In this post I smoke the EP Carrillo La Historia and the EP Carrillo Encore. I decided to smoke and review them side by side because both are great cigars and REM’S Place in Grand Junction, CO, my local lounge happened to have both, and I thought it would be fun.
EP Carrillo Side by Side
| La Historia | Encore |
| Made in: Dominican Republic Wrapper: Mexican San Andres Binder: Ecuador Sumatra Filler: Nicaragua | Made in: Dominican Republic Wrapper: Nicaragua Binder: Nicaragua Filler: Nicaragua |
| El Senador: 5 3/8 X 52 Regalias D’ Celia Piramides: 5 7/8 X 58 Doña Elena: 6 1/8 X 50 E-III: 6 7/8 X 54 | Majestic: 5 3/8 X 52 Celestial: 6 1/8 X 50 Valientes (Torp.): 6 1/8 X 52 El Primero: 6 7/8 X 54 |
| El Senador, rated 92 by Cigar Aficionado. E-III, rated 95 by Cigar Aficionado. 2014 Top 25 Cigars of the Year – No. 2. | E.P. Carrillo Encore Majestic, rated 96 and #1 Cigar of 2018 by Cigar Aficionado |
| Cold/Dry Draw: V-Cut, with a good draw, not to tight but not to loose. With the taste of dark fruit, like a fig newton without the cake. | Cold/Dry Draw: V-Cut, good draw, a bit tighter than the La Historia. But with similar dark fruit flavors on the dry/cold draw. |
| Initial Light: Spice and heat from the initial light smother the coffee and leather notes. | Initial Light: Very little spice or heat on the initial light. Mostly toast flavors with slight sweetness on the finish. |
| First Third: After letting the cigar rest a moment and moving into the first third of the cigar I tasted a buttery nutty and slightly sweet chocolate covered cherry flavors. The spice and heat that initially hit me during the initial light has dropped significantly, but some pepper remains. | First Third: Moving beyond the initial light I do get sweet wood, maybe oak, with very slight toasted sweetness on the finish. |
| Second Third: Moving into the second third I picked up the pace a bit and noticed more spicy pepper and less sweetness. But as I transitioned into the second third I got more of that buttery nut flavor. | Second Third: Moving into the second third the wood notes become bolder with a slight bitterness on the wood notes followed by hints of sweetness |
| Final Third: Transitioning into the final third the buttery nut flavors came to the front with the sweet chocolate charry flavors falling into the background and the pepper almost disappearing. | Final Third: As I transitioned to the final third the bitterness of the wood stayed the same and I lost most of the sweetness from before. |
| Final Thoughts: Great cigar, lots of flavor. The burn was near perfect, no canoeing, tunneling, running, or mouseholes. Would I this cigar again? Yes. Would I buy a box of these cigars? Yes. This cigar is probably not one I would take to the golf course, or putting around in the back yard. This cigar needs to be smoked slowly and enjoyed. This cigar is about $15 in Colorado. | Final Thoughts: Great smoke, with sweet notes of wood and toast. The burn was near perfect, no tunneling, canoeing, running, or mouseholes. Would I buy this cigar again? Yes. Would I buy a box? Probably not, but I would pick them up when I crave something a bit different. I would not take this cigar golfing or smoke it while moving the lawn. Enjoy this cigar with a drink of your choice and enjoy it. Price is about $15 in Colorado. |