I’m back again with another installment of what we’ll call Brian plays catchup. Wherein I take a look at a cigar I should have reviewed weeks, if not months ago. This time, it’s the EP Carrillo Short Run 2012. I bought one on a whim a while ago and smoked it while I was taking a look at the latest shenanigans on Stogie Review. In the process I realized we hadn’t given it a proper review yet. Sure, Charlie took a quick look at it in a pre-release First Impressions video back in December, but he spent more time talking about movies with YoungBuck than the cigar. I guess that is to be expected, he is the FNG, after all. (He’s not without his talents though. Making Jerry look good is not easy.)
New guy hazing aside, one of the nice things about waiting a while to review a cigar is you don’t have to speculate based on rumors. The mysteries surrounding the Short Run 2012 have been solved. I don’t want to go out on a limb here, but I can confirm the cigar was actually made, shops bought it, and it did indeed ship in 2012. Here are some other fun details: The blend features the wrapper from the New Wave Connecticut, the wrapper from the Core Line Maduro as the binder, as well as the filler from the Core Line Maduro. As indicated by the name, it is a limited edition. Three thousand 24-count boxes where produced, a grand in each size, Exquisitos (4 7/8 x 50), Invictos (5 7/8 x 52), and Reinados (6 1/4 x 60). Now on to the fun part.
Cigar Stats:
Size: 5 7/8 x 52
Wrapper: Ecuadoran Connecticut
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
Smoking Time: 2 hours
Beverage: Water
Source: Purchased by reviewer
Price: MSRP $7.10
The Pre-Smoke
Thanks to the handy second band showing the year, there’s little chance you’d mistake this Short Run for another year’s (that is, if they come out with another white-banded Short Run) or for the New Wave Connecticut. The wrapper itself is pretty rustic, somewhat mottled in appearance, while having very fine veins. Aside from very minor cracks at the foot (these thing happen with uncellophaned cigars), and a small nick in one stick, the cigars were free of any real damage.
The wrapper had a funky, almost cheese-like aroma, and felt a little lumpy to the touch, though each stick had consistent firmness. The cold draw produced a sweet flavor, somewhere between honey and figs.
The Burn
The Short Run 2012 burned well overall, though the ash had a tendency to crack and flake, and there was some minor unevenness at points. Some EP Carrillo cigars I’ve smoked have had a draw that erred on the firm side, but this one was perfect in that regard. (The cigar depicted in the tower of burn below happened to be the least behaved of the bunch, it wasn’t all that bad.)
The Flavor
The Short Run 2012 started off creamy with a molasses sweetness. Soon, coffee and nutty notes joined the profile. Nuts quickly became a major part of the profile along with a fig-like sweetness. Coffee, and sometimes bitter chocolate appeared intermittently going forward.
The dark fruit or fig sweetness continued into the second third. For a while there was an interesting flavor arc that began with creaminess, transitioned into fig sweetness, then into chocolate before coming to rest on a lengthy nutty finish. A little further in, the Short Run 2012 hit its pinnacle of sweetness with some syrupy candy flavors, and closest thing I’ve ever tasted to perfume in a cigar.
Not long before the final third began there was shift into peaty, earthy and woody flavors. The nuttiness that had been such a major element of the profile diminished considerably, and lingered late the finish. Hints of the previous sweetness remained, and there was a little spice to liven up the cigar’s conclusion.
The Price
The price is reasonable, no complaints.
The Verdict
I’ve come to expect complexity from EP Carrillo, and the Short Run 2012 did not did not disappoint. There was a lot going on, and my tasting notes grew long as I tried to capture everything happening. Add a very reasonable price and a consistently good construction, and you have all the ingredients for a box-worthy smoke. Though it may be a little tough to find a full box at this point, you’re missing out if you don’t at least pick up a few while they’re still around.
Liked It: Box-worthy
Buy It Again: Yes
Recommend It: Yes
Tower of Burn
Here for your viewing pleasure is my trademark Tower of Burn.
Great review of a great cigar! Ernesto is pretty much on fire these days and this stick is no exception. Can’t wait to see what these do with some age.
Great review, Brian. I can say that any EP Carillo cigar has yet to disappoint. This one surprised me with how strong it actually was.
Thanks for the review Brian. Being a big fan of the prior Short Runs, I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I did not have the same experience as you did. I found it to be a bit bland. Maybe it was just a bad allergy day and I couldn’t taste anything that day….who knows? I will definitely give it another chance after reading this review!
It didn’t occur to me until now, but this is a cigar that really comes alive when you retrohale (i.e. blow smoke through your nose). If you’re not doing that, I can see how it might not live up to expectation.
Nice review. Great cigar!
Poor FNG, lol. I have one of these sitting in my humidor. Guess I’d better get around to it soon before they disappear.
Brian, great review I’ve had the opportunity to have one of these this year I hope to buy more before they run out. I thought that it was a conneticut wrapper on this but I was told there was a sumatra wrapper on this cigar. One question how many cigars do you enjoy a day/week?
I agree with Pfhou, this one didn’t work for me, and one had fatal burn issues (which can’t necessarily be attributed to the stick, but it didn’t help things).
Really bad burns will do that. It’s worth risking another seven bucks on to be sure.
I got one of these sticks for my birthday. Was excited to smoke it and was terribly disappointed. The draw was difficult and it burned really unevenly. As to flavor- it started nice and creamy and then about at the 2/3 mark became so ashy that I put it down and let it burn out. It was very deflating. This stick did not appeal to me at all. Pretty glad I got it as a gift and did not pay for it. I am normally good with reviews- maybe I just got a bad stick but I would only give this 4 out of 10 .