Country of origin: Dominican Republic
Color: Natural
Length: 5 7/8"
Ring gauge: 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Dominican Piloto Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan; Ecuadorian
I first discovered EP Carrillo cigars about a year ago when I tried the Core Natural and Core Maduro lines - and I was quite pleased with these smokes. At that time, I had already missed out on the Short Run 2012. The Short Run series are annual small-batch releases which were initiated in 2010 and have been released in three vitolas; however only 1,000 boxes (24 cigars per box) are generally released each year. The Short Run 2010 had an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and a mix of Nicaraguan and Dominican filler. The 2011 had the same binder and fillers, but with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, intended to be slightly stronger than the previous release. The 2012 had an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, a Connecticut broadleaf binder, and again, a blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican filler. The current Short Run 2013 revisits the Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper featured in the 2010 edition and a completely different binder and filler blend than previous used.
The Short Run 2013 has a mottled natural brown colored wrapper with moderate sized veins. The aroma of the wrapper was consistent with the aroma coming from the foot and was leathery and slightly musty. After a guillotine cut was applied, the cold draw didn't reveal any difference in flavor. Once lit, this medium-to-full bodied smoke was of moderate strength. The smoke started with rather rich espresso flavor with some subtle chocolate notes, and mild black pepper on retrohale. Midway through the smoke, the espresso flavor remained; however, some charred woody flavor became quite noticeable - the pepper on the retrohale was unchanged. The cigar finished with decreasing intensity of the espresso flavor and took on a nice smooth earthiness. Interestingly, the smoke had a very strong barnyard aroma from start to finish.
The Short Run 2013 is a very good smoke - quite enjoyable and I would definitely smoke again.