Introduction:
With today’s review, we will be looking at E.P Carrillo’s La Historia. In the last decade EP Carrillo has seen two #1 rated cigars, in 2020 the Pledge Prequel, and in 2018 the Encore Majestic, as well as La Historia E-III which landed in the #2 spot of Cigar Aficionado’s list in 2014. Don’t let yourself be fooled, just because La Historia wasn’t awarded the top spot doesn’t mean it isn’t the best blend from E.P. Carrillo.
First time reading our reviews? Feel free to skim the quick hits if you’re short of time or dive deep into any section below and find the full details on what this cigar is all about. Let’s go.
The Quick Hits:
- The size name, Dona Elena, is named after E.P. Carrillo Jr.’s wife and was one of the three original La Historia sizes released
- Main tasting notes of earth, cocoa, and coffee
- Recommended for: fans of The Wise Man Maduro, La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor, RoMa Craft Neanderthal
- This size of La Historia is priced at $13.15 per cigar, which for some people, makes it unreasonable to smoke as an everyday blend
The Build:
This cigar is offered in four vitolas, with the one I smoked for this review being the Doña Elena, which is a 6 1/8” x 50. The cigar features a Mexican wrapper, an Ecuadorian binder, and Nicaraguan filler. With this blend you’re looking at a cigar that is advertised as medium to full-bodied with lots of flavor.
The Look:
This cigar has a couple beautiful bands with designs that really jump out at you. It’s not flashiness, but instead, elegance, that these bands give off the image of.
The large band shows “Perez Carrillo” in the middle, and underneath in smaller print is the name of the cigar “La Historia.” Beside the middle display of the text are two women, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s mother, and his daughter. One that has a tobacco field in Cuba behind her, and the other has the city of Miami displayed behind her. On the far-right side is the Carrillo family crest and on the far-left side is the Perez family crest.
Underneath, on a separate but smaller band, is the name of the cigar “La Historia” in large print. At the foot of the cigar is a blue band that helps give the cigar even more color to pop out. The box for this cigar comes with a large “Perez Carrillo” logo in gold font on the top of the box, with a black velvet inside for the cigars to rest on. When you open the box, you see the same beautiful imagery on the inside of the lid that is also on the band of the cigar.
The Experience:
I often have mixed feelings about annual cigar rankings, feeling that the wrong ones are awarded the top positions. However, this isn’t a cigar I would say I look at in that way.
Right at the start I was hit with a pronounced earthy note, as well as a woody flavor. As I continued through the first-third I started to notice a bit of spice pop up, especially transitioning into the second third. I also had some notes of cocoa begin to subtly appear, not jumping out but making their presence known after the exhale.
The spice continued in the second-third but became subdued the further I got through this third. It switched from a possibly cinnamon-like flavor to more of black pepper. The wood and earthy notes were still very tasty and continued through this third. The wood was also starting to evolve into more of a note akin to the smell of a campfire.
As the cigar began to near its close in the final-third I noticed a new flavor make its way into my experience, what I would best describe as roasted nuts. It was subtle, popping in with the wood, campfire, and earthy notes. I also had the mew note of a dark roasted coffee emerge as well, but very minimally.
For me, through this cigar it stayed in the medium bodied range. It is advertised as medium to full-bodied, and I would say the “full” part was teased at times but sticks closer to medium. The cigar has a clean and easy draw, and the cigar’s construction was good. I did not have any issues of having to relight, canoeing, or anything of the like. The taste? Lots of notes that were prevalent throughout, but they were tame – never engulfing your palette completely.
The Value:
A box of 20 for this cigar is $263.00, coming to $13.15 per cigar, which to me, is a reasonable price. It’s not the cheapest option on the market, but it is far from the most expensive and considering that this cigar has consistently delivered great taste to me each time I have smoked it, I would be hard pressed not to recommend it to almost anyone. If you have not given it a try, that price point is one I would say is worthy of being given a chance.
Final Thoughts:
It can be tough for the La Historia to get the attention it deserves when it’s sitting on a shelf next to two #1 rated cigars made by EP Carrillo. For me, it is the #1 cigar when comparing it to The Pledge and Encore. This is also a preferable vitola to me to smoke it in, I am a big fan of cigars with a small ring gauge, and this is the smallest ring gauge this cigar is offered in. If you are a fan of larger ones it is offered in ring gauges up to 58 as well. Whichever size you choose will provide you with an experience that I think is worth the price.
