Initial Thoughts
For awhile I’ve heard great things about the EP Carrillo Short Run 2012. When I stopped in my local B&M I spent close to 20 minutes walking around trying to figure out what I wanted to review next. I have had cigars from the EP Carrillo line before and honestly I couldn’t remember much about them. I have been hearing everyone rave about the ‘New Wave Connecticut’ so I figured whats the worst that can happen?
Another reason I’m drawn to the EP Carrillo Short Run 2012 line is because Ernesto Perez Carrillo also helped blend and build the flavor profile for Crowned Head’s Four Kicks cigar that I gave a 10 out of 10 to. So I want to see what he does with his own line. I’ve got some high hopes for this cigar. Enough chit chat lets hop into the review!
Looks
This cigar has a classic look. The wrapper is a nice colorado brown with a slight reddish tint. A very natural look to it. I picked up the Robusto vitola of this EP Carrillo Short Run 2012 standing at 4 7/8″ and a ring gauge of 50 Ernesto named this the Exquisitos size. The wrapper is semi oily and giving off a nice shine like someone just applied a layer of turtle wax to it.
The band on this cigar is very attractive. It made me take a step back and admire it. Unlike most bands I’ve seen it has a very bright white background that is trimmed in gold and then has nice block of red to make it stand out on the cigar shelves. This is one of my favorite bands that I’ve seen to date. Something about the white background just makes this thing pop out and look like a really classy cigar and I’m dying to jump in and light this thing up!
Function
The head of the EP Carrillo Short Run 2012 is covered with a beautiful triple cap. I tried to get some detailed shots of the cap because it looked so great. I rolled the cigar through my fingers to check for any soft spots in the barrel. I had previously checked for soft spots at the store, but I let the cigar sit for a couple days in my humidor and I wanted to make sure the filler was still good to go. I couldn’t see any large veins in the wrapper it looked liked it had been applied beautifully.
I go ahead and nip the triple cap off with my brand new Xikar Xi Rosewood cutter. This cutter is absolutely beautiful and works like a charm. When testing the cold draw it feels a little snug, but to me thats better than being too open and allowing a ton of smoke to come in. So I’m ok with it!
The construction on the EP Carrillo Short Run 2012 is near flawless. There was a little issue of the wrapper being torn at the foot of the cigar. This is probably simple due to the fact that it wasn’t stored in cellophane in the box. I’m not too concerned about that. I am concerned about getting this thing lit and smoking it though. So lets do that!
Smoking
Last review I was raving about my new NUB matches and I have to say I’m going to be sad when these things are gone. I haven’t started crying yet, but if this cigar hits me the right way I might shed a tear or two over running out of my new favorite matches… Anyway enough of that crap. I was so excited to not have any wind today. Because my house sits up on top of a hill I feel like I get a lot more wind that usual. Which obviously isn’t a good thing when you’re trying to light a cigar. However the EP Carrillo Short Run 2012 took to the flame almost instantly and we were off to the races as I say all the time ( and I’m sure you’re tired of reading that statement too ).
The burn was little uneven to start out, but it eventually caught up. I’ve found this to be fairly common especially when lighting with matches. It’s difficult to toast the foot like you can with a butane torch to help ensure that it gets off on the right foot ( see what I did there, puntastic!)
Through the first third the EP Carrillo Short Run 2012 burned great. It had a nice semi firm gray ash that eventually fell off after about 1 1/2 inches. Towards the beginning of the second third the burn started getting a little sideways on me so I had to correct it a bit. At least I didn’t have any issue drawing smoke on this cigar which is always appreciated. This cigar felt like it was bunched perfectly.
Halfway through the second third the burn on this thing was very even, it had corrected itself quite well. I knew I was going to smoke this cigar down to the nub, and I did. I ran into a little bit of a burn issue towards the end and the ash started to ‘Don King’ on me and the wrapper was starting to burn in weird ways. I don’t know if some sections got hotter than others or what. Luckily it didn’t affect the flavor at the end… Speaking of flavor, look at what’s next!
Flavor
I was enjoying actually smoking the EP Carrillo Short Run 2012 so much I almost forgot try and pick out specific flavors. On the pre light I nosed the foot of the cigar and was able to pick up notes of cedar and leather which is fairly typical. I’m assuming Ernesto Perez Carrillo stores his cigars in a cedar aging room and then the box is cedar as well. The leather smell is just a natural tobacco scent. Nothing out of the ordinary here.
On the dry draw I picked up some sweet molasses on my lips from the wrapper. However the cigar finished with some pepper on the back of my tongue. It wasn’t your typical black pepper, it felt more like red pepper. I’m curious if this cigar is gonna have some kick to it!
The first third of the EP Carrillo Short Run 2012 was very pleasant. Great aroma and great smoke coming off this cigar. There wasn’t an over all dominate flavor with this cigar. It had some pleasant spicy and some nice earthy notes. This continued all the way through the stick. Nothing really popped out and hit me in the face. I was able to roll the smoke around in my mouth and retrohale to try and pick out some more flavors. I keep going back to the cedar notes.
The final third is where the change hit. Typically you can get a lot of bitter flavors in the final third. Because all that tar builds up near the head of the cigar and causes the taste to be bitter and you just don’t want to finish the cigar. I was blown away by the EP Carrillo Short Run 2012 though because it finished very smooth and creamy. I almost scorched my fingers because I burned this thing down to the nub. The creamy flavor that it delivered at the end was unexpected and wonderful. Not one single note of bitter. To me that’s how I know a cigar was built correctly.
Would I Buy It Again?
Absolutely. I’m sure there are some more flavors in this cigar that I can pick up on if I were to smoke it again. It was just so effortless and enjoyable to smoke it’s definitely something you want in your humidor.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
I think it could be. I had the smallest size of this blend and it took 1 1/2 hours to smoke. It’s also under $7 which makes it a very economical cigar as well.
Would I Buy a Box?
I think you should. Even though it’s a short run cigar there are plenty of them out there and you should pick up a box for around $140.
Conclusion
The EP Carrillo Short Run 2012 is a very pleasurable medium-full bodied cigar. The draw was perfect and it was effortless to smoke. The flavors weren’t overly complex, but they didn’t have to be. Everything worked really well with this cigar.
