Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The first noticeable thing about the E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto is how light it is in terms of weight. After that, it’s the band work. There are three and a sleeve, with the bands carrying an orange, gold and black color combination. The primary carries the company name, secondary denotes the line and the foot band designates that the cigar uses Meerapfel Cameroon. The parchment paper type sleeve has the company name and logo in gold and it is attached to the foot band. After sliding off the sleeve, the wrapper shows as a matte light brown that has some lightly raised veins present. The seams are smooth, caps well applied and the cigar has an ovalish press to it. The aroma from the wrapper is light cardboard while the foot brings some cedar and cardboard. The pre-light draw brings aged cedar and floral notes.
Seth: The E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto is finished with a wrapper that is hidden underneath multiple bands. The foot band states that the wrapper is authentic Cameroon from the Meerapfel Family, and when removed you see the dark Natural coloring of the wrapper. I would classify it as antique wood coloring. There are few veins present, and they are small. It is silky in texture with aromas of tobacco, cedar and hay. The foot gives off aromas of sweet tobacco and soft spices. It is nicely pressed with firmness throughout.
John: The E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto came in cellophane, had a UPC sticker with the cigar information and an integrated tear space so it remained intact when the cellophane was opened. There is a primary Perez Carrillo band in black and orange, a thin secondary Endure band and a paper cover with a foot band indicating Meerapfel Cameroon. There is an additional artisanal complication of a soft box press shape. I weighed the cigar at 10.3 grams without the paper cover and foot band. Aromas from the wrapper included musty, sweet tobacco from the wrapper, and faint hay and wood from the foot. I measured the humidity to 63.2% with the HumidiMeter Pro.
Jiunn: The E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto has a Colorado Maduro wrapper shade. The wrapper feels rustic and hearty in nature. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll on the loose end and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas consist of faint paint and cedar.

E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with lightly toasted cedar, earth and some black pepper. At a quarter inch in, a light creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and zingy black pepper. At three quarters of an inch in, even with some creaminess, the overall profile is becoming a bit dry. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with black pepper just a bit further back and some creaminess in the background. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with dry wood, tobacco and earth qualities. There are some sweet spices present along with some pepper and leather. Touches of minerals are present on the finish, and I would classify the cigar as being medium in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with sweet, mildly musty tobacco and a mild pepper center. Faint wood makes up the post draw with a short finish. Walnut shells come through the finish as the first third settles in, and bring with them some mild dryness. The post draw becomes a defined red pepper flake at medium strength as the cigar continues. A savory meat quality settles into the center of the retrohale. Creamy tobacco is leading the retrohale moving towards the halfway point. By the halfway point, the post draw red pepper flake has receded to light-plus, and is offset by wood and creamy tobacco.
Jiunn: This is how I like Cameroon, being punchy in spice but also lends a nice natural sweetness. Retrohaling, as expected, is intense with dried red pepper spice but also carries forth that sweetness. The finish is fairly clean with soft cedar. Strength and body is medium.

E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the profile is now quite dry. At a quarter inch in, a light wood bitterness becomes present. The retrohale is the same as before, but the pepper is less zingy. At three quarters of an inch in, the earth is now even with the toasted cedar up front. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with black pepper a bit behind and some creaminess and wood bitterness in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third is fairly in line with the first. Dry wood and earth notes are present up front with some tobacco and sweet spices. There is a lot of pepper present on the finish with some leather and mineral notes. It remains at that medium level for strength and body with a long finish.
John: The second third brings sweet, creamy tobacco and a mild wood to finish, with a delayed creamy mouthfeel through the post draw. Mild red pepper flake comes into the end of the retrohale after a few puffs. Creamy nuttiness leads the retrohale as the cigar continues to the halfway point.
Jiunn: The second third continues to impress with its bold flavors of dried red pepper spice and natural sweet and creamy nuttiness. I also enjoy the retrohale, as it does a great job of giving intense (but good) spice. Strength is now medium-full, while body remains medium.

E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the wood bitterness increases a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth with just a bit of black pepper. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with black pepper a bit behind. The wood bitterness is just behind the middle of the profile and some creaminess in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The final third goes downhill following the first and second third. Dry wood and earth notes present up front, followed with tobacco, leather and spices. The finish is that of pepper and strong mineral notes, and it has a long finish. The mineral notes really linger, and it takes away from the wrapper and enjoyable flavors. Like the first and second third, medium in strength and body.
John: Creamy tobacco is the initial flavor, followed by wood and a mild pepper center, as mild tannins join the pepper to finish into the post draw. A few puffs in, some mild dryness joins the post draw as well. As the final third settles in, mild earth joins the finish and post draw to round things out.
Jiunn: The final third’s flavor profile becomes a bit too tannic and shows sharper minerals. The temperature also heats up. But the mixture of sweet and spicy still shows, which is the most redeeming part of the third. Strength and body remains medium-full and medium, respectively.

E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout and the ash held on in three quarter inch increments.
Seth: The burn was decent. A little off throughout.
John: There was some minor waviness in the first third, and an uneven burn through the second third that didn’t require any intervention. The burn was wavy in the last third.
Jiunn: The biggest issue with the burn is how fast it was. It’s like owning a NA V8 truck. Also, the cigar burned hot starting from the final third.

E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: The draw was good from beginning to end.
John: The draw is at most 1/2 to 1 notch towards the open spectrum, which puts it in the ideal range between open and resistant.
Jiunn: The draw was too loose, very similar to a boba straw.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with lightly toasted cedar, earth and some black pepper. Some light creaminess joined in fairly quickly but the profile still became a bit dry. The second third saw the profile become quite dry and a light wood bitterness joined in. Later, the earth became even with the cedar up front. The final third saw the wood bitterness increase a bit. Construction was perfect. The E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto had an average flavor profile throughout, focused around toasted cedar, earth and black pepper. It was also quite dry, which didn’t help things out. Not a great showcase of Cameroon and definitely not a cigar I’d see coming back to regardless of the high price point.
Seth: In many ways you can say the E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto is an improvement over all the other recent EPC releases. But, it still comes up short as a cigar. This may have an authentic Cameroon wrapper, but the cigar lacked the elegance that Cameroon can and should have and was harsh in the final third. I never thought the day would come where these new blenders in Esteli would be producing better Cameroon offerings than “legends,” but the day is here. Whether it is authentic Cameroon or not, and I am more than open to having the debate with anyone on the authenticity of Cameroon wrapper and the quality of the cigar, this cigar was a disappointment. Give me the BLTC Hyena. Give me the Baka. Give me the Caldwell Long Live The Queen.
John: I thought the E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto delivered nuanced and layered flavor combinations through the first third. The remainder of the cigar was still pleasant, but not quite to the same level of engagement as it started out. The burn was perfect, and the draw was perfect. I’m a bit on the fence with this offering. I think if the second third had delivered flavors at the same level as it started out, this would be an easy choice to return. The price point is likely a bit higher due to the Meerapfel Cameroon, but I think I might be willing to take another pass at it to see how another one performed. Total smoking time was a bit on the quick side for me at 1 hour and 24 minutes.
Jiunn: This E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto is proper Cameroon wrapper. The mixture of spicy and sweet was prominent and enjoyable. But why, E.P. Carrillo, must you consistently under-fill your cigars, causing cigarette burning rates and scorch my palate with heat (temperature) so soon? No excuse to do that within this age of cigars.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$3.13

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

4.43

Cost/Point

$4.06

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$2.95

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.97

Cost/Point

$3.02

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: E.P. Carrillo Endure Robusto