Although last year’s IPCPR Convention & Trade Show saw only one new release for E.P. Carrillo—the INCH Ringmaster—2019 marks the company’s 10th year in business. So, it is no surprise that there is not only a release specifically celebrating that occasion but some other interesting new products, as well as a rebrand for one of E.P. Carrillo’s oldest lines.

The booth for E.P. Carrillo was quite different than last year, mostly in how open it was on the sides as well as the banners touting the company’s first place showing in Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 Cigar of the Year list. There was plenty of traffic in and out in the time I was there, but the large footprint of the booth meant that there was also plenty of room to move around.

E.P. Carrillo 10 Year Anniversary Box

As mentioned above, E.P. Carrillo is commemorating 10 years in business this year and is celebrating the milestone with a new 6 1/2 x 56 box-pressed, double figurado vitola for both the La Historia and Encore lines. There are 10 of each of blend packaged in the same box, with individual cigars priced at $20 and boxes having an MSRP of $400. There are only 1,000 boxes being produced and they are scheduled to ship to stores in October.

E.P. Carrillo INCH Limitada 2019

In 2012, E.P. Carrillo introduced the INCH line, which debuted with three vitolas all over 60 ring gauge, including one that measured exactly one inch in diameter, i.e. 64 ring gauge. While there have been several line extensions and a Short Run version in the line since then, it has never had a Limitada release. That changes in September, when the 6 1/8 x 64 INCH Limitada 2019 ships to retailers.

  • Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Habano)
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • E.P. Carrillo INCH Limitada 2019 (6 1/8 x 64) — $15 (Box of 10, $150)

Production: 2,000 Boxes of 15 Cigars (30,000 Total Cigars)

Release Date: September 2019

Elite Series Rebrand

Finally, E.P. Carrillo’s Elite Series of cigars is getting a total makeover. All four lines in the Series—Capa De Sol, Elencos, New Wave Reserva and Seleccion Oscuro—will feature the same logo and band designs, albeit in different colors. The new branding should be hitting shelves in August.

Five-Pack Toro Sampler

There is also a new sampler filled with five different E.P. Carrillo offerings, all in their respective toro vitolas: Inch Natural, New Wave CT, Capa del Sol, Elencos and La Historia. Each sampler is priced at $37.50 and they are scheduled  to ship in September. (Update — Nov. 25, 2019: the company has replaced the Capa del Sol with the Oscuro Especial No. 6, a 6 x 52 toro. The sampler began shipping in mid-November.)

Overall Score

Davidoff is the official sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2019 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.