Today, we review the E.P. Carrillo Encore Noir. Encore is part of a pillar in the Casa Carrillo portfolio known as Perez-Carrillo. These are some of E.P. Carrillo’s most premium offerings, and they pay homage to the heritage of Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and his family. The Encore line has also proven to be one of the most successful releases in the company’s history. Building on the success of the original Encore, in 2024 three new lines were introduced under the Encore name. This took Encore from a line within the Perez-Carrillo pillar to its own brand. Encore Noir was one of those lines.

The following are the new extensions introduced in 2024 under Encore:

E.P. Carrillo Encore Black: Connecticut Broadleaf Box-Pressed offering
E.P. Carrillo Encore Noir: Ecuadorian Maduro Parejo Offering
E.P. Carrillo Encore Edicion Unica I Solidarios: Modified Encore blend in the famed Behike 56 size.

The Encore Black and Encore Noir introduced “darker offerings” under the Encore brand. Encore Black is a Connecticut Broadleaf, box-pressed offering targeted for the U.S. market. The Encore Noir is an Ecuadorian Maduro offering, characterized by a rounded (parejo) profile. Both the Encore Noir and the third release, the Encore Edicion Unica I Solidarios, were released exclusively for the non-U.S. market. With Encore Noir, the exception is that it has been offered on a very limited basis at select Casa Carrillo events.

For now, let’s turn our attention back to the Encore Noir and see what this cigar brings to the table.

E.P. Carrillo Encore Noir (Majestic) – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

Encore Noir features a dark Ecuadorian wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and a blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. Encore Noir differs from the original Encore in that it uses 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos. The cigar is produced at Casa Carrillo in the Dominican Republic.

Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua & Dominican Republic
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Casa Carrillo

Vitolas Offered

Encore Noir is available in one size, known as Majestic No. 2. This 5 3/8 x 52 vitola was made famous in the original Encore line as a box-pressed vitola. Encore Noir comes in ten-count boxes. A total of 2,500 boxes are shipped outside the U.S., and an additional 500 boxes are reserved for U.S. events.

Appearance (*)

The Ecuadorian Maduro wrapper of the Encore Noir had a classic milk chocolate color. There was a light coating of oil on the surface of the wrapper. Upon closer examination, some light mottling was visible on the surface. The wrapper also had some visible veins. This was a dark enough wrapper to hide most of the veins. The cigar had a flat-style Cuban cap.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

A straight cut was used to commence the smoking experience on the Encore Noir. Once the cap was removed, it was time to move on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw delivered primarily notes of mocha with touches of earth. Mocha is a term that I use to describe a fusion of chocolate and coffee notes. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to remove the footer band of the Encore Noir, toast up the footer, and move into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Encore Noir opened up with more notes of mocha and earth. There was also an underlying creaminess present, along with notes of mixed pepper. The mocha notes took center stage, with the earth, cream, and pepper notes receding into the background. Toward the latter part of the first third, natural tobacco notes became a background note on the tongue. Meanwhile, the retro-hale delivered an extra layer of pepper.

The second third of the Encore Noir saw the mocha notes remain the primary focus. The pepper, earth, cream, and natural tobacco remained secondary. This third saw the natural tobacco notes increase in intensity. Before the midway point, the natural tobacco joined the mocha, and past the midway post, the natural tobacco took over as the sole primary note. Meanwhile, the creaminess had dissipated;

The final third saw the natural tobacco notes remain the primary focus. Meanwhile, pepper, earth, natural tobacco, and mocha were secondary notes. The pepper emerged as the most prominent of the secondary notes. This is how the Encore Noir concluded. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Four samples of the Encore Noir were used for this assessment. Each of the samples followed a similar pattern. The burn started out relatively low-maintenance, but before the end of the first third, it became higher in maintenance. The cigar required multiple touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and burn line. As a whole, the cigar tended to meander unevenly on the burn path, resulting in frequent touch-ups. The resulting ash was slightly loose, prone to some flaking. This ash was silver-gray primarily in color. Meanwhile, the cigar maintained an ideal burn rate and ideal burn temperature.

Draw

Overall, there was just enough resistance on the draw of the Encore Noir to satisfy me. This is my personal preference for a draw. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Encore Noir opened up with medium-strength and medium-bodied flavors. There was a gradual increase in the intensity of both the strength and body along the way. By the second half, the flavors moved into medium to full territory and leveled off. The strength was greater in the second half but still in the medium range of the spectrum.

In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained a slight edge throughout.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

For the most part, the Encore Noir had similar banding and packaging to the Encore Black. The boxes had a nearly identical design. The primary band of the Encore Noir was also the same as found across the Encore line. The one difference is that the secondary name of the Encore Noir was a footer band, rather than being below the primary band on the Encore Black.

Overall, Casa Carrillo has made significant strides in packaging, and the Perez-Carrillo series exemplifies the best packaging in the portfolio.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

When I assessed the Encore Black, one thing I noted is I didn’t really build any connection between that cigar and the original Encore. I had the same experience with the Encore Noir. There was nothing I could do to tie the Noir back to the original Encore. There were a few parallels between the Black and Noir, but these were mostly common characteristics I would get with maduros.

Actually, flavor-wise, I preferred the Encore Noir to the Encore Black. The problem was that the burn did take the score down a bit here. As I said, the burn issues happened on all four samples. It wasn’t a terrible burn, but it was a step down from others in the series.

I would like to mention one point that did not affect the final score. While the packaging bears a resemblance to the original Encore, the similarities end there. Nothing about the Encore Black blend or flavor profile connected me to the original Encore. Ultimately, I would suggest trying one of these first. These will be hard to find, but if you can do this by a slight chance, you can make a decision on the burn issues.

Summary

Key Flavors: Mocha, Natural Tobacco, Cream, Earth, Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good