The E.P. Carrillo Honduras is the third blend in E.P. Carrillo’s six-blend Essence Series. There are many E.P. Carrillo cigars that have made various top 10 lists, with the Pledge getting a particularly high rating of 98 and coming in at #1 in 2020 from Cigar Aficionado. The Honduras is a bit different than the other offerings from this brand being that it produced by the Plasencia family factory in Honduras. I am generally a fan of cigars coming from Plasencia so I am excited for the opportunity to review the E.P. Carrillo Honduras.
OVERVIEW
VITOLA: Toro
SIZE: 6″ x 52
ORIGIN: Honduras
FACTORY: Tabacos de Oriente
WRAPPER: Honduran Olancho San Agustín
BINDER: Honduras
FILLER: Honduras and Nicaragua
STRENGTH: Medium
SOURCE:
Manufacturer
ENVIRONMENT
WHERE:
Outside
WHEN:
November 10, 2024 @ 3 PM
DRINKS:
Water
WEATHER:
Sunny and warm
HOW MANY CIGARS SMOKED:
3
PRODUCTION
RELEASE TYPE Regular Production
ORIGINALLY RELEASE DATE September 2024
TOTAL PRODUCTION
Typical Box Size: Boxes of 24
Production Totals: Unknown
VITOLA BREAKDOWN
o Toro (6″ x 52)
o Robusto (5″ x 50)
o Gordo (6″ x 60)
BAND DESIGN
E.P. Carrillo makes some very nice bands, the Pledge, the Encore, and the La Historia have sophisticated and intricate band designs. For the Honduras, that same level of detail is not present. It is a blend of the band design that we are use to seeing from the company and contemporary new school style. There is an identity crisis happening with too many different design elements clashing with each other. The “Carrillo” is in a big bold sans serifed font along with the gold “Honduras”. These two elements feel out of place. The foot band came with a nice QR code that leads you to the E.P. Carrillo website which is great but I wish that it would’ve taken you to the Honduras page.
PRE-LIGHT OBSERVATIONS
CONSTRUCTION
The has some noticeable veins popping out with a couple notches in those veins throughout the cigar. It’s very dark and uniform in color with a dense feel when squeezed. There is a double cap at the head that is not so neatly placed. The wrapper has a dark chocolate color, it’s a nice looking stick. It feels a bit toothy when you run your finger across it, but you really noticed those notches in the veins of the wrapper. Overall, this is a very dense and very dark cigar.
AROMA
There’s a very strong barnyard scent coming from the body of the cigar mixed with a little bit of raisin. Lots of woody notes as well. The foot has a little bit more of a damp earth smell with the barnyard still present. There are no fruity notes like with the raisin on the body of the cigar. There is just a touch of black pepper and it stings the nostrils just a tad.
COLD DRAW
This is one of the tighter draws that I’ve had in recent history. There is little to no airflow. The notes that are coming off of the cold draw are barnyard mixed with a little bit of cinnamon and prune. There’s not a lot of sweetness coming off of the cold draw but I feel like it wants to come out. The barnyard note is very strong.
SMOKING EXPERIENCE
LIGHT & DRAW
Cut: Straight
Fire: Torch
Right off of light up there isn’t as much restriction as I thought there would be, but it is still there. On the palate there charred woody notes with just a hint of chocolate. The retro hale has a little blast of black pepper on the front end that mellows out in two seconds. The finish is like eating a croissant that isn’t so buttery and has a little bit of chocolate in it. Overall, not a bad start and hopefully the draw loosens up. I have to take about two puffs to get the smoke output that I want.
SMOKE
As I said before, it takes about two decent puffs to get to smoke that I want out of the cigar. It isn’t so restrictive that it is annoying at this point. It as a very musty room that fills fills the surrounding area with the barnyard scent. It is a little more pleasant than actually being in a barnyard but it is also not a scent I want lingering around when smoking.
FIRST THIRD
>> Cardboard, Earth, Dark Chocolate
The draw is still pretty tight but starts to loosen up at the end of the first third. I’m only having to draw once to get a good amount of smoke, so that’s a good sign. The burn is a little wavy but no major issues. The ash is variations of lighter gray with some black spots and it is pretty tight with no flaking. I sat for a while trying to figure out what I was really tasting and I wanted to believe that it was something more but ultimately the main flavor I’m tasting is cardboard. Surrounding the base of cardboard is a little bit of chocolate and damp earth. The retro is actually pretty spicy and kicked off with Cayenne right away then smooths over to a powdered cocoa. The finish is kind of strange. It leaves my mouth watering and I think that there’s gonna be another note that comes into play, but it is honestly just dirt mixed with cardboard. There’s a little black pepper in the beginning but that is the only pleasant note I found in the finish.
SECOND THIRD
>> Pepper, Earth, Dark Chocolate
The draw has improved a lot in the second third. The ash holds on for about an inch and there is no flaking. Any waviness experienced with the burn self corrects. There is less of a cardboard taste getting into the second third and more of an earthy dark chocolate on the palate. The retro is a lot less spicy and includes a little bit of creaminess with some damp earth and chocolate. That spice is still present just a little bit more tame with the cayenne being replaced with black pepper. On the finish, you get a wave of that cardboard in the beginning, and fortunately, it fades into a much more pleasant bitter dark chocolate with just a hint of dark roast coffee. The finish sticks with you right up until the next draw.
FINAL THIRD
>> Bitter Coffee, Leather, Earth
In the last third, the draw is as good as it’s gonna’ get for any cigar. The smoke output is great with tons of smoke coming off of each draw. The burn has stayed straight for the entirety of the last third. I’m getting a lot of earth and chocolate in this last stretch, but it’s predominantly the earthy note with a stale kettle chip. The retro still has a black pepper on the front but quickly morphs into a bitter chocolate. The finish is a lot spicier than the previous thirds and gives you a little bit of black pepper mixed with damp earth, cardboard, and a wave of bitter black coffee at the end. The taste of leather and earth really settle on the finish. I wish there was a little more sweetness in the Honduras.
RATING & FINAL THOUGHTS
FLAVOR PROGRESSION
In all honesty, I did not enjoy the flavors of this cigar. Coming from Placencia, I expected a level of sophistication that I’ve experienced with other Placencia blends, but it just wasn’t present in the Honduras. If you like the smell and taste of cardboard, then this might be the cigar for you. The other flavors of earth, bitter chocolate, bitter coffee, and some black pepper were not enough to save this cigar from a mundane experience with no real depth.
BURN EXPERIENCE
I had some construction concerns early on with two of the samples being tightly packed. The draws in the first third were a bit restrictive but quickly loosened up. This last sample had a little more restriction than the others. The burn and smoke output were fine, not the best that I’ve had, but I can appreciate a cigar that doesn’t require corrections.
RATING BREAKDOWN
0.76 / 0.80 … Craft & Aesthetic
0.41 / 0.50 … Pre-Light Characteristics
0.50 / 0.50 … Lighting Process
5.21 / 7.70 … Smoking Experience
0.20 / 0.50 … Personal Enjoyment
COMPLIMENTS & CRITIQUES
- Nice chocolate flavors
- Straight burn and tight ash
- Flavors fall flat
- Tight draw for part of the cigar
NOT A CIGAR THAT I RECOMMEND.
I have high hopes for a lot of the E.P. Carrillo cigars, the La Historia (not the torpedo) and the Encore were great sticks. The Honduras is not a cigar that I will smoke again. When I saw the price point and where this cigar was coming from, I expected a lot more. You may have a different experience than me and I’ve seen other reviews of the cigar raving about it, but I will never recommend the Honduras to anyone.
