Paris Smokeasy – Cigar of the month
Summer vacays are over, the kids are back in school, and Rigby’s Cigars & Lounge is following up July with another heavy hitter for August’s smoke night.
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. needs no introduction and I’m not talking about the Ernesto Carrillo (Don Neto-his alias) Mexican drug lord and former leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, I’m talking about the Hall of Fame Cigar maker who’s been in the cigar industry for over 50 years, Mr. Ernesto!
On their website under the About Us tab, Mr. Ernesto said “To me, Miami was supposed to be a stepping stone – a place to gather ourselves before I made it big in New York as a jazz musician. Things happen for a reason, and it’s clear now that Miami was the right place for me, and the place that pushed me to discover – and master – my true calling in life.”
The E.P. Carrillo label started in 2009 with Mr. Ernesto blending and creating masterpieces while his son Ernesto III and daughter Lissette manage the company. As previously stated, Mr. Ernesto has been in the cigar industry since he was a four-year-old boy spending days in the tobacco fields of Cuba with his father Ernesto Sr. Since his children implored him to start his own label 14 years ago, one of the E.P. Carrillo Vitolas has been in the Cigar Aficionado (CA) annual Top 25 Ranking almost every year. He had the #8 in 2010, a Top 25 of both 2011 & 2012, #2 Cigar of the Year in 2014, #4 in 2016, a Top 25 in 2017, the #1 in 2018, a Top 25 in 2019, the #1 in 2020, a Top 25 in 2021, and the #11 in 2022. CA has his Allegiance rated at a 90 on the Wingman and at a 94 on the Confidant of this year putting him in the running yet again for 2023! Ernesto is one of only 19 members in the CA Hall of Fame started back in 1997.
“Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is one of the first people to speak up in defense of thick ring-gauge cigars. He believes that a large cigar gives the cigarmaker more blending freedom he’s taken advantage of the 60-ring gauge format in the E.P. Carrillo Dusk Solidos.” Cigar Aficionado. That cigar was the Paris Smokeasy’s #2 Cigar of the Year (COY) for 2022.
Wayne Stoner (Epc Stoner) is the Territory Manager for EP Carrillo and presented us with the EP Carrillo Allegiance Wingman 6 7/8″x54-gauge for our August Cigar Night. It is a medium-full bodied Nicaraguan cigar with an Ecuadorian Wrapper, Nicaraguan Binder, and a Nicaraguan Filler. For the second month, we ended the night with a back-to-back Redneck Ratin’ of 91/100 with 55 people present making it one of only 3 cigars to break into the ninety range since April of 2022. EP Carrillo’s are one of those cigars that everyone should have a couple of in their personal humidor at home. We are just glad that Mr. Ernesto found a different drum to beat all those years ago!
Our sponsor for the night was Donny Gentry with Anderson Candy Company from Blossom, TX. They make “Peanut Rounders!” That’s it, just peanut rounders. Five employees make 8,000 rounders a day, 5 days a week. That’s a ballpark of 2 million delicious pieces of candy a year. We should know, Donny brought several cases and spoiled everyone in the Smokeasy Club with a pre-smoke dessert!
Written by JD Marrs
Hosted by Rigby’s
Photo Cred: Rigby’s Humidor