The End of Cigar In hand

This will be my last post on Cigar In Hand.....I have really enjoyed doing every review here and have appreciated everyone who comes to this site to check out what I have to say. I want to thank everyone who supported the site, whether it was friends providing cigars to review or the manufacturers who sent me product as well. I must apologize if I didn't get a chance to get to a particular cigar sent to me to review. Everything that was sent to me was scheduled for an upcoming review but unfortunately I won't be able to get to some of them with this being my last post. 

Now, the reason for the end of the site....I have been working in the cigar business for a few years now on the retail side, which still allowed me to review cigars. Starting in a few weeks I am leaving the retail business and entering the manufacturer side by joining Drew Estate Cigars as the Sales rep for Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana! When I decided to get involved in the cigar business I knew someday I wanted to be on the manufacturer side of it and I knew that when I did that it would be the end of doing reviews. 

I must also give a special thank you to Jamal at Burning Leaf cigars for giving me the opportunity to learn the cigar trade at his store and get me more involved in the cigar business. The nice thing is with my new position I will still be able to work with Burning Leaf! 

Thanks again to all of my readers, I hope you enjoyed all of my reviews and were able to take something away from them to help with your personal journey into the world of cigars! 

Cheers-

Ben Pearson

EP Carillo Short Run 2012

This week's review is of the new EP Carillo 2012 Short Run. I am smoking the Invictos size, which measures in at 5 7/8x52. This is a really interesting blend, it is made up of the Core Line maduro filler, Broadleaf binder and the Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper from the New Wave Connecticut. The Core Line and New Wave are very different cigars, I am really curious to see what the combo tastes like!

This Short Run is a well made cigar and is fairly firm when squeezed. The wrapper has a few small veins and has a slightly oily feel to it. The aroma at the foot is of sweet tobacco. The prelight draw has just the right amount of resistance and a very barnyardy flavor. Once lit this starts out with some sweet nutty flavors and some woody character. There is a little bit of white pepper spice around the edges but it isn't very aggressive on the palate. The spice fades away about an inch in and the burn has been a little wavy. The ash fell at just under an inch. Retrohaling brings back the white pepper spice! Through the first third this is medium across the board as far as body, strength and flavor goes. 

At the halfway point a graham cracker flavor has joined the sweet nutty flavor. I am really liking the cinnamon/honey sweetness with that almost bready flavor. In the final Third some woody flavor has joined the profile. This is an interesting cigar, with the guts of the Core Line maduro and the wrapper of the New Wave, the wrapper adds a creamy brighter flavor and the filler is deeper and richer. I was worried the wrapper would be overpowered by the filler/binder, but it is holding its own. This cigar has remained medium throughout, making for a great after lunch smoke. 

This was another tasty treat from EP Carillo! I didnt love the previous Short Runs, but this is one I look forward to smoking again. This is a pretty affordable cigar as well, coming in at around $7. I have smoked a lot of the Core Line Maduros and a few of the New Wave Connecticuts and its really interesting to see what they taste like together in one cigar.