Description
The E.P. Carrillo Pledge Prequel is the third release in the Perez-Carrillo Series, following Encore (2018 #1 Cigar of the Year) and La Historia (2014 #2 Cigar of the Year). Rated 98 points (a Classic by Cigar Aficionado standards), Pledge Prequel achieved the highest rating ever for a No. 1 Cigar of the Year. The Carrillo family are not strangers to the awards podium as E.P. Carrillo has received the top spot 2 out of the past 3 years. Pledge is made in the Dominican Republic. Size: Prequel: 5 X 50
- Wrapper: USA
- Binder: Ecuador
- Filler: Nicaragua
The History of Pledge by E.P. Carrillo
Pledge describes an evolution of E.P. Carrillo’s skills in blending throughout his life and how these skills translate to his promise to cigar lovers as they reach different milestones. The Pledge was released in two sizes: one size pays homage to E.P. Carrillo’s roots in Cuba which helped develop his lifelong passion for tobacco. The second size commemorates E.P. Carrillo’s skill development which ultimately led to him reaching Cigar Hall of Fame status.
The evolution of E.P. Carrillo’s Pledge will continue to be told through future size releases. Ernesto sees the Pledge as confirmation of his promise to his fans: “I will never stop working with the best tobaccos and bringing new and innovative blends to you.” Further, “With each sample of the 6 different blends for Pledge I worked on, I asked myself, is this cigar worthy to follow La Historia and Encore? I was very pleased when I found the one.” 2020 marks the 50th year that Ernesto has been working in the cigar industry, and to release the Pledge during this special year is a great honour.
It took six months of testing blends before Ernesto Perez-Carrillo found the blend he was seeking. He recalled, “I first became aware of the Connecticut Havana seed wrapper in the early 80s when it was not being extensively used by many manufacturers. This wrapper was relatively unknown in Miami; but when I was finally able to first smoke it, I fell in love with it. I started using it in in some of the blends I was making at that time. More recently, I had only used this wrapper in 2 limited releases at E.P. Carrillo. With Pledge, it now becomes part of our portfolio. I couldn’t be more enthusiastic, as this wrapper and I go way back to my core years in developing my skills as a cigar blender.” Before moving the Pledge lineup to production, Ernesto made sure he could procure enough tobacco for three years of output; only after securing this supply did he begin making the cigars. This confidence is the hallmark of the Master blender; E.P. Carrillo knew that people would love this blend and used his unshakeable faith to make a very sizeable investment in the tobacco.
