E.P. Carrillo Introduces Sumatra Line
The wrapper on a cigar is the most eye-catching tobacco element of any smoke, but it’s not just all about looks. Cigarmaker Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is introducing the first in a new series of cigars that will explore the importance of a wrapper and its role within a cigar blend called the Essence Series. The first in the Series, E.P. Carrillo Sumatra, will appear this weekend at the PCA trade show in Las Vegas. It’s expected to ship to retailers in late May.
Made in the Dominican Republic at Casa Carrillo (formerly Tabacalera La Alianza), the blend consists of an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper atop two binder leaves (one from Nicaragua, the other from Honduras) and a mix of fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. According to the company, the cigars are medium-bodied.
The line is available in three sizes: Robusto, measuring 5 inches by 50 ring gauge ($9.25); Toro, 6 by 52 ($10); and Gordo, 6 by 60 ($10.75). All sizes ship in boxes of 24 and, in contrast to lines such as La Historia, are round instead of box-pressed.
The plan for the Essence Series is to have six lines in total which will be released over the course of the next two or three years. The Honduras and Maduro lines are expected for the latter half of this year and the Connecticut, Cameroon and Nicaragua lines sometime later.
