E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino

The E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino is a limited production shop exclusive for Federal Cigar in New Hampshire. It is the second release of three limited production lonsdale-sized cigars that E.P. Carrillo is producing exclusively for Federal Cigar.  Each of the three lonsdales share common blend components, but contain a different wrapper.  The lonsdales are noted for their foil sleeve covering the top portion of the cigar.  The Medalla D’Platino features a Habano Corojo 99 wrapper – a wrapper that E.P. Carrillo seems to be more with in 2014.  Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the new Medalla D’Platino. In my opinion, this marks the best cigar to date E.P. Carrillo has released with a corojo wrapper, and it solidifies this line of lonsdales for Federal Cigar as one of the top set of shop exclusives in the country.

It was in 2013 when Federal Cigar announced that E.P. Carrillo would be producing their 92nd anniversary cigar, the E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Oro.  This cigar is a lonsdale-sized variation of the E.P. Carrillo NWC Short Run 2012 blend, with some extra ligero was added to the blend.  This proved to be a Cigar Coop favorite and finished as our #4 Cigar of the Year for 2013.  As mentioned the Medalla D’Platino takes the same blend, but replaces the Ecudorian Connecticut wrapper with the Habano Corojo 99 wrapper.  At press time the third installment to this series is scheduled to be released as the E.P. Carrillo Noche D’Oro will also use this blend, but but will incorporate a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper.

These three lonsdales feature a foil sleeve in the style of the Bolivar Gold Medal.  While the Medalla D’Oro and Noche D’Oro use a gold sleeve, the Medalla D’Platino differs in that it has a silver sleeve.

E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Oro (Top); E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino (Bottom)

The three londsales bring the total count of shop exclusives by E.P. Carrillo to Federal Cigar to four.  In 2011, the E.P. Carrillo Short Run 2010 No. 4, an corona-sized exclusive of the Short Run 2010 blend was released for Federal Cigar’s 90th Anniversary.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino and see what this cigar brings to the table:

Blend Profile

As mentioned, the origins of this blend can be traced back to the E.P. Carrillo Short Run 2012 blend, but with an Ecuadorian grown Habano Corojo 99 wrapper.  This is the same wrapper that is being used on the recent extension to the INCH line, the E.P. Carrillo INCH C-99.  

Wrapper: Habano Corojo 99 (grown in Ecuador)
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican

Vitolas Available

The Medalla D’Platino is available in one size – a 6 1/2 x 44 lonsdale.  They are packaged in ten count boxes and 250 boxes have been produced.

E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino – Closed Box

E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino – Open Box

Appearance

The Medalla D’Platino’s Habano Corojo ’99 wrapper has a cinnamon color to it. Upon closer examination, some darker marbling can be seen on the surface.  The wrapper has a light coating of oil on it. There are some visible veins, but most of the wrapper seams are well hidden.  The cigar is finished with a slight pig-tail.

E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino – Silver cover removed
(Band adjusted from original position)

The band to the Medalla D’Oro is the same one that is found the E.P. Carrillo Cardinal line It is located just below the center of the cigar.  This band is a variation of the yellow, red, black, and gold color scheme of the core E.P. Carrillo logo. The band features a two major stripes -a yellow one across the top half and a red one across the bottom half. On the yellow stripe is a black square with the letters “E.P” in a classic scripted gold font. There are also beige leaves going across the yellow stripe. On the red stripe is featured the text “CARRILLO” in white font.

Close-up of E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino packaging

As we noted above, the cigar features a foil sheath that covers the cigar from the cap to the primary band.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

After removing the foil cover, I carefully adjusted the band toward the upper part of the cigar in order to keep it on the cigar for a longer duration once lit. While there was a pig-tail, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to remove the cap. From this point it was on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw provided suble notes of dried fruit and natural tobacco. Overall I considered this to be a good pre-light draw. At this point I was ready to light up the Medalla D’Platino and see what the smoking phase would have in store.>

Flavor Profile

The start of the E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino provided a blast of black pepper.  Once the pepper subsided, the dried fruit notes I detected on the pre-light draw resurfaced.  The flavor profile for the first third soon took form.  The dried fruit notes became primary and joined by a grainy note as well as notes of natural tobacco.  The pepper notes receded into the background.  There was also a creamy undertone to the flavors that provided a smoothness on the palate.  Meanwhile the retro-hale produced notes of black pepper.

During the second third, the natural tobacco and grain notes took center stage as the primary flavor. The dried fruit sweetness was now slightly dialed back and a very close secondary note. The pepper notes remained secondary, but prominent on the retro-hale. The creamy undertone also still remained.

The last third saw the pepper notes increase.  The natural tobacco and grain notes morphed into almost a smoky flavor.  This is the way the cigar experience came to a close.  The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

I found the E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino to be a very well constructed cigar and this was reflected nicely on both the burn and draw.  The burn line to the Medalla D’Platino remained sharp from start to finis requiring minimal touch-ups.  The resulting ash was mostly white with some darker speckling mixed in.  The ash itself was firm and came off the cigar in nice clean chunks.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Strength and Body

The Medalla D’Platino was positioned as a stronger, fuller offering to its Medalla D’Oro counterpart. I found that was very much the case with this cigar. No doubt the corojo wrapper played a key role here. I found this to be a medium to full strength cigar right out of the gate. The strength slowly increased and by the last third the Medalla D’Platino was operating at full strength. Meanwhile there is quite a bit of depth to this cigar when it comes to the body. Once you factor in this cigar’s retro-hale, this cigar qualified as a full-bodied smoke. When it comes to strength versus body, I gave the edge to the body here.

Final Thoughts

Over the years, I have found Federal Cigar to be the recipient of some of the best shop exclusives anywhere in the business.  E.P. Carrillo has been right in the forefront of delivering these exclusives for Federal.  Overall, I found the E.P. Medalla D’Platino is another winner for Federal Cigar.  A wrapper change made this a very different cigar than Medalla D’Oro, but still a good one. It succeeds in its goal as providing a stronger and fuller offering.  Most importantly it delivers a cigr with excellent flavor.  I also felt the lonsdale size was perfect for this blend.  Finally, I found this to be the best corojo offering b E.P. Carrillo to date (others being the INCH C-99 and the INCH Short Run 2014)

Given this is a stronger and fuller cigar, this is a cigar I would steer to a more seasoned cigar enthusiast.  As for myself, this is an excellent offering – and one that is box worthy in my book.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full (1st 2/3), Full (Last Third)
Body: Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 4.0 – Box Worthy
Score: 93

References

News: E.P. Carrillo Medalla D’Platino to be Federal Cigar Exclusive
Price: $8.79
Source: Cigars Provided by Retailer
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