Hey, everybody, I'm Shane Ireland and I recently had the opportunity to film on location at Casa Carrillo with the one and only Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. We learned more about his background in cigar making and what's to come in the future of his brand.

[Shane Ireland]: Ernesto, thank you for taking the time to talk to me.

[Ernesto Perez-Carrillo]: Thank you for being here today, Shane.

[SI]: So, for our viewers, can you give us a little bit of a brief history about your experience in the industry? You mentioned, when we were speaking earlier, that you've been in the business about 54 years.

[EPC]: Correct, yes. To be quite frank, I wish I could live another 54 to do what I'm doing because it's an amazing business.

[SI]: It is. How much more do you think you would have to learn if you had another 50 years, still a lot?

[EPC]: There's always so much that you can learn, not only about making cigars and just running a business, but also about tobacco. We are living through very exciting times now because there's a lot of new tobaccos that are coming out and a lot of new high breed seeds. So, I'm very excited about the future.

[SI]: That's fantastic. Take us back to the beginning for you, personally.

Ernesto's Early Years In Cigar Making

[EPC]: Well, I started when I was about 19 years old. My father had a little factory in Miami when we came in 1959. And basically, it took him about nine years, because he was always in the tobacco industry back in Cuba. He had a factory called El Credito. During that period, his dream was to always go back to Cuba. And, unfortunately, after nine years, he saw the writing on the wall. He said, "I'm not going to go back. I'm going to start doing what I love to do." So he bought this little factory. We had one cigar maker. My wife started working. Actually, she was probably his first employee besides the cigar maker. And during that time, the business, needless to say, was not what it is today. I've seen the growth and the transformation of the business over these past 54 years, and it's been amazing.

So I started there with him. I got married young, when I was 19, so I had a side job, which was playing music. I used to be a drummer. And then unfortunately, in 1980, my father passed away and I took over the little factory there. It was a lot of hard work, I would say, because, basically, it was just me and my wife doing everything down there. But it was something that I fell in love with. I thought I loved playing the drums. But once I really got into tobacco, it was a whole different experience. It really wasn't until 1992 when Cigar Aficionado came in and they gave us high ratings that the company took off.

I was down there until about 1997. And then I moved to the Dominican, opened up a factory here in the Dominican, and, thank God, I was very successful and I was able to sell my business back in 1999. And after working with the new company, General Cigars, for about nine years, I decided to start over again, because I wanted to. And here we are now, 15 years later.

[SI]: 15 years later, congratulations.

[EPC]: Thank you very much.

[SI]: That leads me to a couple of questions. In a sense, you had a really small business that you were able to grow from your father's business. When you did start over here 15 years ago, what would you say, in the previous decades, have you learned that you applied when you started here fresh?

What Ernesto Has Learned Creating Cigars

[EPC]: Well, during that boom period, there was not really that much that you could do. I mean, it was just hard keeping up with the demand for the brands that we owned. We owned La Gloria Cubana, CBR, and Rico Habano. I was spending a lot of time figuring out how to get cigars out. How do I keep inventories of tobacco? Everybody was looking for tobacco.

When I started here in 2009, it was like starting over again and relearning how to be a business owner and a cigar blender. The fun part is that I keep learning every day. I go visit Nicaragua, Ecuador, wherever, and there's always something new that I bring back here. It's very gratifying knowing that I'm going to come to work every day and enjoy myself doing the things that I do.

[SI]: That's fantastic, yeah. Would you say, compared to your previous experience, how is the access to quality tobacco now versus many decades ago?

[EPC]: Well, before the boom, there's always been quality tobacco. Because of the demand during the boom, it was scarce. Everybody was making more cigars. They were buying into the bigger companies for everything that they could get. There were a lot of small companies that, perhaps, didn't have the means to buy more quality tobacco. They were using tobaccos that weren't delivering. When I started in 2009, and I would say this change has come about in the past, 15-20 years, now the growers, with the new seeds, the new plantations, and the way that they're curing and fermenting tobacco, it's a whole different world from that time. Now there's an industry in the cigar business. I mean, if you want to compete in this industry, you have to be the best that you can be at it, whether it's growing tobacco, making cigars, or making blends. It has to be something that's unique and that people are going to enjoy and buy.

Target Consumer & Recommended Cigars

[SI]: As far as what you're producing here, under your brand, what kind of consumer are you geared toward? Like, who are your smokers, in your experience?

[EPC]: Okay. We find that it's different for different companies. Our smokers are more in the 45 and up age bracket.

[SI]: Experienced smokers.

[EPC]: Yes. The blends that we make here are complex. If you've been smoking for a while, you'll be able to appreciate them, but we also want to appeal to younger smokers. We have a range of cigars that go from mild to medium to fuller body. But we always keep a signature that, whichever cigars you smoke, you'll know it's an E.P. Carrillo.

[SI]: Yeah. Correct me if I'm wrong, but one thing about younger smokers today that I think is nice, since there's so much information out there on the internet, and there's so many people that are blogging and writing passionately about cigars and about premium tobacco, so it doesn't take the younger smokers a lifetime to learn. They've learned very quickly and they go crazy trying to understand the products.

[EPC]: Exactly. And they want to know what tobacco you're using, from what zones, from what seed. They appreciate the transparency. In the old days, people used to smoke and I remember the standard was that the cigar would get better after an inch. The standard now is, once you put that match or lighter to that cigar, you need to have the flavor immediately.

[SI]: Instant gratification, yeah. Before we move on to a few other things that I wanted to discuss, I'm curious, if there's any smokers out there that are unfamiliar with your blends, where would you recommend they start?

[EPC]: One of our standard cigars is The Encore. That's a cigar that everybody can smoke, but it has enough flavors and complexity that even the more seasoned smoker will be able to appreciate it.

[SI]: Yeah. I find it very versatile. You can smoke it at any time of the day. Is there a cigar that you, yourself, personally find yourself reaching for more often than the others? Or does that change with the season or your mood?

[EPC]: Well, we are always working on different blends, and we make blends for other people also. So we are always trying different blends that we're working on. If I had to give an answer, I like the INCH and the Encore. There are those moments when I'll have a Pledge or La Historia, or I'll have a competitor's cigar that I enjoy. But I go all across the board from everybody.

[SI]: You mentioned earlier that no matter what the blend is, if it's coming from your portfolio, there's something about it that's unified. Is there anything that you're comfortable sharing that's not a secret that makes that possible? Is it the processing, is it the selection of tobacco? What makes something like a portfolio of yours that's so broad, unified?

[EPC]: Well, I would say that on a larger scale, when you smoke a lot of cigars, I think one of the things that you're going to get from the beginning, depending on the cigar, is some of that spice, which I enjoy myself. And I think you're going to feel some of the creaminess and the nuttiness. When I smoke, I like to take the smoke to my throat and retrohale. For example, when you look at any whiskey or bourbon, they're very consistent. About 40 years ago, I used to drink a bourbon that was 110 proof. I felt that flavor in my palate and in my mouth, and I said, "This is what I want to transmit in my cigar."

Now it's not going to taste like that. But I'm going for the richness and complexity. Needless to say, when you use different wrappers, it's going to have a different flavor, but it's always somehow going to remind you of something that you smoked of E.P. Carrillo. They have a different strength. The trick is, you don't want your cigar to be linear, you want it to smoke and you're going to feel the complexity from the beginning developing. I think that's what keeps the interest.

[SI]: The modern consumer desires complexity. One thing from your cigars that I've experienced, personally, is that they're comfortable enough that if you're just with friends, having a drink, golfing, whatever, you can enjoy it, and you get the richness. Back to the signature flavor question, I'm wondering if there is one component, or one type of tobacco that you work with maybe more than others, that's a favorite of yours to work with?

[EPC]: For me, the most important thing about the blend is the wrapper and the binder. That kind of dominates how that cigar is going to smoke. It's responsible for a large portion of the flavor. It's like a foundation for the entire cigar. I'm a big proponent of Seco tobaccos. They have to have a certain flavor. Now, they may be Dominican, Nicaraguan, or Honduran, but it has to have a certain flavor that is going to round out that blend where you're going to feel that familiarity.

In other words, I want to make cigars that are an experience. I don't want to make a cigar that doesn't say something to you. It's got to say something.

Upcoming Releases

[SI]: Are there any components currently that you've sourced recently that you're excited about using that maybe you have not yet?

[EPC]: In our upcoming Essence cigars, I used tobacco from Honduras. It's not your regular Habano seed, it's a hybrid of Habanos and other tobaccos. And I'm very excited because it has some of that unique, sugary presence, but it's not overbearing. When we blended it with the tobaccos that we use, it just added a new dimension to the smoke.

[SI]: What can we expect this year from you?

[EPC]: We're releasing the Essence series, and this is the Sumatra we're smoking. We're going to come out with a Maduro. We have two cigars that we make with other factories. We're making a cigar with Placencia, which is the INCH Nicaragua. And one with Oliva, the Allegiance, which has been a very huge success. And then we're going to start working with other factories to be part of the Essence. We're going to be making a cigar with Placencia Honduras, and then we're also going to be coming out with a 15th year cigar. That is going to be released on October 5th, which is our 15th year here, in the Dominican Republic. Then we also have the Endure, which is our first Cameroon blend. And then we're coming out with the limiteds.

[SI]: You mentioned never working with Cameroons until the Endure. From my limited experience talking with other blenders and other manufacturers, I've heard that Cameroon can be a little bit difficult.

[EPC]: It's very difficult.

[SI]: Can you tell us a little bit about why, and what was your decision to start using it?

[EPC]: That's a good question. We've been working on this project now for probably about six, seven months. We wanted to come out with a Cameroon that's going to be different, with the strength profile, complexity, and the creaminess. And it's taken me a while, and I think I finally got something.

[SI]: How many iterations of the blend was there in around half a year? Dozens?

[EPC]: Well, the last one we did was 11 blends. We wanted to understand which tobaccos and which binders were going to work well with this wrapper. For instance, in our case, we went through all the binders that we had, then I went out and outsourced all the binders to see which would make this particular blend unique, and I think I finally hit it. We'll know more in a couple of weeks.

[SI]: I'm curious if there is a particular blend in your head that you're still chasing after all these years, something that you're still thinking, "I haven't got this out yet."

[EPC]: When I was a musician, I used to practice six, seven hours a day. I think with cigar making, you are always, in a sense, practicing on blends. Now, do I have a blend that I say, "Yeah, this is like the best that I've ever made"? I don't think I'm there yet, because when you bring in new tobacco, right away that standard changes. If you play music and you're used to playing in 4/4 or 3/4, and now it's 5/4 or 7/4, or whatever, that's going to change the whole rhythm aspect of the music. It's the same with cigars.

[SI]: Well, that's good news for us.

[EPC]: There's always going to be something that I'm going to be experimenting with.

[SI]: If you're speaking directly to the consumers and the smokers, is there anything about your tobaccos, about your production, and about your palate that you think we should know?

[EPC]: I've learned from a lot of people. But I think, in a certain aspect, what makes our cigars so special is the love that we have for what we're doing. Of course, everybody wants to grow, but we have a set number of cigars that we want to reach and keep it at that number. Right now we're about 3.5 million. Our goal is to reach 5 million and to keep it there. That's a philosophy, actually, that I learned from Orlando Padrón, one of the greatest cigar men in the world, and from Carlos Fuente. They always had a set number that they wanted to reach because they knew they could control all the aspects of it. And that's me.

Cigar Making & Crossover Between Cigars and Pipes

[SI]: I imagine that one of the benefits of being the boss is that you get to play with whatever you want in the production. Apart from blending, which I assume is maybe what you enjoy the most, what part of tobacco, from seed until the cigar is finished, would you, yourself do, if it was just a job? What would you want to do, besides making the cigars as you do now?

[EPC]: I think growing tobacco is something that I wish I had learned. I didn't have the opportunity to see it before we left Cuba. My father had tobacco farms there, but I left when I was seven. If I was 20 or 30 years younger, I think it'd be something that I'd really want to learn about and do. Working with the different seeds, growing tobacco, all of that. I kind of relate a lot to a chef. There's some chefs that'll go and they'll have their own vegetables that they grow. That's something that I wish I could have done.

[SI]: I hear what you're saying. I mean, there's a lot of magic that happens from processing to production, but what happens in the fields is very important.

[EPC]: That's where it all starts. A lot of people are doing that now, and they're very successful at it. They can pick the different tobaccos or seeds they want to work with from different areas, and that's also exciting.

[SI]: I have one more question. When someone is really a tobacco guy, and really interested in premium quality tobaccos, cigars is one part of that, and I think pipes and pipe tobacco are another part. You mentioned earlier that you've been a pipe smoker as well, for many years. How did you get into pipes and what does pipe smoking do for you in your tobacco enjoyment?

[EPC]: That started back in the early '80s. You've been to the IPCPR. Well, in those days, the RTDA, which is what it was called, basically had a 10 by 10 little booth there and you put the boxes, and then you tried to sell your cigars. But there was a gentleman — which we're making cigars for the Osler family now for a brand called CAO — who we used to trade boxes of cigars with for meerschaum pipes. In the '80s, I don't know about now, but from Turkey, there were some beautiful pipes. So we would trade, and I had these meerschaum pipes, and that's how I started smoking. Meerschaum pipes afford more of a cooler, smoother smoke than briar pipes.

[SI]: They have a neutral flavor as well.

[EPC]: Yes. I started smoking those and that's how I got into it. Then I would go to stores and I would buy pipes. In 1976, I used to work for Nat Sherman and one of my duties was to sell pipes. I didn't know that much about them, but I started getting interested. And we had one customer, and he used to come every month and buy six Dunhills. At that time, those Dunhills were like $600. Even at that time, I was wondering, why is this guy spending basically $3,600 a month on pipes? And he would give them away.

What I find with pipes is that they kind of cleanse out my palate to a certain degree. When you try the different tobaccos and you see the complexity of those tobaccos, then you start to appreciate it. There's something relaxing about the ritual of relighting and all of that with a pipe as well.

[SI]: When I started, I started smoking as soon as I was old enough to walk into a shop in San Diego and buy a pipe. And for the longest time, mostly because when you're a little bit younger, you get a can of tobacco and you're going to smoke 10, 15 bowls. And it was the same price as one cigar, more or less, so cigars were an occasional thing for me when I had a little extra money or when it was a special day. But I smoked a pipe for the first many years, predominantly. But I do think that once I started diving into cigars in a serious way, it made me a better pipe smoker, and I think the opposite is also true. Knowing about pipes and appreciating the technique that goes into it, you're forced to smoke a little more slowly, a little more carefully, and I think that, basically, smoking both makes you a better smoker overall. It's easier to enjoy both, really.

[EPC]: Yeah, pipes are beautiful and you can enjoy breaking them in and forming a relationship with them, because it stays with you over the years. And that'll stay with you forever.

[SI]: Until next time, thank you so much.

[EPC]: Hopefully it'll be soon.

[SI]: Thanks so much for watching, and thank you, Ernesto, for talking to us.

[EPC]: Thank you.