IPCPR 2015: E.P. Carrillo

Leave it to Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Jr. to have a surprise waiting for us in his booth at this year’s trade show. We knew about the Selección Oscuro, we knew about the new sizes for the New Wave Reserva and Cabinet Selection, there was hope we’d get a new Edición Limitada, and then Ernesto shows us this:

Inside each humidor are 30 cigars that Perez-Carrilo Jr. said come straight from his personal humidor of cigars he has blended for himself. None of them are previously released cigars, though there are components from many of the projects he has released in the past.

There are three blends, one with a Connecticut wrapper, one with a Sumatra and one with a Connecticut broadleaf, each in a 6 x 54 vitola. A total of 500 humidors are being made, each with an MSRP of $395, and we’re told they can be refilled as long as the tobacco for a certain blend is available.

You will notice that the inside of the lid says Ernesto’s Humidor No. 1 as well as Edition 2015; while nothing is set in stone yet, Ernesto said a second edition could be in the works down the road.

The Edición Limitada wish came true as well, as it should be arriving in September in a 6 x 54 vitola with a price of $150 for a ten-count box. It uses a broadleaf wrapper and a technique borrowed from chinchalles in Cuba where about 25 leaves are carefully folded around the center vein and then left to age slowly. This process makes the leaf silky while giving the flavors a gradual smoothing.

The Selección Oscuro is highlighted by a Mexican San Andrés wrapper that Ernesto explained is known as subido, a middle classification of leaves in terms of thickness and color. He finds these to be a bit thinner and sweeter than the other two grades and thus picked it for this project. It is being released in six sizes, all in 24-count boxes: Robusto Gordo (5 x 54, MSRP $7.50 per cigar, $180 per box), Nacionales (5 1/2 x 44, $6.50, $156), Small Churchill (5 1/2 x 50, $7.25, $174), Especial No. 6 (6 x 52, $8, $192), Pirmades Royal (6 x 52 torpedo, $8.25, $198) and Dinamicos (6 7/8 x 49, $8.25, $198). Expect it in August.

There are four new sizes coming to the New Wave Reserva line in the near future, bringing the total number of sizes in the line to eight, which ties it with the Core Line for the most vitolas. It is all due to a growing demand for milder yet flavorful cigars, Perez-Carrillo, Jr. said. Look for a Corona Extra (5 1/2 x 44, MSRP $6.25 per cigar, $150 per box), Elegantes (6 7/8 x 49, $7.75, $186), Belicoso D’Oro (5 3/4 x 52, $7.50, $180) and Soberanos Real (7 1/4 x 54, $8.50, $204).

Three more sizes are being added to the E.P. Carrillo Cabinet line as well. The Double Corona (6 7/8 x 49, $7.35) and Gran Duque (7 1/4 x 54, $8) will come in 25-count boxes with MSRPs of $183.75 and $200, respectively, while the Petit Corona Gorda (4 1/2 x 46, $5.25) will ship in a 50 count box that will sell for $262.50.