Encore by E.P. Carrillo Petit Corona Review

Overview

The Encore Petit Corona from E.P. Carrillo is a compelling argument for the proposition that a cigar need not be expensive to be exceptional. Launched around 2017, the Encore line represents Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s deliberate return to the everyday price bracket — a category he helped define decades ago — but executed with the same exacting factory discipline that has earned his brand a reputation for consistency. This petit corona, measuring a compact 4.5 inches by a 50-ring gauge, is the format that best concentrates the blend’s virtues. Its Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a Colorado-shade leaf with a satin sheen and minimal tooth, immediately signals a balanced, approachable profile. The filler is a thoughtful composite of Nicaraguan Estelí and Jalapa tobaccos married with Dominican Olor, aged a minimum of three to four years prior to rolling — an unusual maturation window at this price point. The result is a cigar that opens with toasted cedar, dry roasted cashew, and a light cream note, enlivened by a subtle white pepper on the retrohale that never crosses into aggression. The construction, hand-rolled at the Carrillo factory in Estelí, is reliably excellent: an even burn, a draw that rewards without being loose, and ash that holds in tight grey columns. The second third introduces soft leather, a hint of caramel sweetness, and dried stone fruit — apricot or golden raisin — as earthiness begins to ground the profile. By the final third, the cigar deepens into dark roast coffee, toasted oak, and lingering cocoa, with a satisfying warmth from the Nicaraguan filler that never turns harsh. This is a cigar that rewards the aficionado’s attention to the petit corona format: the short length forces the blend to come up to proper temperature quickly, concentrating flavor in a way that larger ring gauges often dilute. The Encore Petit Corona is a masterclass in accessible luxury — proof that serious tobacco craftsmanship can thrive in the everyday category, offering a 40-to-50-minute smoke that is as suitable for a weekday evening wind-down as it is for a pre-dinner warm-up. It occupies the rare overlap where beginners find approachability and veterans find genuine complexity, and it does so without pretense or apology.