E.P. Carrillo 15 Year Anniversary

For more than four decades, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. has been involved in the cigar industry. After selling El Credito—a cigar factory started by his father—to Swedish Match in 1999, Carrillo spent the next decade at Swedish Match/General Cigar Co. In 2009, he joined his daughter, Lissette, and son, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo III, to launch the E.P. Carrillo brand.

That was about 15 years ago, so it is no great surprise that the company decided to release a limited edition to commemorate the occasion. The aptly named E.P. Carrillo 15 Year Anniversary is a 6 1/2 x 54 vitola that is made with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper that the company says is 10-years-old, along with a 15-year-old binder from Jalapa, Nicaragua. The filler blend includes tobacco from both Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic which the company says is several-years-old.

According to E.P. Carrillo, the production is limited to 5,000 boxes of 15 cigars, for a total of 75,000 cigars. Of those, 3,500 boxes were sent to retailers in the U.S., while the remaining 1,500 were sent to non-U.S. markets. In the U.S., the cigars have an MSRP of $20, meaning each box retails for $300.

“For 15 years, E.P. Carrillo has been dedicated to creating cigars that embody passion, skill, and an unwavering commitment to quality,” reads a page on the company’s website. “This limited edition blend captures the essence of our dedication, reflecting the lessons we’ve learned, the challenges we’ve overcome, and the many achievements we’ve celebrated along the way.”

• Cigar Reviewed: E.P. Carrillo 15 Year Anniversary
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Factory: Casa Carrillo
• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Jalapa)
• Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
• Length: 6 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $20 (Box of 15, $300)
• Release Date: Nov. 15, 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: 5,000 Boxes of 15 Cigars (75,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The cigars are almost totally covered by a combination of vellum sleeves and footbands, but once both of those are removed, I can see that the dark brown wrappers are slightly coarse to the touch. There are plenty of obvious veins on each cigar, but my first one also has an interesting section where it looks like the wrapper leaf is bunched up on itself; for more on that, see below in the Final Notes. Each wrapper has some oil noticeable and all three cigars are extremely firm when squeezed. Aromas from the wrappers are dominated by a combination of coffee beans and blackberry fruitiness, along with creamy woodiness, leather, barnyard, earth and ream paper. Cold draws are similar, with strong oak leading earth, dry straw, black licorice, coffee beans and light brown sugar. After straight cuts, the cold draws are a bit different: the first and third cigars are dominated by flavors of gritty earth and sawdust along with leather tack, chalk, vanilla bean sweetness and a slight vegetal note, while the second cigar features more of a strong nutty note that reminds me of peanut shells followed by cinnamon, dark chocolate, earth, tree bark and raisins.

All three cigars start off with the same notes of anise and black pepper, and while two of the three also feature quite a bit of spice on my tongue, my third cigar is missing that note almost completely. After a short time, a combination of sweet cloves and slightly harsh earth take over the top spots in the profiles, followed by secondary flavors of peanut butter, sourdough bread, creamy oak, pencil lead and cinnamon. The retrohales feature plenty of black pepper, but it is nicely tamed by a large amount of milk chocolate sweetness that is also present. Flavor starts out at medium-full, the body hits a solid medium and the strength lands at a point just over medium. Unfortunately, there are numerous burn issues—each of my cigars had to be touched up with my lighter at least once—but the draws and smoke production are fine.

During the second third, coffee beans and gritty earth take over as main flavors in the profiles of the cigars, followed by additional notes of anise, toasted bread, creamy peanuts, dry hay and a very light herbal note. A mineral saltiness shows up on my lips for a short time on my second and third cigars, but it does not last long enough to make a noticeable impact on the profile. Flavor bumps up to full, the body increases to a point just over medium and the strengt lands at medium-plus. Before I reach the halfway points, my first and second cigars need a quick burn correction, but the last cigar gives me no burn issues at all, and the draws and smoke production are excellent across the board.

The final third is a virtual carbon copy of the second third, with gritty earth and coffee bean flavors retaining the top spots. Secondary flavors of cinnamon, toasted bread, dry hay, peanuts and oak flit in and out, while the retrohale features less black pepper compared to the first two-thirds and a sweetness that now reminds me of rich fudge. Flavor remains at full, and the body remains at a point just over medium, but the strength increases enough to land at medium-full. Once again, burn issues show up, this time in two of the three cigars, which need two different touch-ups, each with my lighter to stave off larger problems. However, the draws continue to be excellent for all three cigars and there is more than enough dense smoke.

Final Notes

• The E.P. Carrillo 15 Year Anniversary debuted on Nov. 15 during an event at 8 to 8 Cigars in Villa Park, Ill.
• This is actually the third major anniversary release that E.P. Carrillo has released: the E.P. Carrillo 5 Year Anniversary was released in 2014, while the Perez-Carrillo Encore 10th Anniversary and Perez-Carrillo La Historia 10th Anniversary were both released for the 10th Anniversary in 2019.

• As noted above, my first cigar has a section where it looks like the wrapper leaf is bunched up on itself, although it was not cut in any way.

• In addition, my first cigar also had an issue with a small amount of the wrapper that was removed when I removed the band, as you can see from the above photograph. Thankfully, it did not cause the wrapper to unravel. (PHOTO)
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.