G. Clay Whittaker
Posted: July 25, 2013
Source: CigarAficionado.com
The story about E-Stunner first broke in the June 11 issue of Cigar Insider in an interview with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo III. At the time the blend, sizes and release date had not been finalized, but the bold band and unique name were complete.
The company is taking an edgier approach to promoting E-Stunner, which was apparent when the cigar made its formal debut at the trade show accompanied by a double-take worthy mechanical bull in the booth—a nod to the bull-horned logo of the E-Stunner.
For E-Stunner, an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper and Nicaraguan binder covers filler leaves from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. “The blend is a bit different for us,” says Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. “We are using 50/50 Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos, whereas in the past all of our blends are basically 80/20 Nicaragua and D.R. tobaccos.”
There are some similarities between this blend and Cardinal, which came out last year. Perez-Carrillo says that while both are made with Ecuadoran Sumatra wrappers, the E-Stunner is made with wrapper grown higher on the plant, which gives the leaf increased power. “The wrapper we are using is a Sumatra eighth priming from Ecuador, which has a very rich, unique taste. In the E-Stunner, we use some tobaccos similar to the Cardinal, but from different areas, farms and priming, as in the case of the Sumatra wrapper, which for the Cardinal is a fifth priming.”
Carrillo is releasing the blend in three sizes: a 4 inch by 46 ring gauge called Corriente, 5 by 50 Siboney and 5 1/2 by 54 Brahman. They'll each come in boxes of 24 and will retail for between $5.50 and $7.20 per stick. It should ship at the end of August.