Wrapper: USA Broadleaf
Binder: Ecuadorian Connecticut Seed
Fillers: USA Connecticut Broadleaf, Pennsylvania Broadleaf, Dominican, Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 54 Toro Box Pressed
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $22.00
Quantity released: 1776 boxes of 10
Factory: Casa Carrillo Dominican Republic

I’m making a bold move. So many new cigars are released every week. It is impossible to keep up. Instead of waiting 3 months or more to give the cigar a stake in learning to breathe, I may appraise cigars after only a month or two after release. With more than half a century of cigar experience, a blend speaks to me, or it doesn’t. So why not give my readers half a chance to snag a limited release cigar before they are the gorillas in the mist.

My cigars received one month of naked humidor time. See above.

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
I rarely love the conceptual being of cigars as they are always just a marketing tool that seems very pretentious. But in this case, this is too cool for school. A salute to the USA. Damn cool.

A beautiful presentation. Red, White, and Blue are prominent and done with exquisite taste. The gold filigree is the icing. The soft box press, almost an oval, feels good in the hand and in my giant open maw.

The wrapper smells aged with notes of dark cocoa, panga panga wood, spicy black pepper, sassafras, candied walnuts, and mild barnyard. The cold draw returns to its very dark chocolate influence along with spicy jalapeno and the darkest espresso coffee. My PerfecPunch works with the ease of a dentist getting triple time pay.

Lovey dovey twitchin’ commencement. Great taste that makes me feel like a thousandaire. Oakiness galore. An incredible aged tobacco flavor. Can this blend hang ten to the end? Hope so.

Something happens when you reach your mid-70’s. A clarity that it is true enhancement. And not just about one thing. It is a rainbow of colors that allows me to see things as they are. While this may seem fucked up, the clarity I enjoy the most is my understanding of music. I hear things that I only experienced during my record producing days 45 years ago. It is fact that old people don’t want to give up the ghost. It is because of this lucidness. Is my memory a laughing matter…yep. But you can only maintain so much shit in your coconut, so it lets go of the useless crap. We want more.

Immersion of balance is first up in this tobacco nautical exam. See. I didn’t use ‘rectal.’ An easy-going savory v. sweet is an instant hit. Both are somewhat simplistic, but they say it may bring joy to the world if patience is a skill. It is not.

I can tell that this cigar, with 6 months of naked humi time, is going to be a splendid choice when you stick that paw into your humidor…

Flavors? Yeah, it’s got some: aged oak barrel, creamy milk chocolate, sweet pecan nuttiness, toasty sourdough, mild black pepper, and dirty earthiness.

$22 is a lot of dough for a single cigar. Every time I mention this, I think of my Euro and Commonwealth readers who can’t get an Alec Bradley for under $50. We Americans love to whine. Me included. But then those offshore folks get huge vacation times from work…sometimes months, while we feel fortunate for our two weeks. It’s a tradeoff.

Smooth. Transitions that slice and dice every half inch. Balance that storms the castle walls. And mild complexity that will grow with time.

Strength is medium at 1-1/2” burned.

The price of cigars in 2025 will cause whiplash. Have you noticed that the most ridiculously priced cigars from Davidoff and others are sold out almost immediately? The idle rich. The stupid frivolous rich. When a $11 Paul Stulac and a $50 Davidoff get the same 87 from industry reviewers…what? Lemmings with fat wallets. Showoffs at their leather chair and $500 whisky outings.

Creaminess takes on monumental status. Honey in my tea, banana teething biscuits, peanut brittle, and balanced earthiness.

This is an excellent cigar heading towards greatness with sleep on your dime.

Sometimes I just can’t control the inner grumpy old man in me.

I was on the toilet reading a cigar catalog. What? You don’t do this? I remember taking a chance on the bullshit-description-laden shitty cigars. Disappointed every time.

Back when I had my recording studio in the late 70’s to mid 80’s, I had a secretary. She was a coke whore. But good looking. The first time I bedded her; I did the nasty down there. The smell was so bad that I blacked out for a few seconds. Impulsively, I recoiled in horror and just prayed to God that I be allowed to breathe through my ears from now on.

The final time I took acid was on my 25th birthday in London. Piccadilly Circus at 2am is a sight to behold. A blaze of glory it was.

I never got Jim Croce.

This is something you never want to do…take a dump while high on acid. All my senses were concentrated on my asshole. I became my asshole.
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You ever been accidentally ass fucked by your male German Shepherd? (No. Not a guy in Frankfurt with sheep). Me neither.

I took a glance at the leaf stats to see the proposed strength. The first half was a lovely medium. I began the second half at the one-hour mark. Let’s see if this thing goes postal.

I was once asked at an audition if I could play bass like Bill Wyman. Obviously, the asker did not understand bass skills.

One last Curved Air side bar…the last time I was in touch with dearly departed Florian Pilkington-Miksa, the original drummer for the band, was 2018. A sweet man and my favorite CA band mate. Flo’s mother was the second richest woman in Britain due to the legacy of the Pilkington Glass company founded in 1826. For a rich man, he was the most down to earth guy in the band. He told me that of all the albums he recorded with CA, our “Live” album was the most fun because we played so well together. I was disappointed when Stewart Copeland came on board because he behaved like Keith Moon on steroids when he played in concert. No one could follow him because all he did was solo. Flo was solid as a rock and one of the best percussionists I’ve played with.

For a cigar with only one month of humi time, the depth is uncanny. The other shape offered is a 6.75 x 64 Salomon. Way too much dough for this old man ($36) but I must have a couple, so I snagged them before they are gone. With my KATMAN 15% off, they are $30. With my reward points, even cheaper. This cigar is going to reap the whirlwind in my humidor 6 months from now.

The second half is beautifully aged oak, raisins, malt, creaminess, espresso, milk chocolate, caramel, and black pepper. Not exactly new flavors to an experienced cigar smoker…but the complexity is off the chart. Great fucking cigar.

Strength is medium/full. But no nicotine.

I did a few gigs as a member of The Righteous Brothers in ’82. Bobby Hatfield was a sweetheart, but Bill Medley scared the shit out of me. I was given charts a week before the first date. I was expected to play the tunes as written. I never perspired so much on stage since I had the runs from spoiled food at a Paris gig with Curved Air. Fortunately, I was allowed to have the charts on stage.

While I meandered terribly in describing this cigar, the bottom line it is certainly worth your time and hard-earned dough.

You can purchase E.P. Carrillo Pledge Of Allegiance 2024 from sponsor Small Batch Cigar. 15% off through Dec. 31, 2024, with promo code KATMAN.

RATING: 95

Happy Christmas and Merry Hanukkah to all…wishing you a very happy and healthy 2025.

Check out Katman’s Kartel at Small Batch Cigar and score deals on cigars from My Top 32 Cigars of 2023 ~ Rated 96 or Higher! Use promo code: KATMAN for 10% off. Through Dec. 31, KATMAN promo code will get you 15% off.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, e.p. carrillo cigars, E.P. Carrillo Pledge Of Allegiance 2024 | Cigar Reviews by the Katman, katman, phil kohn