Tasting Note

It’s hard to find a cigarmaker with more experience than Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, who has been making cigars for more than 50 years. He began in Miami, and among the brands he made was one called La Gloria Cubana. In the first issue of Cigar Aficionado, in 1992, an exceptional rating for La Gloria Cubana ignited a demand Perez-Carrillo had never seen before. It was the early days of the Cigar Boom, and La Gloria was a star. Perez-Carrillo eventually expanded the business, and later sold it, leaving the cigar industry for a short time. Fifteen years ago, Perez-Carrillo ed his daughter, Lissette, and son, Ernesto III, and founded a new cigar company, crafting cigars in the Dominican Republic. In 2018, he released a brand called Encore, which earned him his first ever Cigar of the Year award with the Encore Majestic. This year, we honor a different size in the brand, the Encore Celestial. The Encore blend is a Dominican cigar made entirely from Nicaraguan tobaccos. It’s richly layered with notes of toffee, black cherry and coffee bean. This isn’t a strong smoke, but it’s far from mild, with a little ginger spice on the finish. What really stands out here is the balance. It’s the rare cigar that appeals to those who smoke quite often or to those who only smoke on occasion.