E.P. Carrillo
- Founded in
- 2009 — Santiago, Rép. dominicaine
- Factories
- Tabacalera La Alianza, Santiago, Rép. dominicaine
- Countries
- Rép. Dominicaine
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo had already had an entire career when he founded the house that bears his initials. Born in Cuba, he had taken over the small family workshop in Miami, El Crédito, and revived a sleeping brand there: La Gloria Cubana. The success was such that production, which had started in a Little Havana workshop, had to move to the Dominican Republic, and the General Cigar group bought the whole thing at the end of the 1990s.
He could have stopped there. Past sixty, he left the group and started again, with his two children, in a new factory in Santiago. It is a rare case in this trade: a recognised blender starting from nothing, with no brand name to reuse, betting that his signature would be enough.
The style of the house is recognisable — a medium to full profile, very well constructed, where you feel the work on proportions more than any demonstration of strength. Output remains modest by the standards of the big groups, and that is deliberate.
The house rolled the third edition of Black Swan, a series belonging to the American retailer CigarPage, each edition of which is entrusted to a different factory. This one comes out of the Dominican Republic, whereas the other three come from Nicaragua and Honduras. Oliva and Rocky Patel preceded it, Joya de Nicaragua followed. The name belongs to none of the four houses: it is a commission, not a brand of the house.
Two other names go through Casa Carrillo, the name that Tabacalera La Alianza has carried since February 2024, without belonging to the company. Gilbert de Montsalvat is the brand of Raymondo Bernasconi (The Royal Cigar Company, Basel), officially launched on 1 April 2008; according to Zigarren.Zone, the 15 Years edition (June 2024) is rolled there on a blend by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, whereas the Signature line (2023) comes out of Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera, at Eladio Diaz. Conspiracy belongs to Quality Importers Trading Company; shipping began in August 2024. EPC is the abbreviation under which Cigarworld classifies the company's catalogue.
Range Depth
Encore
The name nods to a career begun again. A dense, tightly built blend in which the power serves the structure instead of replacing it.
Robusto · Toro
New Wave Connecticut
The gentle side of the house: pale wrapper, morning register, cream and almond. Proof that a blender known for strength also knows how to hold back.
Corona
🥃 Pairings
Aged Dominican rum
The candied fruit of the local rum answers the density of Encore.
Café au lait
On the New Wave, a long milky coffee extends the cream without covering it.
Source : cigarpage.com et stogiephile.blog (édition Black Swan UNIQUEMENT) — le reste de la fiche est antérieur et n'a pas de source enregistrée ; premiumcigars.org « Casa Carrillo: A Factory's Evolution » (20 février 2024, date du changement de nom : Tabacalera La Alianza devient Casa Carrillo) ; zigarren.zone « Gilbert de Montsalvat 15 years » (25 juin 2024 : édition 15 Years, Gran Toro, 2 000 boîtes de 15, roulée à Casa Carrillo, ex-Tabacalera La Alianza, assemblage d'Ernesto Perez-Carrillo) ; zigarren.zone « Gilbert de Montsalvat SIGNATURE Pre-Release at The Chedi Andermatt » (3 avril 2023 : Raymondo Bernasconi propriétaire de la marque et de The Royal Cigar Company à Bâle ; marque officiellement fondée le 1er avril 2008) ; cigarslover.com « Gilbert de Montsalvat presents new Signature line at the Chedi Andermatt » (mars 2023 : ligne Signature, assemblage d'Eladio Diaz, fabriquée à Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera, Santiago de los Caballeros) ; cigar-coop.com « Conspiracy Cigars » (8 août 2024 : Quality Importers Trading Company possède la marque, expédition commencée, fabriquée à Casa Carrillo) ; stogiepress.com « Cigar News: Quality Importers Trading Company Collaborate With The Carrillo Family to Create CONSPIRACY® CIGARS » (18 mars 2024 : Conspiracy assemblée et roulée par EPC Cigars à Casa Carrillo, Ernesto Perez Carrillo Jr. et III) ; cigarworld.de « EPC » (octobre 2026 : catalogue E.P. Carrillo regroupé sous le sigle EPC, fabriqué à Tabacalera La Alianza)