REVIEW: E.P. CARRILLO Core Line Maduro

A few weeks ago I came home to a nice little package waiting for me at my front door. E.P.C. has been kind enough to include me on some early samples of their last few releases and this was the surprise waiting for me. Included in the package were a few things, but most exciting to me was the new E.P.C. Core Line Maduro. The Core Line Maduro is obviously based off the Core Line from E.P.C,. but with some slight differences.

I spoke to Ernesto on the phone and this is what he had to say about the E.P.C. Core Line Maduro:
"We went with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper for the core line. I have been blending with broadleaf since 1972 so I am very comfortable with the tobacco.  I tried the blend with many other maduros, and I probably will use some of those maduros on different projects, but for this one that distinguishable broadleaf flavor was the right fit. The only other change in this cigar from the Core Line is we changed the binder leaf. We found that a Sumatra binder just worked better."

Thank you Ernesto for taking the time to talk to me both on the phone and at the IPCPR show. These are some great looking cigars so on to the review.

Specifics
Vitola: Encantos
Length: 4 7/8
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Ecuador Sumatra
Filler: Dominican Republic and Nicaraguan
Price: $?
Smoking Location: House of Cigar
Beverage: none

Pre-Light 

"Classic Maduro look" was the first thing that came to mind when examining my EPC Core line Maduro. The wrapper was a very dark brown, with shades of lighter brown mixed in here and there. It was definitely dark in color, but not the unnaturally dark color we have seen on some other "maduro" cigars recently. The leaf did have some medium sized veins and when held up to a light showed a lot of oils. The pre-lit aroma was very earthy and leathery. The cold draw had an interesting hazelnut taste. It threw me for a bit of a loop because I didn't get any of that from the aroma of the stick. From squeezing the cigar you can tell it was expertly constructed and evenly packed.

First Third   

My EPC Core Line Maduro lit up letting clouds of smoke into the air. No, really. This thing put off more smoke than a raging bonfire. I barely had to draw on this stick to get a full, flavorful mouthful of smoke. Talking of flavor, this cigar started off with a lot of dark roasted coffee notes on the front mixing nicely with a mild pepper spice on the finish. Not a strong peppery bite, just a subtle flavor that awakened the taste buds. Another interesting note was the sweetness the wrapper left on my lips. I know this cigar is not tipped with sugar or anything like that, but it had a nice sweetness that reminded me of that. The strength was in the medium range and the burn performed beautifully.

Second Third  

The second third of my EPC Core Line Maduro brought on some pretty significant flavor changes. The roasted coffee flavors from the first third had dissipated and were replaced by a dark bitter chocolate taste. What was perfect about this flavor was, because it did have a bit of a bitterness to it, it was expertly balanced out by the finish that had now changed from that pepper note to a sweet, sugary flavor. I told you things had changed right? The stick still produced a lot of smoke and easily filled the part of the room I was sitting in at the shop. The strength was consistently medium like the first third.

Final Third and Final Thoughts 

Rounding out the final third or my EPC Core Line Maduro, things were going just fine. The flavors were pretty much the same as the second third with dark chocolate on the front and sugary sweetness on the finish. I did taste something that was particularly unusual, so I thought I'd mention it even if it sounds a little crazy: on a small section of the final third, I tasted port wine. I don't drink port wine, but that was definitely the flavor I tasted. Who knows, right? One other note of difference in the final third was just how slow the cigar burned. The first two thirds burned at a rate of a normal cigar, but the final third of the EPC Core Line Maduro really slowed down. Again, the strength never moved above the medium range and I never had any issues with the construction.

My final thoughts on the E.P. Carrillo Core Line Maduro? This is what a true maduro cigar should taste like. I loved the coffee flavors at the start and the transition into the chocolate and sweetness in the second and final thirds of the stick were a true balance of flavors. E.P. Carrillo and team keep putting out great products and this is another one to add to the list. I can't wait for the 2011 special edition and what ever else they might be working on for the future.

Would I buy it again? I will be keeping a stock of these around. I actually have smoked the other sizes of this stick and I really enjoy the smallest size it comes in. That's the one I will be buying the most of.

Would I buy a box? I don't know what the price is going to be for a box, but if it's in the same range as the other Core Line products, I could see myself getting one.

Dan

REVIEW: E.P.Carrillo New Wave Connecticut

Everyone else is doing it, so I thought I'd join the party. The cigar I smoked for today's review has been featured throughout the cigar blogosphere a lot this past month. Most of us (I am assuming) got the same 4-pack sampler (2 of this stick, 2 of the EP Carrillo Elencos) from Ernie Carrillo and quickly unwrapped them with excitement. At first glance, I was more interested in the Elencos included in the pack, but after hearing all the praise on Twitter about the Conny, I thought I'd take this stick to task first.

The EP Carrillo Short Run was in my Top Three new cigars of last year. Let's see if I think the (albeit just a few days) of hype surrounding this stick is warranted.

On to the review...

Specifics
Vitola: Brillantes (robusto)
Length: 5
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua and Dominican
Price: $5.25
Smoking Location: House of Cigar
Beverage: water

Pre-Light  

My sample of the E.P.C. New Wave Connecticut had a very light wrapper (expected with all Connecticuts) with medium-sized veins. To the touch, the wrapper felt very dry, but not brittle by any means. Squeezing the stick I could tell it was nicely packed and had a bit of a bounce back from the pressure applied. The pre-lit aroma was very strong and smelled of sweetness and hazelnuts. The cap clipped easily and the cold draw also had a strong flavor of hazelnut, mixed with some notes of raisin.

First Third

When I first lit my E.P.C. Conny, I immediately got a tingly zingy feeling on the top of my tongue. What shocked me was this was a very similar feeling that I experience when smoking Cuban cigars. Interesting to say the least. The flavor profile was nice also, consisting of a sweet mild spice mixed with nutty flavors on the front and finished off with a raw honey taste that lasted well over a minute between draws. The flavors were strong, which I don't normally think of when it comes to Connecticut wrapper cigars. The draw/burn was perfect and the body was in the mild to lower-medium range.

Second Third 

The second third of my E.P.C. Conny was similar in flavor to the first third at the start, but changed right at about the halfway point of the stick. I still got a lot of hazelnut and sweet spice on the front, but the finish flavors became very woody and thick -- not a cedar flavor, but more a flavor of cut raw wood. Think of walking down the lumber section at a hardware store; that smell was similar to this taste. I found it to be enjoyable, even if it doesn't sound as good as the raw honey from the first third. It added a nice bit of complexity to the smoke, which is always a plus. The draw and burn were still excellent and the smoke volume seemed to pick up when I got past the halfway point. The body did not change; it stayed right in the mild to lower medium range.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

Not much new to report on in the final third of my E.P.C. Conny. The flavors kept coming with the sweet spice, hazelnuts, and wood tastes. The one thing that might have changed a little was the smoke volume. As I got closer to the nub of the cigar, the stick was really drawing huge clouds of smoke. This is a stick that you are going to want to smoke outside or in a well-ventilated room. The body stayed consistently mild and made for a really easy cigar to smoke -- one that is full of flavors and not lacking in entertainment.

My final thoughts on the E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut? This cigar really shows what a Connecticut wrapper cigar can be with a solid blend filling it. I admit, I don't smoke a lot of Connecticuts because I tend to like a spicier cigar, but this one is a winner in my book. EPC keeps putting out quality cigars and this is another one to add to the list.

Would I buy it again? I will definitely be picking up more of these.

Would I buy a box? These are a great price and I would buy a box to share with my friends who like lighter cigars.

Dan

REVIEW: E.P. Carrillo Short Run

Up for review comes a cigar from a veteran in the cigar industry. Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Jr. is the founder of El Credito Cigar Company in Miami, famous for making the original La Gloria Cubana cigar. A few years ago, Ernesto sold his company to Swedish Match and in 2009, split away entirely from that project to start fresh. With his daughter and son as business partners, Ernesto founded the EPC Cigar Company LLC and produced their first stick, the E.P. Carrillo Edicion Inaugural 2009. Hot on the heals of the Edicion Inaugural release is the cigar I smoked last night, the E.P. Carrillo Short Run. I want to throw out a huge thanks to Ernie (Ernesto's son) for sending me a three pack of these a month or so ago, and after resting a bit in my cooler, I was very excited to light this up.


Specifics
Vitola: Delirios
Length: 5.875
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaragua Criollo
Filler: Nicaragua and Dominican
Price: $6.30 each in boxes of 24
Smoking Location: My back deck
Beverage: water

Pre-Light  

My E.P. Carrillo Short Run is visibly a very natural looking cigar. The sumatra wrapper has lots of different tones of browns and yellows in it and looks like it could be fresh out of the drying barns. The stick is very smooth to the touch with a nice give to it when squeezed. You can tell when holding this cigar that a lot of expertise has been taken in its construction. The unlit stick's aroma is clean natural tobacco until you get to the foot, where you can pick up a strong sent of graham cracker. After clipping the triple cap, the cold draw is nice and free and tastes of fresh tobacco.

First Third

Using a Lotus triple flame lighter, my E.P.Carrillo Short Run lit up easily and was drawing perfectly. The initial flavors I got were of a mild spice on the front of my palate with lots of natural tobacco rounding out the profile. I've never been a user of chewing tobacco but I have smelled it and the natural tobacco flavors I got from this cigar reminded me of the smell. That might sound like a bad thing to some, but to me it was enjoyable. The burn on this cigar was a little wavy, but corrected itself over time without the need of touch ups. As you can see in the picture above, the ash on this stick was very strong. I smoked the entire first third of this stick without ashing once, and it still took a good knock on the ashtray to get it to fall. The body was a relaxing medium.

Second Third 

The second third of my E.P.Carrillo Short Run started to hint at what this smoking experience would turn out to be. The spice that was up front before fell off into the back, allowing a very tasty sweet graham flavor to come to the forefront. Although the sweetness was very strong, it did not over power the spice that was now noticeable only on the finish. These two flavors played nicely with each other and held my interest. The burn again was a little wavy, but nothing that caused any problems or ever had me reaching for my lighter. The body stayed a relaxing medium throughout this section of the cigar.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

This is where things really start to happen. As I started the final third, I picked up another familiar flavor...bitter chocolate. I am a big fan of this flavor in cigars when it mixes with some spice, and the spice was already present. Along with these two flavors, the sweet graham notes were still kicking and added a nice balance to the bite of the bitter chocolate. This cigar was good up to this point, but had become great in the last third. The burn and construction of the cigar were the same as the first two thirds.The body was similar, if not ramped up just a little bit. Getting closer to the nub of the cigar, the bitter chocolate flavors took over and dominated everything I could taste.

My final thoughts on the E.P. Carrillo Short Run? Like I said above, this cigar was good, but in the final third, it turned great. I was sad to finish this stick for a couple of reasons: one, because I don't have any more at this time, but mostly because the experience at the end was just really amazing. I am very excited to see how these will age. Maybe after even longer time these sticks will blend more, and hopefully not just the last third will be so excellent. If you have not tried one of these do yourself a favor and pick some up. You can get them here, and for the price, I think this cigar is a steal. If not only for the final third of the stick.

Would I buy it again? This is a no-brainer. I will definitely be picking up more of these.

Would I buy a box? I would buy a box to age some. The problem is I would be tempted to smoke them all and not let them sit.

Dan