Length: 6"
Ring Gauge: 52
Flavour: Strong
Vitola: Toro
Smoking Time: 60 Mins
Rating by Surrey Cigars - 98/100
This cigar was awarded No1 Cigar of the Year by Cigar Journal in 2023
This cigar was awarded No5 Cigar of the Year by Cigar aficionado in 2023
E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Confidant Cigar
Usually, cigar brand owners go to Ernesto Perez-Carrillo to make their cigars. If they’re lucky, he says yes. In this case, Perez-Carrillo went to Oliva Cigar Co. to make Allegiance, which is the fourth line in the Perez-Carrillo series—and the series has been nothing less than stellar. La Historia (which was Part I in the series) has made it to the Top 25 list on more than one occasion. Encore (Part II) was named Cigar of the Year in 2018. Pledge (Part III) was named Cigar of the Year in 2020. And now, Part IV has landed the No. 5 spot. The bands across the series are all the same pattern and design for continuity, but the colors are different in order to distinguish one blend from another. The green band of Allegiance is meant to symbolize nature and tobacco. Other than the Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, the tobacco in this cigar is all Nicaraguan. So, does this taste more like an Oliva cigar or an E.P. Carrillo cigar? We haven’t decided. What we do know is that it comes together brilliantly setting a sweet-and-spicy tone with a woody undercurrent, snappy bursts of gingerbread and charming accents of nutmeg and cinnamon before the peppery finish.
E. P CARRILLO
The roots of the Perez-Carrillo family are in Cuba, where Ernesto Sr. was born in 1904. He began learning about tobacco and cigars early in his childhood from his father who rolled and sold penny cigars in the streets of Havana. After working as a tobacco buyer for many years, Ernesto Sr. launched the family cigar dynasty in 1948 when he purchased El Credito, a small cigar factory in Havana. The Perez-Carrillo family became well-respected in Cuba, and Ernesto Sr. was elected to the Senate in 1954 and 1958.
But, as the Cuban Revolution took hold and Castro gained control of Cuba, the Perez-Carrillo family’s life changed forever - the government confiscated the family’s properties including the beloved El Credito factory. Fearing for their safety, the family fled to Miami, but not before leaving Ernesto with a lasting impression of his homeland.
Ernesto Sr. expected the move to be temporary, but it soon became clear that returning to Cuba was not to be, Ernesto Sr. focused on making Miami his home. Returning to what he did best: making cigars. Nine years passed, but finally Ernesto Sr. was able to purchase a cigar factory in Little Havana, fittingly naming it El Credito.
His son and namesake Ernesto (Who originally had a passion for chasing a dream in Jazz music and not cigars) worked alongside his father, Ernesto to make cigars for the locals in Little Havana. It wasn’t until his father contemplated selling El Credito in 1976 that young Ernesto realized that this was his calling in life. He convinced his father not to sell, and for the next four years, he shadowed him to see how a master created a cigar. When his father passed away in 1980, a 29-year old Ernesto took over the reins of El Credito
Today, Ernesto gives credit to his father for teaching him most of what he knows about cigars. The most valuable lessons Ernesto learned from his father were from the examples he set in his everyday life – dedication to work, humility, patience and respect. These are the same principles behind each cigar created by Master Blender Ernesto Perez-Carrillo.
