Perez-Carrillo Encore Black Prelight
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is a veteran of the tobacco trade. Born in Cuba shortly before the revolution, Ernesto and his family moved to Miami after Castro’s takeover. Ernesto’s father, Ernesto Sr., purchased a cigar factory in Little Havana and named it El Credito. After his father’s passing, Ernesto took on the responsibility of running the El Credito factory. Ernesto went on to create the non-Cuban “La Gloria Cubana” blends before selling off the brand and the family factory to Swedish Match/General Cigar. In 2009, Ernesto left his position at General Cigar to return to the tobacco fields and create the Perez-Carrillo brand we know today.
The Perez-Carrillo Encore Black debuted on Black Friday on November 24th, 2023. The Encore Black is a regular-production cigar with a 5,000-box limit for the year. The blend only comes in one vitola, a boxed pressed Robusto at 5 3/8″ by 52. The wrapper is a USA Connecticut Broadleaf over Mexican San Andrés binder and Nicaraguan fillers from Condega, Estelí & Jalapa. The Encore Black gets rolled at Casa Carrillo in the Dominican Republic.
The secondary “band” on the Encore Black is massive. It’s taking up nearly all of the cigar and only leaves about an inch or so of it visible. It’s an elegant look, but I do prefer more minimal bands. The aromas on the foot are floral honey and chocolate syrup. The draw is perfect, and notes on the cold draw are damp leaves and yeasty bread. The wrapper is wrinkly and has some small veins. The foot has some of the darkest tobacco I’ve seen rolled in a cigar. I lit the Encore Black with a soft flame butane lighter.
Perez-Carrillo Encore Black First Third
I’m getting excellent smoke output off the light with an exceptionally creamy mouthfeel. The notes on the palate are black bread, oak, and bitter dark chocolate. The retrohale is showing a heavy dose of cayenne, sweet hot cocoa, and muted black pepper. The retrohale is very spicy. I’m finding it difficult to find many notes on the retrohale past the cayenne spice. Thankfully, the spice is starting to die down halfway through the first third. There’s a medium finish of black bread and cocoa. Construction, burn, and ash have been absolutely perfect so far.
Perez-Carrillo Encore Black Second Third
Notes on the palate are black bread, toasted oak, and bitter dark chocolate. I’m finding cafe mocha, a touch of cayenne spice, and some muted white pepper on the retrohale. The spice has calmed down, and I’m picking up more sweetness on the retrohale. Smoke output and texture are still top-tier. There’s a medium finish of black bread and bittersweet chocolate. Construction, burn, and ash are flawless.
Perez-Carrillo Encore Black Final Third
I’m getting toasted black bread, toasted oak, and bitter dark chocolate on the palate. The notes on the retrohale are espresso and more of that bitter dark chocolate. Finish is long with notes of cocoa powder, and charred oak. The smoke output is excellent, but the texture has gotten drier. Construction, burn, and ash are still perfect. I put this one down right after the band.
Perez-Carrillo Encore Black Conclusions
Smoking the Encore Black made it beyond obvious that it was crafted with love and attention. The burn line, tight ash, and perfect draw made it one of the best-rolled cigars I’ve had in recent memory. Unfortunately, the blend didn’t sit well with my plate. I felt the first third was unbalanced by its spice level. The second third was very tasty, but the final third sharply veered into being bitter and flat. At $17 these cigars are not cheap either. With there being so many excellent Connecticut Broadleaf blends on the market right now the Encore Black seems out of place. While I’ll be seeking out more Perez-Carrillo blends in the future, the Encore Black is not one I’ll be revisiting.
