New La Historia Figurado to Debut at IPR
In September 2014, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, owner of EPC Cigar Co., hit a home run with his La Historia line. Shortly after launch, the cigar performed well in a Cigar Insider vertical tasting, with the brand averaging 90 points, and the Churchill-sized La Historia E-III went on to take the No. 2 spot in Cigar Aficionado's Top 25 Cigars of 2014.
An impressive debut, and now Perez-Carrillo returns to bat with a new size for La Historia: a torpedo called Regalias d'Celia, the first figurado in the line. The box-pressed torpedo is being rolled at Tabacalera de Alianza S.A. in the Dominican Republic and features an all-Nicaraguan filler, an Ecuadoran Sumatra binder and a wrapper from San Andrés, Mexico. The new vitola is set for an introduction at the IPR trade show.
"We wanted to expand the line but wanted it to be something that was special, so we debated between a corona size and a torpedo," Perez-Carrillo told Cigar Aficionado. "Being that there are a lot of torpedos with the standard size of 6 1/8 inches by 52 ring gauge, we decided to make it 5 7/8 by 58 and it smoked great with the La Historia blend—and the fact that it is pressed gave it a unique smoke and character."
Every size in the La Historia line has a name with special significance to Perez-Carrillo. El Senador is named after Perez-Carrillo's father, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Sr., who was a senator, and E-III is named after Perez-Carrillo's son, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo III. Doña Elena is named after Perez-Carrillo's wife, and Regalias d'Celia is named after his wife's grandmother.
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The imagery on the cigar band bears more allusions to the family lineage: Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Sr.'s grandmother is depicted on one side, and the other side has Perez-Carrillo's daughter Lissette.
The cigar is priced at $9.50 and will be available at retail shortly after IPR.
"We're in full production now," Perez-Carrillo said. "And we're just finishing up the packaging. Expect to see it in stores by August or September."
