E.P. Carrillo Gives New Look, New Concept To Short Run For 2016

Source from:  Cigar Aficionado 03/25/2016

Next month, fans of the annual, limited-edition E.P. Carrillo Short Run cigars will have a new installment with a new look and a new blending concept.

"In the past, Short Run cigars were offshoots of existing E.P. Carrillo brands," said brand owner Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. "Now, the Short Run will have its own blend, its own packaging and its own identity."

First released in 2010, Short Runs were normally blended as alternative versions of core E.P. Carrillo brands. All packaging for previous Short Runs was essentially the same as its host brand, and the cigar was identified as a limited edition by a secondary band that simply read "Short Run." This year's Short Run will come adorned in a striking gold band that looks nothing like any other lines in the E.P. Carrillo portfolio.

For the new look, Perez-Carrillo sought the help of designer Dennis Hernandez in Miami.

"I tried my hand at designing," said Perez-Carrillo with a laugh. "It didn't work."

The Short Run 2016 will come in one size-a 6 inch by 52 ring toro. Other than its Ecuadoran Habano wrapper, the cigar contains all Nicaraguan tobacco, notably some Criollo '98 in the filler from the growing region of Somoto, which is located about 32 miles north of Estelí on the Pan American highway.

"A lot of people aren't familiar with Somoto," adds Perez-Carrillo. "The growing area isn't that big, but I think the tobacco brings complexity to the blend."

Only 2,500, 10-count boxes of the Short Run 2016 will be released. Each cigar is set to retail for $12. They're made at Perez-Carrillo's La Alianza factory in the Dominican Republic.

The E.P. Carrillo Short Run 2016 is the first brand to get a new design, but Perez-Carrillo told Cigar Aficionado that more brands will be outfitted with new, redesigned packaging later in the year. Enditem