EP Carrillo La Historia Dona Elena Review

La Historia Dona Elena
Made by: EP Carrillo
Country: Mexico, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua
Vitola: 6 1/8 by 50

I haven’t done many reviews on cigars by EP Carrillo, but this is one of my favorites for its price point and its performance. They are sold in boxes of ten with great packaging, but in the end its about the tobacco right? Lets see what this has to offer with a EP Carrillo La Historia Dona Elena Review.

Prelight

Just a few medium sized veins, and very dark wrapper with just a couple blemishes. The cap is a little bit off-center, but it still held a clean-cut. Lots of tooth to the wrapper, I’m expecting some cream in this profile. The foot is giving off a syrupy sweetness with light red pepper underneath. Just a little bit of loose tobacco on the cut, easy pre-light draw which shows leather and red pepper. I am getting a bit of mixed nuts but will see if that note shows up in the profile.

1/3

Extremely easy to light, lots of cashew and red pepper on the front. The center allows the entrance of leather in to the profile and the finish holds that note, but brings the red pepper back up a lot, much like the front of the profile. Pretty light smoke but I would still classified as medium thickness, medium smoke output. The red pepper really is influencing the body of the cigar, which I would put at a medium plus at the moment. The leather note on the center and the finish, is a great addition to the first third of the cigar. Not a perfect burn line but pretty good. Smoke thickness is increasing as I get toward the end of the first third. It is certainly at a medium now, I still expect that to rise because you can see the tooth in the ash. It’s out of character for a cigar like this to have thin smoke.

2/3

The body has made it up to a medium to full, the strength is at a low to medium. The cashew note remains on the front but there’s a dry bitter cocoa coming up alongside it. No red pepper on the front anymore, the cocoa carries into the center of the profile where it blends nicely with leather. The finish didn’t change much, leather and red pepper mixed for a very good balance. The burn line is still going all-right, I don’t believe touchups will be needed. Smoke thickness remains at a medium and production is at a medium as well.

3/3

As I get into the last third there was a little bit of a tunneling issue. It did mess with the burn line, but it is self-correcting as it is burning down. Smoke thickness remains at a medium, smoke production is actually up to a high. Leather has come up significantly, it’s dominant throughout the profile. There is still a little bit of cashew on the front underneath, and red pepper does come up on the finish. So overall there hasn’t been a ton of transitions during the profile of the cigar. The complexity was decent, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Smoke Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Conclusion: 86

I love the flavors in this cigar, while they’re not overly unique they are satisfying. Not much in the way of transitions but pretty good complexity. The burn, therefore the construction, of the cigar was not at the level that I think EP Carrillo as a company normally puts out. There was that little bit of a tunneling issue. The leather was great and the red pepper complements it wonderfully. Personally I usually keep five of these on hand just because I enjoy the profile despite the construction issues. I would absolutely recommend trying it, there are a lot of good cigars at this price point. Which puts it up against a lot of competition, but I think it does a good job regardless of that.

Click on the picture to find this cigar at anthonyscigars.com