Giannini and Perez-Carrillo Team Up for Re+United

While he will likely forever be associated with La Gloria Cubana, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is reuniting in a small way with the brand he is known for, thanks to a recently announced project with Michael Giannini of General Cigar Company, who owns the La Gloria Cubana brand and for which Giannini is the brand manager.

Announced on CigarAficionado.com earlier this week, the project has been called Re+United and will be made at Perez-Carrillo’s Tabacalaera La Alainza in the Dominican Republic. EPC Cigars is also handling distribution, according to the report, while the project will fall under the Foundry Cigar Co. header, which is a subsidiary of General and run by Giannini.

The cigar is being released in a single 6 1/2 x 54 vitola, with the wrapper a high priming Ecuadoran Connecticut coming from General Cigar’s warehouse that was grown by Oliva Tobacco Co. The Connecticut Broadleaf binder comes from Perez-Carrillo, while the filler comes from both companies: Dominican Piloto Cubano from General and Nicaraguan leaves from Perez-Carrillo.

Only 15,000 cigars are being produced, spread across 1,500 boxes of ten. The price has yet to be announced, with a release date slated for March.

The two worked together at La Gloria Cubana for 10 years, prior to Perez-Carrillo’s departure from the brand, which happened approximately five years ago. They have remained friends and it was that friendship that led to the project first being discussed approximately one year ago.

Bob Moreno of E.P. Carrillo deferred questions about the project to Michael Giannini of General Cigar Company, who did not reply to an e-mail request for information about the project. A representative of General Cigar Company also did not return an e-mail regarding the project.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.