Ecuador

Agriculture
Ecuador

In the wake of the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba in the 1960’s, the cigar industry scrambled to find wrapper alternatives to Cuban tobacco. For the Perez-Carrillo family, that search ended in Ecuador.

Home to more than 30 active volcanoes, Ecuador’s ashy eruptions may not bode well for tourism, but they do benefit the tobacco trade. The volcanic ash helps create an intensely fertile soil, ripe for growing a premium tobacco leaf.

One of the strongest proponents of Ecuadorian wrappers since he emerged in the industry, Ernesto is wrapping the E.P. Carrillo Edición Inaugural 2009 with an exclusive three-year-old Ecuadorian Habano leaf. This aged wrapper has a silky look and feel, and gives the cigar a core of sweetness. EPC Cigar Co. owns all existing inventory of this wrapper, and has exclusive rights to all future production.

Ecuador’s constant cloud cover has led many to call the country’s tobacco “cloud grown” as opposed to “shade grown.” This natural protection from the sun is what creates a thin but firm tobacco leaf that is flavorful, natural in color and smooth to the eyes and touch.

All this adds up to the perfect wrapper for an E.P. Carrillo cigar.