E.P. Carrillo had a semi-large booth, using an open layout, where attendees could easily navigate the dizzying list of new cigars at the booth. Of course, they had a central focus on “the cigar” (every booth has one), a premium display that showcased their new Encore line. But the real wow factor here was the brand itself—Carrillo had tested the waters earlier this year with a completely new look on the new Short Run 2016—and now the entire brand has been updated.

First off, we love the look. After seven years in the market, the previous designs did not age well… In fact, I always found the Carrillo lineup a little confusing, not knowing which cigar I was smoking and where it fit into the brand as a whole. Now everything has changed, so much so that it’s actually a little disorienting to chronologize it.

Luckily, Carrillo has provided this handy cigar pyramid to give you a running start into the lineup! Think of it like your old grade school food pyramid—the stuff at the top may taste better, but are not as healthy for your wallet… that’s how those pyramids worked, right?

E.P. Carrillo cigar pyramid

  • Atlantic Cigar Sale

Family Series

Top of the pyramid—hello doughnuts and Pringles! Carrillo’s most premium offering was released at the 2014 IPCPR with the La Historia, honoring brand-owner Ernesto-Perez Carrillo’s family. There will now be two cigars in the series—only these cigars will bear the Perez-Carrillo naming designation.

Encore

Appropriately named for its follow-up to La Historia. The cigars feature a Nicaraguan puro blend and arrive in 10-count boxes, showcasing 4 sizes.

  • Wrapper: Nicaragua
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (Dominican Republic)
  • Production: Regular Production
  • Packaging: 10-ct box
  • Vitolas: 4
  • Price: $11.50 – $12.00
  • Celestial: 6⅛ x 50 | $11.75
  • Vallentes: 6⅛ x 52 | $12.00
  • Majestic: 5⅜ x 52 | $11.50
  • El Primero: 6¾ x 54 | $11.90

Elite Series

Milk, chicken, eggs, cheese—we’re sticking with the food theme! This series features unique, premium tobaccos and focuses on the intensive time spent perfecting each blend. New Wave Reserva and Selección Oscuro both feature new designs and there is a new blend introduced—making for 3 blends in the series. All 3 cigars use the same look, with multiple sub-branding (e.g. EP Carrillo » Elite » Capa de Sol) on the bands for easy identification. Interestingly, the Carrillo name is white on two of the cigars, but black on the Connecticut—possibly to contrast the light wrapper (it seems they do this on all Connecticut cigars in their portfolio).

The 3 cigars in the line do not use consistant sizes, but are all packaged in 24-count boxes with similar pricing.

Capa de Sol

  • Wrapper: Ecuador
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (Dominican Republic)
  • Production: Regular Production
  • Packaging: 24-ct box
  • Vitolas: 4
  • Price: $7.90 – $9.60
  • Robusto Royal: 5 x 52 | $7.90
  • Exclusivos: 6 x 54 | $8.60
  • Piramides No. 5: 5¾ x 52 | $8.70
  • Sultan: 6 x 60 | $9.60

Dimension Series

We need our veggies and fruit—say hello to the Dimension Series. As the name implies, it’s focused on cigar sizes. Ernest Carrillo is often credited with ignighting the craze of big ring gauge cigars with his former La Gloria Cubana brand. The experimentation continued with the E.P. Carrillo brand, as their 60+ ring gauge INCH series is among the most popular cigars in the “Gordo” style.

The Dimension Series of cigars is all about the size and how that size relates to the smoker’s experience.E.P. Carrillo

INCH is the only preexisting line in the series. It will be joined by Interlude (smaller ring gauges) and Rebel (non-traditional sizes). INCH C-99 has been dropped, replaced with the new INCH Colorado.

INCH Colorado

The new blend in the INCH series focuses on a new Ecuadorian Habano Colorado wrapper over a similar filler blend from the rest of the line. The sizes and packaging are the same throughout all INCH cigars, but the pricing is slightly more expensive for this new blend.

  • Wrapper: Ecuador Habano Colorado
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua | Dominican Republic
  • Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (Dominican Republic)
  • Production: Regular Production
  • Packaging: 24-ct box
  • Vitolas: 5
  • Price: $8.00 – $12.40
  • No. 58: 8 x 58 | $10.40
  • No. 60: 5⅞ x 60 | $9.10
  • No. 62: 5 x 62 | $8.00
  • No. 64: 6⅛ x 64 | $10.35
  • No. 70: 7 x 70 | $12.40

E.P. Carrillo INCH Colorado cigars IPCPR 2016

Interlude

Finally, Carrillo stops neglecting the thin vitolas! Even if they are more “value-oriented” smokes, it’s nice to have some smaller options. The cigars are sold in convenient, 5-count packs (10 packs per box for retailers) and feature a natural and a marudo blend.

Natural

  • Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua

Maduro

  • Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
  • Binder: Ecuador
  • Filler: Nicaragua

Additional Details

  • Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (Dominican Republic)
  • Production: Regular Production
  • Packaging: 5-packs (10 packs per box)
  • Vitolas: Carrillitos (4 x 38) | Rothschild (3¾ x 48)
  • Price: $3.00 – $3.25

*Our apologies – no photos on these cigars

The Original Rebel

E.P. Carrillo advertises unique sizes within the Dimension Series, pointing towards a new line called “The Original Rebel”. Interestingly, the vitolas are not quite as “non-traditional” as we’d expected. Perhaps they are referring to the fact that all sizes use half-inch increments, or perhaps there will be more unique sizes to come. Regardless, the new cigars feature 2 blends (natural and maduro), each arriving in 10-count boxes, featuring 3 sizes.

Maverick

  • Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua

Rebellious

  • Wrapper: USA
  • Binder: Ecuador
  • Filler: Nicaragua

Additional Details

  • Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (Dominican Republic)
  • Production: Regular Production
  • Packaging: 10-ct box
  • Vitolas: 3
  • Price: $9.00 – $12.00
  • 52: 5½ x 52 | $9.00 (Mavericks) $10.00 (Rebellious)
  • 54: 6½ x 54 | $10.50 (Mavericks) $11.50 (Rebellious)
  • 56: 7½ x 56 | $11.00 (Mavericks) $12.00 (Rebellious)

Classics Series

Here are your carbs, the stuff that fills you up and keeps you going—pasta, bread, and cereal (my favs). These are the cigars that EPC was built upon. The brands you know and love. The aforementioned cigars you previously had to “look up” to verify what cigar you were smoking… EPC describes them as:

They are akin to a favorite sweater or pair of comfortable shoes, a smoke that we crave any time of day.E.P. Carrillo

Interestingly, the Core Line and Cardinal Series have been re-blended. There is also a completely new brand called Dusk, and lastly, the New Wave Connecticut—which retains its blend, only receiving a design update.

Cardinal Impact

The Cardinal Series from yesteryear is now dubbed “Cardinal Impact” (a little flashier, agreed?). The blend has been updated, although still featuring similar tobacco styles. The line has been streamlined to 3 box-pressed sizes (another change) and 2 blends (maduro and natural).

Natural

  • Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua

Maduro

  • Wrapper: USA Connecticut Broadleaf
  • Binder: Ecuador
  • Filler: Nicaragua

Additional Details

  • Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (Dominican Republic)
  • Production: Regular Production
  • Packaging: 20-ct box
  • Vitolas: 3
  • Price: $6.75 – $8.00
  • No. 52: 5 x 52 | $6.75 (Mavericks) $7.25 (Rebellious)
  • No. 54: 6 x 54 | $7.75 (Mavericks) $8.25 (Rebellious)
  • No. 56: 5½ x 56 | $7.50 (Mavericks) $8.00 (Rebellious)

E.P. Carrillo Cardinal Impact Maduro cigars IPCPR 2016

Core Plus

The Core Line has been re-blended, re-packaged, and renamed “Core Plus”. The cigars will again include 2 blends (Core Plus & Core Plus Maduro), with blends that appear similar on paper, save for the lack of Dominican tobaccos in the fillers with the new blends. Both blends use the same sizes, which have been streamlined down to 4—these vitolas were seen with the original cigars, but they’ve been tweaked for more standard measurements (5 x 50, changed from 4⅞ x 50).

Core Plus

  • Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua

Core Plus Maduro

  • Wrapper: USA Connecticut Broadleaf
  • Binder: Ecuador
  • Filler: Ecuador

Additional Details

  • Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (Dominican Republic)
  • Production: Regular Production
  • Packaging: 20-ct box
  • Vitolas: 4
  • Price: $6.50 – $9.00
  • Encantos: 5 x 50 | $6.50 (Core Plus) $6.80 (Core Plus Maduro)
  • Club 52: 6 x 52 | $7.25 (Core Plus) $7.55 (Core Plus Maduro)
  • Churchill Especial No. 7: 7 x 49 | $7.70 (Core Plus) $8.10 (Core Plus Maduro)
  • Golosos: 6 x 60 | $8.70 (Core Plus) $9.00 (Core Plus Maduro)

Dusk

Dusk is the only completely new brand in this series. As with the New Wave, the line features only one blend: a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro. Packaging, sizes, and prices are in line with the other cigars in the Classic Series.

  • Wrapper: USA Connecticut Broadleaf
  • Binder: Ecuador
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (Dominican Republic)
  • Production: Regular Production
  • Packaging: 20-ct box
  • Vitolas: 4
  • Price: $6.80 – $9.10
  • Robusto: 5 x 50 | $6.80
  • Stout Toro: 6 x 52 | $7.60
  • Obscure: 7 x 54 | $8.40
  • Solidos: 6 x 60 | $9.10

E.P. Carrillo Dusk cigars IPCPR 2016


Factory Series

Okay sure, this is where most traditional food pyramids stop, but to keep the analogy alive, we’ll say this one represents water (not that you’ll die if you don’t keep these smokes in your system or anything…). The Factory Series focuses on the famed Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The series features unique blends conceived on the factory floor. EPC describes it as such:

It is a series designed to achieve optimal use of raw materials that have been meticulously selected, processed, rolled, aged, and classified by Ernesto himself.E.P. Carrillo

Differentiating this series from the others, both cigar lines in the Factory Series showcase “Tabacalera La Alianza” on the bands, instead of E.P. Carrillo.

Tabacalera La Alianza

Ernesto’s factory now has its own brand—Tabacalera La Alianza. The line introduces 2 blends, each featuring similar tobaccos, with one using an Ecuador Natural wrapper and the other Ecuador Rosado. Unlike other cigars throughout the new series’, Tabacalera La Alianza’s sizes differ between the 2 blends. Both use 4 sizes and similar price points.

Natural

  • Wrapper: Ecuador
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Sabrosos: 5 x 50 | $6.70
  • Robusto Selecto: 5 x 52 | $6.90
  • Gran Toro: 6 x 54 | $7.50
  • Grandioso: 6 x 60 | $8.30

Rosado

  • Wrapper: Ecuador Rosado
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Robusto: 5 x 50 | $6.50
  • Connoisseur No. 6: 6 x 52 | $7.00
  • Unicos: 6⅛ x 52 | $7.25
  • Churchill Extra: 7 x 54 | $7.75

Additional Details

  • Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (Dominican Republic)
  • Production: Regular Production
  • Packaging: 20-ct box
  • Vitolas: 8
  • Price: $6.50 – $8.30

Grand Prize

Grand Prize is an affordable offering, one you’d expect from the base tier of the EPC pyramid. Surprisingly, it also features the most diverse blend in EPC’s updated portfolio (5 countries). There are 4 sizes offered, arriving in 24-ct boxes.

  • Wrapper: Ecuador
  • Binder: Ecuador
  • Filler: Nicaragua | Dominican Republic | Ecuador | Mexico | USA
  • Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. (Dominican Republic)
  • Production: Regular Production
  • Packaging: 24-ct box
  • Vitolas: 4
  • Price: $3.15 – $3.65
  • Robusto: 5 x 50 | $11.75
  • Toro: 6 x 52 | $12.00
  • Churchill: 7 x 49 | $11.50
  • Gordo: 6 x 60 | $11.90

E.P. Carrillo Factory Series Grand Prize cigars IPCPR 2016

  • Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

About The Author

Jordan Sumatra Samurai avatar
Managing Editor

I am the managing editor at Cigar Dojo, making sure all cigar reviews and articles meet the Dojo standards. Aside from my major passions (premium cigars and Kentucky Straight Bourbon), I enjoy photography/videography and video editing, as well as playing ice hockey and spending time with my family—which currently includes one boy, two girls, and one amazing wife.

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