E.P. Carillo
Innovation and hard work as the driving forces.
In January 2023, we had the opportunity to visit the TABACALERA E.P. CARRILLO LA ALIANZA factory located in the free trade zone in Santiago. We particularly enjoyed the factory’s festive, family atmosphere. The guided tour was led by Jorge Maique, director of the factory, and Ernesto Perez-Carillo himself. Jorge Maique is the creator of Cohiba’s Behike in 2010 and helped launch the Vegas Robaina brand in 1999. He headed up Coprova in France and is finishing his Cuban career as vice-president of Habanos!
The Perez Carrillo family has its roots in Cuba, where Ernesto was born in 1904. From an early age, he was immersed in the world of tobacco thanks to his father, who rolled and sold cigars in the heart of Havana. After working as a tobacco buyer for several years, he acquired a small factory called "El Credito", which launched his career as a cigar manufacturer and earned him a reputation throughout the country. He was elected to the Cuban Senate in 1954 and 1958.
His son, Ernesto the Second, the creator of "La Gloria Cubana" in the United States, enjoyed real success in the 1990s. This brand, which made the family one of the world’s top cigar producers, was bought by the multinational General Cigar Company in 1999.
His children, Lissette and Ernesto the third in line, suggested to their father that they return to their roots and make their own cigars as a family. In April 2009, they decided to set up shop in a 12,000 square metre detached building in the Zona Franca in Santiago, Dominican Republic. They immediately set about building the factory of their dreams, which they christened "La Tabacalera Alianza’"
There, the tobacco is fermented, aged and rolled by hand by experienced rollers, who have relearned their trade using a ‘Cuban-style’ rolling technique.
Ernesto Perez Carrillo’s insatiable desire to offer cigars of superior quality led him to establish his plantations in the rich and fertile lands of Nicaragua, more specifically in Esteli, Condega and Jalapa. Each of these regions is essential to the development of the brand’s unique blends. The brand also has plantations in Ecuador, where it grows high-quality wrapper leaves.
E.P. Carrillo now offers a wide range of cigars in 9 different collections: Allegiance in partnership with Oliva Cigar Co; Dusk, a tribute to the creation of the finest cigars made by the hands of the master; Encore, which offers a second part to the critically acclaimed collections; INCH Maduro, which honours larger calibres; INCH Natural; INCH Nicaragua; New Wave Connecticut, which celebrates the famous Ecuadorian wrapper; The Pledge, the very expression of Ernesto Perez Carrillo’s vision; and finally the La Historia collection.
Exclusive interview by The House of Grauer with Ernesto Perez Carrillo on September 15th 2023 at Dortmund.
We start the interview with a bold move: asking about his strong and weak sides. It turns out that he’s an obsessive perfectionist, so keen on cigars that sometimes he loses his patience and calm. It’s understandable for a man who has built an empire, producing 4 million cigars per year and aiming for 5 million.
Being one of the biggest players on the market, the man in charge strongly stands by his family values, as the company is family-run. From the beginning, his wife worked by his side, slowly taking over the operations management. His two children are also actively involved. As a proof that of his son’s early interest to this business, Ernesto recalls the photo of his 5-year-old boy already treating tobacco leaves at the factory.
When asked about the E.P. Carillo’s future, Ernesto is proud to talk about exciting new projects that his son is developing along with other members of the company. It feels like he’s ready to give the lead to the new generation, stepping aside and supporting with his experience. Cigars is Mr. Perez Carillo’s life project, much more than just a business.
Often inspired by the new varieties of tobacco seeds as well as new blends, he is willing to open up and share more with the industry about his own techniques. One of them, kept secret before, is the method of temperature shock when treating tobacco leaves: they are first heated and then frozen. This allows to purify tobacco and at the same time to accelerate the fermentation process. Leaves are fermented between 2 and 3 years minimum, something you notice when enjoying an EPC cigar.
Ernesto reveals that when creating new cigar blends, they always keep in mind the brand’s signature taste: creaminess and a hint of spice. Their approach consists of thinking about the final consumer: the aficionado who will taste them.
Innovation and hard work are the driving forces of the E.P. Carillo, along with great passion to cigars and immense respect to the people behind the brand.
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