Tasting Note

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is one of the first people to speak up in defense of thick ring-gauge cigars. He believes that a large cigar gives the cigarmaker more blending freedom—and he's taken advantage of the 60 ring gauge format in the E.P. Carrillo Dusk Solidos. Covered in a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, it's loaded with Nicaraguan tobacco, which is the main purpose of the cigar. E.P. Carrillo Dusk is a tribute to Silvio Perez, tobacco grower and former head of A.S.P. Enterprises. Perez introduced Perez-Carrillo to Nicaraguan tobacco, specifically from Estelí. The name of the cigar, on the other hand, is simply a tribute to the time of day Perez-Carrillo prefers when he sits outside to smoke. Its three-country blend elegantly transitions from notes of black pepper and salted nuts to sweeter sensations of graham cracker and raisins.