*This cigar was mailed to us free of charge so we can offer an honest review of the product. We did not pay for this product and the review is our honest experience.
(Photo credit @alvaromataphotography)
Preface: Personally I have a hard time smoking cigars that are non-Cuban for the mere fact that in my personal experiences the non-Cuban cigars are a lot more harsh, not rolled as well as a nice handmade Cohiba for instance and just do not have the same quality or standard. Now this is mostly my own personal perception so I tried to review this cigar without any biases. I wanted to review it based on the actual construction, flavor profile and actual smoke. This review is my own personal opinion of this product.
(Photo credit @alvaromataphotography)
General Information about the Cigar:
Name: E.P. Carrillo Inch Ringmaster 64 gauge
Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
The construction of the cigar is marvelous. A small tear on the tip of the cigar but I am assuming that happened during the transport and had nothing to do with the actual roll of the cigar. The wrap was nice and tight. I used the Cross V cut because I wanted a nice tight draw throughout the cigar. The Cross V cut worked out perfectly.
First 1/3 of the Cigar: Bold and intense spices. Very overpowering presence of spices, cinnamon and some earthy woody notes. The initial draws were smooth and had no issues with the smoke traveling perfectly through the center of the cigar. I attest that to my cut. The first 1/3 of the cigar was all spices. For me at times I really wanted to give up on this cigar. It hit you roughly and the taste was so harsh, not something I am personally used to. I figured can’t let a good cigar go to waste, I had to finish the whole thing before I made any judgement on the overall product.
2/3 of the Cigar in: So this is where it really began to shine. The earthy, spicy and woody notes quickly transformed into a nice dark chocolate, vanilla, an almost camp fire burned char oak, and cedar. The vanilla really let this cigar open up. The up front spices began to diminish and the earthy spicy palate began to change. A natural sweetness of the cigar began to take over and my smoke was much more enjoyable. The ash remained on the body of the cigar all the way till the 3/3 of the way in. I believe this was attributed to a nice and tight roll of the cigar. It finally broke off towards the last 3rd of the cigar.
3/3 of the cigar in: The last part of the cigar took became even more smooth with hints of cedar, toasted cereal and even more vanilla. The burn lines were a bit off but once the first part of the ash fell off it became quite straight throughout the end of the cigar. The burn rate was steady and lasted me about 1.2 hours. On the end part of the palate a nice hint of the spices began to culminate again, but they were mellow and mixed with vanilla notes became more enjoyable.
Final Thoughts: I was pleasantly surprised by this cigar. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I will abandon my habit of smoking Cuban cigars, but what this did was open my eyes to something that’s a bit more affordable and a pretty remarkable smoke. The 64 ring gauge was a bit bigger than what I am used to or really enjoy, a nice 54 gauge is more up my alley, but I can see why people would like this one as well. The flavor profile was quite enjoyable, and as the smoke went on it became even more and more enjoyable. If I had to rate this cigar on a scale of 0/100 I would give it a solid 92.
