca Cigars

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

by | June 23, 2024 · 9:47 am

La Union, Cro Magnon, EP Carrillo and JFR Lunatic Cigars

My week started with a really nice Father’s Day with all my kids and grandkids visiting.  My youngest stopped at CigarMojo and asked for a recommendation, and, once again, they sold him a very expensive cigar.  I’m never super happy about him spending his hard earned cash, and part of me feels like the guys at the shop take advantage, but he does make a good point: it’s not something I would buy for myself.  He picked up the new(ish) My Father La Union Black para Tatuaje .This is certainly a cigar that piqued my interest, but there was never any way I was shelling out for it.  I’m a cheap bastard, my sphincter tightens when I look at a cigar over $15. This is a 100% improvement over 12 or so years ago.  So, it being Father’s Day, and having this wonderful gift, I had to smoke it.  The cigar is 7¼” x 50 with a 109 head, the head is slightly tapered and rounded. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers, including Pelo de Oro. I’ve walked through the Pelo de Oro fields, although it’s been 13 years, so probably not the same stuff.  This was blended by the Garcias for Pete Johnson’s palate, I almost expected it to be heavier. It wasn’t.  It had a very delicate, nuanced flavor, started with an interesting mintiness, some woodyness and some spice.  It almost reminded me of a Havana, but loads better.  This was a brilliant cigar, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to try it.  Later I smoked the now 25 year old Esperanza para los Niños, which has held up well!

 

I’d been itching to try the new Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapped variant of the RoMaCraft CroMagnon which came out recently, so I had added a couple of the 4½ x 60 Mandibles on to a recent order.  I haven’t seen these locally, although I haven’t been out shopping much lately. This version uses a Pennsylvania broadleaf wrapper, Sumatra hybrid binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.  The original CroMagnon didn’t have any Dominican leaf in the blend.  I was hoping to try the Cranium (toro) size, but this was what was available.  I thought this was spicier than the original, and it wasn’t for the faint of heart. I thought I got some grilled steak, but that might have been a neighbor cooking.  I’ll be on the look out for other sizes, but this one hit the spot, although I’ll always have a soft spot for the original. 

 

E.P. Carrillo is launching a line called the Essence series, the Sumatra and Maduro should be on shelves, with more wrapper variations on the horizon.  I smoked the Maduro Friday evening on a drive north.  My wife offered to drive the first leg so I could enjoy my cigar. I actually don’t like to smoke while driving my car because it’s a manual and it just isn’t relaxing.  Fortunately, we were in her car.  Ain’t she the greatest?  The E.P. Carirllo Maduro has a San Andrés wrapper, Honduran binder and Nicaraguan fillers. While it’s made in the D.R., note that there is no Dominican leaf.  I couldn’t help but remember my first La Gloria Cubana Maduro back in the ’90s.  This cigar had some spice with espresso and cocoa, it was right up my alley.  Burn and draw were perfect (which is nice in the car) and it smoked for about an hour and a half.  I’m excited to try the Sumatra, and add some more of  the Maduro to my humidor.  

 

Finally, when we got home last night fairly late, I sat down with the newest Firecracker offering from United Cigars.  This year it is the JFR Lunatic Firecracker, Made by Aganorsa Leaf.  I’m hit of miss on the Aganorsa cigars, but the JFR Lunatic is a good one, although I haven’t smoked any of the obscenely large sizes (there’s only a few 60 ring and under).  This has what they are calling a shade grown Corojo maduro wrapper, and I assume Aganorsa Nicaraguan fillers and binder.  It’s 3½” x 50 with the signature “fuse”, which I get rid of right away.  Smoking time was the better part of an hour, which is good for a little guy.  It had that cane sugar sweetness that I like, and was quite tasty, one of the better Firecracker treatments in my mind.  Not that any are bad, this one distinguished itself. Super-tasty and it looks like it might still be available.  Grab some to try if you see them!

 

That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

Share

Comments Off on La Union, Cro Magnon, EP Carrillo and JFR Lunatic Cigars

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | September 24, 2023 · 10:36 am

E.P. Carillo, Cavalier Geneve, Macanudo Vintage and Punch Golden Era Cigars

I split up the work week this week with a day trip to Atlantic City to sit on the beach one last time, do you know they don’t allow smoking on the beach in New Jersey?  That sucks! Having a cigar is about the one thing I enjoy about going to the beach!  The stupid thing about the smoking ban is that we all know it’s really another litter law, because a certain group of smokers can’t seem to pick up after themselves!  There’s already litter laws, how about enforcing them! Anyway, I had picked up a few new to me cigars last week and smoked them this week!  The first one was the E.P.Carrillo Allegiance in the Confidant size. This is a 6″ x 52 toro with a box press, and has a pretty Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers which all come from, and is manufactured by, Oliva Cigars.  It’s kinda funny that when Ernesto started his factory, I think he was more interested in making cigars for other people, then he had success with his own brand (again), and now he’s having other people make his brand!  I’ve loved Ernesto’s cigars since the mid ’90s anyway.  This one was a surprise, or maybe not.  I got a large dose of the cane sugar sweetness I often get from Sumatra, and it stuck around through the cigar.  I liked it a lot, it was a nice change. I definitely want to smoke this again, I’d like to smoke this with a friend to compare notes, I think that would be interesting.  Great smoke in my opinion.

 

Next up was another cigar I picked up on the same shopping foray, a Cavalier Geneve Inner Circle Toro.  This is made at the company’s factory in Honduras, Fábrica Centroamericana de Tabaco S.A., and does not have the signature gold leaf diamond applied to the wrapper.  The wrapper is Nicaraguan Habano, Honduran Habano binder and fillers from Dominican Republic, Honduras , Nicaragua  and Pennsylvania. Considering the blend, especially the presence of Pennsylvania leaf in the filler blend, I was surprised that this was as mild as it was. Oddly, I got a hint of white sugar on this one, maybe I have a sweet tooth lately.  It was very nice, mellow, with subtle sweet tobacco notes throughout, some light coffee perhaps.  Whenever I see PA tobacco in the blend I buckle my seatbelt, not needed in this case. I couldn’t have been happier with the gracefulness of this cigar, it was a delight.

 

A few weeks ago I mentioned picking up a Captain America Invicta case to repurpose as a travel humidor, and this week I put some foam trays in it. I bought a pack of 12″ x 12″ acoustic foam “tiles” from Temu for a little over $10 delivered.  I cut four of them to fit the case, and, if I’m being anal retentive, can put 24 large cigars in the case. Of course, it’ll fit way more than that if I cram cigars in.  So if you picked up a case at Harbor Freight, or a Pelican case if your well off, or got your hands on one of these Invicta watch cases, and were wondering where to get foam trays to lovingly cradle your precious cigars for safe travel, here’s your solution! I chose red because I thought it looked cool with the case, they have other colors. I suppose now I’m going to be expected to show up toting this case with me whenever I go to events now…

 

I had a few cigars from General Cigar Co. left to smoke that I had been saving for the right time, and yesterday was the time.  I say that because they are robustos, and I often like to take longer to smoke than a robusto will give me. I know, it’s a hard problem to have. I took the afternoon yesterday, since it was rainy, to work on starting to winterize my porch, which is my smoking lounge. This was a great time to light up a Macanudo Vintage Maduro 2013 Robusto.  I’ve always liked the Macanudo Vintage Maduro offerings, this one was a surprise.  The wrapper is a ten year old Connecticut Broadleaf, the binder is Honduran Olancho San Agustin, and the fillers are Dominican Piloto Cubano (two different primings), Nicaraguan Jalapa and Brazilian Mata Fina.  This was a very bold cigar, surprisingly so for a Macanudo. A pleasant surprise, for someone who can be frustrated by a mild cigar. The cigar started with a shot of espresso, and didn’t let off too much from there. It had loads of roch coffee and cocoa with some spice and we really quite heavy.  It frequently distracted me from my project, and reduced the profanity level significantly.  I may remove the cedar from a few of these for long term aging, I’d hate to see these become too woody. That reminds me, I have a side by side experiment with some Diesel Esteli Puros I need to do one of these days.  

 

Finally, a cigar I’ve been looking forward to trying is the Punch Golden Era.  Like the EPC Allegiance, this is another partnership, this time General Cigar worked with Justo and Julio Eiroa and made this cigar at Fabrica Puros de Aladino SA in Honduras.  You know the Punch Rare Corojo that doesn’t actually have any Corojo in the blend? This cigar does actually have Corojo, and it’s Corojo from the undisputed masters of Corojo.  Funny enough, this and the Macanudo were switched for me, where I expected this to be a powerhouse and the Macanudo to be milder, this was the mild cigar.  The Punch Golden era was bready, creamy and maybe a little nutty, not at all what I expected. It wasn’t anything like an Aladino, or an old Camacho, or any Punch I can think of.  It was quite nice, but very surprising for an all Corojo cigar.  If you like Corojo, and you want a different (in my opinion) take on it, give this a try. If you like smooth, creamy, elegant cigars, also give this a try! It’s certainly a tasty cigar, but challenged my expectations.

 

That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

Share

Comments Off on E.P. Carillo, Cavalier Geneve, Macanudo Vintage and Punch Golden Era Cigars

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

by | July 9, 2023 · 9:12 am

Some Fourth of July Cigars, and Another Rebellion Cigar

While many of my brethren are toiling away in Las Vegas at the PCA show, I’m hanging out here at home happily smoking cigars.  I decided to free myself of the stress and expense of travel and some of the expectations set by others in the “cigar media”.  Short rant: I’m irritated  by some bloggers/podcasters who take themselves quite seriously. I’ve heard comments like people who use cell phones to shoot their content shouldn’t be taken seriously as cigar media, or people should cover certain booths.  When I have attended the show it’s been on my time and at my expense, so I’m doing it my way. Do my video interviews look any different than those done by people using more expensive or professional looking rigs? Do people care that much?  Whatever. From the beginning I said I was going to do things my way and I have. I recently thought to myself that maybe I’m being a sucker for not asking for sponsorship to go to the show, but, ya know, that would interfere with me doing things my way.  So I’ll keep doing what I do, the way I want to do it. If you don’t like it, nobody is forcing you to read!  That wasn’t as short a rant as I’d have liked, on to some cigars! 

 

Of course on the Fourth of July I smoked a United Cigars Firecracker,  the newest one from E.P. Carrillo, the Pledge Firecracker. This might be hard to find, but if you run across them anywhere, buy as many as you can manage. This might be a bold statement, but I think this is my favorite Firecracker to date.  Considering some of the exceptional Firecrackers that have come before it, the Mi Querida (which is the only one to my knowledge that spun off it own line, the Triqui Traca) is exceptional, the CroMagnon was exceptional, the Fratello was an under-rated treat, but the Pledge takes it up a notch. It’s funny, because I don’t remember enjoying the regular Pledge line as much, perhaps whatever Ernesto did to punch this one up made the difference for me. The Connecticut Habano wrapper is dark and oily (what made me think it was grown in Massachusetts?), rich and full of flavor. It’s meaty and sweet and I really dug it.  It’s my custom to buy five of the firecrackers, I should have sprung for a box, had I known. Super-yummy.

 

After a heavy lunch and a nap, I treated myself to an American by J.C. Newman.  This was a special size, a Lonsdale, that Drew Newman handed out when I toured the factory last December.  It’s not a regular production, I don’t think there were more than a few hundred in existence, so it was a special cigar.  Of course, the American is 100% American tobaccos, rolled at the El Reloj factory in Tampa, everything that touches the cigar is made in the USA (except, ironically, the folks who roll them maybe!).  This is a tasty cigar, it has a unique bready, spicy flavor that’s unlike any other cigar out there. It was a special cigar, in a special size.  It was very good.  I’ve only smoked a few of the Americans in the larger ring gauges, and the smaller size definitely makes a big difference, as in any smaller ring, it’s a little sharper because it burns a little hotter.  

 

Finally, I’m still working through the Rebellion samples, and smoked the Ace of Spades in the Toro size. This is one of the Maduro offerings in the Rockstar Range, taking its name from the Motörhead song.  The wrapper is Honduran, binder is Indonesian with fillers from Jamastran in Honduras and Condega and Jalapa in Nicaragua. My plan was to smoke this while watching a movie on the porch.  Big mistake updating the Firestick first, which took nearly half the cigar. Oh well, I had a good tasting cigar to keep me company.  This is a pretty full bodied smoke, as one would imagine a cigar named after a Motörhead some would be.  It had some earthiness and spice and a different sort of sweet taste, very intriguing.  This company is making cigars that aren’t like a lot of other cigars on the market. I hope they are having success at the PCA show, from what I’ve read, they seem to be drawing some attention with the pink branding.  

 

That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

Share

4 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | April 10, 2022 · 9:37 am

EP Carrillo Short Run, Nica Rustica and La Libertad Cigars

I’d like to have a week go by without incident. This week it was a leaking pipe, which required calling a plumber to come and cut holes in some walls to fix. It took time away from my day job that I made up, which meant I skipped my regular Friday evening working at the cigar shop. If it isn’t one set of pipes, it’s another, so it seems! I had just passed the kidney stone, finally, last week. That only took a month. But I’m able to take some solace in a cigar here and there. Earlier in the week I smoked an E.P Carrillo Short Run Retro 2022. I smoked this in the Short Play size, which is 5″ x 50. This has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Ecuador binder and fillers from Nicaragua, Mexico and Honduras.  Boy, this was a great cigar! I did a little reading about this blend, and Ernesto says that he used Honduran tobacco in the blend for the first time in 14 years, the last time was as a binder in the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami. As one might imagine, the Short Run was right up my alley, rich cocoa and espresso, with some earthiness. It was really exceptional. I can’t recall if I smoked any of the previous Short Runs! I may not have come across them or had the opportunity. Give this a try, they aren’t even that expensive!

 

Yesterday I tried out my first of the new Nica Rusticas from Drew Estate. I’ve smoked many Nica Rusticas. I’ve often said that I’d buy two or three of them to one Liga Privada any day of the week. It’s been one of my favorite Broadleaf cigars for a long time. However, I haven’t had one since they repackaged them, and I’ve been worried that they changed. I’ll admit that I haven’t smoked a great many of the Short Robusto vitola, but I think this one started out making me a bit concerned. It didn’t seem to have the depth of flavor that I was used to, but eventually it came around and developed into what expected. It burned for an unusually long time for a 4½” x 50 cigar. I took a walk, which ended just before it poured rain, and spent a total of about 90 minutes smoking the cigar. Also, these don’t seem to have the same ridiculous amount of smoke pouring from them as they used to. I believe this is a process change, but I’d have to visit the factory again to confirm this. I can’t believe it’s been eight years since I was there. I want to go back.  Anyway, now I have to smoke an El Brujito, maybe an old one against a new one to see how they compare. 

 

Last night I dug into a package I received from Villiger Cigars in January and smoked a La Libertad Gran Toro. This is almost a Nicaraguan Puro, the binder is from the DR. The wrapper is Criollo grown in Jalapa, with fillers from Jalapa and Esteli. They have moved production to their own factory in Esteli, which is new. The old version had an Ecuadoran wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers, so this is a completely new blend. Oddly, there is a familiar flavor to the wrapper on the lips. I can’t explain it better than that of Red Man chewing tobacco, and I think of that every time I put a La Libertad to my lips, regardless of the vintage. Weird. Obviously, there’s no hint of this flavor once lit, I don’t think, I’ve never smoked Red Man chewing tobacco. I can’t imagine that gooey stuff would burn well. A few years ago I wrote a post comparing to iterations of this cigar (here) , do I have to root through the humidor and see if I can compare the three? I doubt I still have one of the originals, but it’s hard to say, I’m a bit of a packrat. It was a good smoke, although I found the flavors to be a little muted. There were some hints of wood, spice and a little sweetness. René Casteñeda gave me a corona at the TPE which I’ll have to give a try, oddly, the 6″ x 54 Gran Toro may not have been the best expression of this blend. For another take on this, check out my friend, Kap’s, review.  

Share

1 Comment

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , , ,