EPC Ascend

With the E.P. Carrillo Ascend, Casa Carrillo is expanding its portfolio in 2026 with a regular-production line whose vitola names already reveal the concept: Saddle, Ridge and Peak are the three formats. They represent three stages of an ascent. Casa Carrillo previously operated under the name EPC Cigars. Company founder Ernesto Perez Carrillo and his two children gave their business a new name in the early 2020s to take the company to the next level. The blend evolves throughout the smoke, gradually revealing new facets. The Ascend cigars combine an H wrapper from Ecuador with a Nicaraguan binder from Estelí and an entirely Nicaraguan filler. The result is medium-bodied, delivering crisp spice and plenty of variety as the smoke progresses.

E.P. Carrillo Ascend: New Blend from Casa Carrillo

As mentioned above, the man behind the series is Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, whose family has been working with tobacco since 1907. Born in Pinar del Río, Cuba, in 1951, the master blender initially made his mark on the Dominican version of La Gloria Cubana cigars in the US before establishing his own company together with his children in 2009. Today, his cigars are made in Santiago de los Caballeros in the north of the Dominican Republic. This is also where the Ascend is produced. It joins the Perez-Carrillo Series alongside well-known lines such as La Historia, Encore, named Cigar of the Year 2018 by Cigar Aficionado, Pledge (incredibly, Cigar of the Year 2020 from the same magazine), and Allegiance, launched in 2023. Rather than simply presenting another full-bodied blend, the Ascend cigars focus on flavor development: the combination of an Ecuadorian wrapper and Nicaraguan tobaccos is designed for balance and increasing complexity.

Three E.P. Carrillo Ascend Cigars: Saddle, Ridge and Peak

The Ascend Saddle is the starting point, a Robusto measuring 127 mm with a ring gauge of 50. Its compact format brings the blend to the fore relatively quickly and is suited to a smoking time of around 45 to 60 minutes. The Ascend Ridge continues the journey as a Toro measuring 152 mm with a ring gauge of 52; with around 60 to 90 minutes of smoking time, the blend has more room to develop gradually. At the summit awaits the Ascend Peak: the Gordo format measures 159 mm with a ring gauge of 58 and is designed for 90 minutes or more. The tobacco blend therefore remains the same throughout the series, while the format and smoking time can be chosen to suit anything from a short “ascent” to an extended smoking session. An interesting new series for aficionados who prefer cigars from the Dominican Republic with a distinctly Nicaraguan-influenced blend. Ernesto has often been referred to as the “Godfather of Dominican Cigars” – so the man certainly knows what he’s doing!