Nicaragua
AgricultureNicaragua
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s achievements have been driven largely by an insatiable desire to understand the intricacies of tobaccos from all over the world. “Each tobacco has its own character. You have to treat each tobacco differently and understand how they work together,” he says.
Ernesto’s blends usually combine tobaccos from different countries and regions. The E.P. Carrillo Edición Inaugural 2009 will continue in that tradition. Taking the finest tobacco from the Yaque Valley region in the Dominican Republic, Ernesto has also identified aged tobacco from Nicaragua that will blend beautifully to create a complex, medium-bodied cigar.
Ernesto feels Nicaragua’s wide palette offers some of the finest tobaccos in the world. Over the past decade, the region has proven to be the source for some of the most rich, spicy, aromatic and complex tobaccos in the world.
Nicaragua’s reputation is the result of the remarkable climate and soil of the three main tobacco growing areas in the country – Esteli, Condega, and Jalapa. Each plays an integral role in the formation of Ernesto’s unique blends.
Not far from the Honduran border, the towns of Esteli and Condega are home to the majority of cigar production in the country. Surrounded by some of the most fertile land in Central America, these towns boast lush fields of Cuban-seed tobacco. Esteli’s black soil produces a heavy, full-flavored dark leaf that is rich with full aromas, body and flavor. Condega’s tobacco is typically sun-grown and used primarily for filler and binders.
Northeast of Esteli and Condega lies the Jalapa Valley, whose remoteness is mitigated by the extraordinary tobacco it produces. The naturally occurring minerals in the soil give the tobacco here an earthy-sweet flavor.
