From the time it was founded in 2009, every E.P. Carrillo-branded release has been produced at Tabacalera La Alianza S.A., the company’s factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic. That changed with the announcement of the Perez-Carrillo Allegiance last summer, a four-vitola line that is instead being produced by Oliva Cigar Co. in Estelí, Nicaragua.

In terms of the blend, the Allegiance is made up of an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper covering Nicaraguan-grown tobacco in both the binder and filler. E.P. Carrillo says it made 7,500 boxes of the Perez-Carrillo Allegiance, but more could be produced if there is enough demand. Of the 150,000 cigars produced, two-thirds of them were sent to stores in the U.S.

Note: The following shows the various Perez-Carrillo Allegiance vitolas. Some of these cigars may have been released after this post was originally published. The list was last updated on March 31, 2023.

  • Perez-Carrillo Allegiance Sidekick (5 x 50) — $12 (Box of 20, $240)
  • Perez-Carrillo Allegiance Confidant (6 x 52) — $13.10 (Box of 20, $262)
  • Perez-Carrillo Allegiance Chaperone (6 1/4 x 58) — $14 (Box of 20, $280)
  • Perez-Carrillo Allegiance Wingman (6 7/8 x 54) — $13.50 (Box of 20, $270)
88 Overall Score

After a very enjoyable first third, the Perez-Carrillo Allegiance Wingman seemed to lose some of its best aspects. That's not the same issue as the retrohale, where the black pepper note consistently overpowered any sweetness that might have been present. Unfortunately, I found myself wanting more complexity from the Wingman, especially by the end of the cigar. With all that said, the construction was extremely good and the Allegiance Wingman is a solid addition to E.P. Carrillo’s lineup that should be enjoyable to those looking to smoke a nicely constructed and evenly-balanced cigar.

  • Cigar Reviewed: Perez-Carrillo Allegiance Wingman
  • Country of Origin: Nicaragua
  • Factory: Tabacalera Oliva de Nicaragua S.A.
  • Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Length: 6 7/8 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 54
  • Vitola: Double Corona
  • MSRP: $13.50 (Box of 20, $270)
  • Release Date: November 2022
  • Number of Cigars Released: 7,500 Boxes of 20 Cigars (150,000 Total Cigars)*
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

*E.P. Carrillo did not specify how many cigars of each size were made. The total production of all four sizes is 150,000 cigars.

The green colors that dominate the bands on the Perez-Carrillo Allegiance Wingman are hard to miss but I am not sure that it combines all that well with the red-tinged milk chocolate-colored wrapper from a visual standpoint. There is mottling on all three cigars as well as some slight tooth to the wrapper, but very few overt veins or signs of oil between them. Aromas from the wrapper include sweet cedar followed by generic nuts, earth, leather tack, straw, baker’s spices and a touch of nutmeg. The foot expands on the nutty note by leaps and bounds, resulting in a creamy cashew note easily outpacing black pepper, leather, dark chocolate, cedar and a slight honey sweetness. Finally, after a v-cut, the cold draw brings flavors of even more creamy cashews, slightly sweet cedar, leather tack, earth, espresso beans, Chex Mix and light maple sweetness.

The first third of the cigar starts with very apparent mineral saltiness on my lips as well as black pepper and bitter black coffee flavors on my palate. After a short time, gritty earth and leather tack take over the top spots in the profile, followed by peanut shells, dark chocolate, toasted bread, lemongrass, cedar and a subtle cinnamon flavor. At this point, there is plenty of black pepper on the retrohale as well as a small amount of sweetness, although the latter note is fairly generic in nature. Flavor ends the first third just over medium, but both the body and strength are already in the solid medium range, although they seem content to stay there for now. In terms of construction, all three cigars have no issues when it comes to either the draw or smoke production, but one cigar runs into a minor problem early on in the third that necessitates a correction with my lighter.

Unfortunately, the saltiness that was present on my lips in the first third has mostly dissipated by the start of the second third of the Perez-Carrillo Allegiance and there is a major change in the profile as a strong cocoa nibs flavor easily moves to the front of the line. Secondary notes of cedar, leather, gritty earth, cinnamon and coffee beans flit in and out at various points, but the retrohale has changed very little and still features an abundance of black pepper and very little generic sweetness. Flavor remains at just over medium while the body and strength remain at a  solid medium. The problematic burn on the cigar from the first third has evened up nicely—another cigar has enough of an issue to warrant a minor correction—but the draws and smoke production for all three cigars continues along their excellent paths.

There is every little change in the profile of the Allegiance Wingman in the final third, as the cocoa nibs flavor that took over in the second third continues to lead the way until the end of the cigar. Additional notes of cinnamon, cedar, espresso beans, sourdough bread, citrus peel and earth make themselves known until I put the nubs down with about an inch remaining, but none of them come close to being strong enough to take over the top spot at any point. In addition, the retrohale remains similar to the previous two thirds, including the significant amount of black pepper with a touch of indeterminate sweetness underneath. Flavor and body stay put at just over the medium and a solid medium, respectively, but there is a change in the strength, which has increased to medium-full. Construction-wise, all three cigars seem to finally be on the same track, with no issues when it comes to the burn, smoke production or draws until the end of the cigars.

Final Notes

  • E.P. Carrillo has also indicated that it hopes to work with other factories to produce future iterations of the Allegiance line, though it has acknowledged things are still in the developmental stage.
  • Allegiance is actually the second project that E.P. Carrillo and Oliva worked together on in 2022: Oliva Cigar launched the Cuba Aliados by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. in July of last year.
  • As part of the initial Allegiance release, the inside lids of 50 boxes have been autographed by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr., with the people finding the autographed boxes winning an ashtray from E.P. Carrillo.
  • The aroma of the smoke emanating from the feet of all three cigars reminded me of graham crackers.
  • The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
  • Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged a surprisingly quick one hour and 39 minutes.
  • If you would like to purchase any of the Perez-Carrillo Allegiance cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Corona Cigar Co., Famous Smoke Shop and JR Cigar all have them available on their respective websites.
88 Overall Score

After a very enjoyable first third, the Perez-Carrillo Allegiance Wingman seemed to lose some of its best aspects. That's not the same issue as the retrohale, where the black pepper note consistently overpowered any sweetness that might have been present. Unfortunately, I found myself wanting more complexity from the Wingman, especially by the end of the cigar. With all that said, the construction was extremely good and the Allegiance Wingman is a solid addition to E.P. Carrillo’s lineup that should be enjoyable to those looking to smoke a nicely constructed and evenly-balanced cigar.

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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.