E P Carrillo Re+United

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Havana (General, grown by Oliva)
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf (EPC)
Filler: Dominican Piloto Cubano (General), Nicaraguan Jalapa (EPC)
Toro: 6 1/2 x 54
Price: $10.00

This cigar was assessed in depth on Cigar Coop.

This project was significant because it was a collaboration between Ernesto Perez-Carillo of E.P. Carrillo and Michael Giannini. Following General Cigar Company’s acquisition of Perez Carrillo’s La Gloria Cubana company, both Perez-Carrillo and Giannini worked together at General. When Perez-Carrillo left General to form E.P. Carrillo, the two remained friends. After running into each other in a hotel, the two decided to work on a joint project together – and thus the Re+United was born. The Re+United project is a true joint collaboration. It features tobaccos from both the General Cigar Company and E.P. Carrillo. The cigar is being rolled at Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr.’s Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. and also distributed by his E.P. Carrillo company.

This cigar starts out good. It has a nice sweet berry, cream flavor along with pepper and cedar spice. The pepper has some nice “bite” (sharpness to it). Along the way, the cigar seemed to lose something. It became more natural tobacco and earth-like. While normally I don’t mind flavors of this, it just seemed to be very ordinary in the second half. The notes were medium to full-bodied and the strength was medium.

I’m curious to see what age does to this, but I’m not sure it the second half will develop much more than it is. Any cigar with a collaboration with these two players is worth trying, and this one is a “try one”.