Next up we have some EP Carrillo Core Line Churchill Especial. This was another cigar that over the last year has remained in my mind after getting a good review, whilst its not epic its very good, so 5 of these came home with me…
Well as you can see my photography is getting better, I am hoping that all future reviews will have good quality pictures of my cigars. So for review tonight is a pretty large cigar, a Short Run 2012 Reinados which is 6.25 x 60. To be honest this has been sitting in the humidor for a while, I just needed the time to sit down and do it justice.
Appearance 9.5/10
This is a great looking cigar, the wrapper is a lovely medium brown, and as the photo shows the wrapper is very smooth with very few veins. I am a fan of the E.P Carrillo bands, they are simple but classy, and the bands on this cigar are no exception.
Construction & Draw 9.0/10
The construction of this cigar is almost perfect, squeezing the stick showed no soft or hard spots so the packing on this cigar is excellent, cap construction is very good, neat and tidy, with an almost invisible line, my Palio cuter gave an excellent clean cut. The only reason I have not given this a 9.5 is that for me the draw was slightly too loose, but to be honest I am probably being a little picky.
The burn on this cigar was excellent, with only a slight wobble in the burn line, the ash held for about 3/4 of an inch before it fell.
Flavour 8.0/10
Pre-light draw revealed a slightly sweet note, and a good tobacco taste. This is a medium strength stick and as you would expect this cigar produces a lot of smoke, so its best enjoyed outside, or with all your doors and windows open.
The initial third of this cigar had a good tobacco taste, with a hint of spice and cream, the first third seemed to be mild to medium, with the remainder of the cigar being medium strength. The flavour profile of this cigar was pretty static throughout its life, however in the later stages there were the occasional tones of cocoa, and the initial sweetness I detected came back, I would say it tasted like syrup or honey.
Value 9.0/10
At 8.50 USD you are getting a lot of cigar for you money, and coupled with that you are getting a great basic flavour profile, which is very smooth and enjoyable, which also adds a little complexity towards the end. For me this makes it excellent value for money.
Summary 8.5/10
Reading this review back I am not sure I have done a great job of explaining why I gave this cigar a flavour rating of 8.0, I did really enjoy the flavours in this cigar, they really hit the spot for me, but I have to mark it down as there were no significant flavour transitions, a slight evolution, but nothing that had you going “wow I wonder whats next”.
My final rating reflects the value for money this cigar represents, and how much I enjoyed it, if you get the chance to buy a few of these sticks, then I would grab them, I would love to add a few more to my humidor.
Another cigar from the USA, this is a Churchill sized cigar, I have only had one EP Carrillo cigar in the past and I really enjoyed it, so I was hoping this would be a good stick as well, and I was not dissapionted. I paired this cigar with a glass of Highland Park 12, which seemed to work well.
Appearance 8.0/10
This is a good looking cigar. The medium brown wrapper is interesting, my cigar had a slightly “mottled” effect (as you can see from the picture) which was quite pleasing, the wrapper had very small veins and you could barely see the seems. The band is flashy without being to over the top.
Construction & Draw 8.5/10
This is a well constructed cigar, infact I would go further and say that the construction is very good, the construction of the cap is worthy of particular note. The cigar is well packed with tobacco and is firm with no soft spots. As the cap construction suggested my Palio cutter was able to produce a very clean cut.
The draw on this cigar was excellent, with just the correct amount of resistance. The burn line on this cigar did wobble a little bit, but never required correction, and became straighter as the burn progressed, until at around half way it was almost perfect.
Flavour 8.0/10
The pre-light draw of this cigar had a strong tobacco flavour, and also a stong hint of spice and pepper, I also detected a slight coffee note.
The first third of this cigar had a creamy tobacco taste, as suggested by the pre-light draw I could easily pick up a lovely coffee flavour. There was quite a strong hint of spice, but I did not really detect a peppery taste, and the spice only added to the experience it never become overpowering.
In the second third the spice backed off, and I picked up a really nice nutty tone which was a delicisous addition to the flavour profile, overall the middle third of the cigar was rich, smooth, and creamy.
The final third of the cigar was a combination of the first and second thirds, with the spice returning which along with the other flavours was very tasty.
To me this cigar is a medium strength cigar, with a rich flavour.
Value 8.5/10
In the US these sticks are priced at around 8 dollars, whilst not cheap, I think that this makes the cigar pretty good value for money, especially considering the good flavour profile and construction.
Summary 8.5/10
I enjoyed this stick a lot, for me the flavours were really good, construction was good, and although not an epic smoke it was really solid throughout. If these were available in the UK I would be adding some to my humidor.
UK Cigarnewbie 