One shape, one size, one cigar—but a different blend each year: That is the philosophy behind the EPC Cigar Company’s limited-edition releases. EPC stands for Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, the man who brought La Gloria Cubana back to life in America when he inherited the brand from his father. Now Perez-Carrillo’s La Gloria days are behind him, and he is running his own boutique cigar company with the help of his son, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo III, and his daughter, Lissette Perez-Carrillo. The E.P. Carrillo Edición Limitada 2010 (www.epcarrillo.com, $15), his second limited-edition release, is rolled in the company’s new, 40,000-?square-foot factory in the Dominican Republic’s free zone. The cigar far surpasses EPC’s much milder 2009 edition. With its tanned-leather Habano Brazilian wrapper, Dominican binder, and Nicaraguan filler, this 6 x 54 toro is brimming with sweet spice, and a perfect match for a Cerbois Bas Armagnac XO.
