Casa Carrillo Ascend for a Warm Autumn Evening

The recent spate of cooler evenings had me thinking more and more about coffee-influenced cocktails to pair with my evening smoke. And then, as is often the case in Virginia, the temperature reversed direction. After a string of cool 60° evenings, we went right back to temperatures above 80° as the sun was setting.

That switch caused me to set aside my plans for an after-dinner Revolver, replacing it with a classic Bourbon Old Fashioned. I didn’t change my cigar plan, however. For the cool after-dinner smoke, I grabbed a Montecristo Espada Conquistador Ricasso. The cigar is part of the Espada family from the company formerly known as E.P. Carrillo, which was rebranded as Casa Carrillo in 2025. This particular addition to the Espada line was introduced in June 2026. I added some to the humidor only about six weeks ago, but figured that was enough rest time to light one up.

The box-pressed 5 x 50 Ascend Saddle features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. The cigar is made at the Casa Carrillo factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The Ascend lineup was introduced in mid-2026, and my cigars have had about six weeks of rest in the humidor.

The cigar opens with notes of cedar, roasted nuts, earth, and soft spice. There’s already a creamy sweetness to the smoke. As the cigar progresses, lightly roasted coffee notes join in. A bit of black pepper and cedar remain in the background, but neither is a major part of the profile. The cigar eventually moves into the medium-full-bodied realm, remaining well-balanced with good depth of flavor.

The Old Fashioned turned out to be an excellent accompaniment to the Ascend. The drink doesn’t overwhelm the cigar’s softer coffee notes, allowing the cedar, nuts, baking spice, and sweetness to stand out. The bourbon cocktail adds its own caramel and vanilla notes, but the pairing never strays into overly sweet territory. The bourbon’s oak and vanilla also seem to reinforce some of the cigar’s own woody and sweet notes, while the expressed orange provides a bit of brightness that keeps the combination from becoming too heavy.

I particularly liked the way the two worked together without either one dominating. The Ascend has enough flavor and body to stand up to the bourbon, while the Old Fashioned provides just enough sweetness and contrast to complement the cigar’s richer notes. It was a fairly straightforward pairing, but sometimes that’s exactly what you’re looking for.

The Casa Carrillo Ascend Saddle was a fairly quick smoke, just around 45 minutes. The short-and-sweet pairing was rich but not heavy. Just the thing for a warm autumn evening repast.

The return of 80° evenings was a reminder that Virginia wasn’t quite ready to let go of summer yet. But that’s OK. There’s a good cigar and drink pairing for just about any weather.

Cheers!

Toasted Oak, a Cigar, and a Summer Evening

Not long ago, a friend recommended Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Bourbon to me. Knowing we share a similar appreciation for well-crafted bourbons, it seemed like a recommendation worth following. During a recent it out of state road trip, I made a quick shopping stop and spotted a bottle on the shelf. Even though it’s readily available at home, I picked it up while the recommendation was still fresh in my mind.

I cracked open the bottle one evening last week and enjoyed a pour while relaxing indoors. After an evening with the bourbon on its own, the question became which cigar would best complement its rich toasted sweetness.

We’ve enjoyed a brief respite from the summer heat over the past few days, making time on the porch with a cigar and bourbon especially enjoyable. It also provided the perfect opportunity to pair the Elijah Craig with an E.P. Carrillo Pledge Purple.

Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel Bourbon uses the same mash bill as several of Heaven Hill’s other bourbons. The change occurs in the finishing process. After the usual maturation process, the bourbon spends additional time in a second, custom-toasted new oak barrel. The lighter toast is said to emphasize sweeter, dessert-like flavors rather than the deeper oak influence associated with a heavier char. The bourbon is bottled at 94 proof.

The aroma from the glass is quite rich, with delightful notes of caramel, vanilla, oak, and even some chocolate. The first sip brings baking spices. They soon give way to toffee and caramel, along with lightly toasted wood. The finish lingers with cocoa, oak, and a pleasing hint of smokiness. From the start, I was thinking not only of suitable companion cigars, but also that the toasted bourbon would make a great Old Fashioned.

The E.P. Carrillo Pledge Purple has been sitting in the humidor since I purchased a box in March. The Purple was created to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the highly regarded Pledge line. It uses the same Havana-seed Connecticut wrapper from that original crop which has now been aged an additional five years. Beneath that well-aged wrapper lies a Mexican binder and Nicaraguan fillers from Estelí, Condega, and Ometepe. The Toro vitola is sharply boxed and measures 6 x 54. 

The Pledge Purple profile is complex yet refined and balanced. Throughout the smoke, a blend of cedar, roasted nuts, espresso, cocoa, and mild spice treat the taste buds. The overall impression is creamy and earthy, with a mild natural sweetness to balance the bitter notes.

Enjoyed together, the caramel and toasted notes of the bourbon seemed to accentuate the natural sweetness of the cigar’s aged wrapper. Each leaves a lingering finish that complements the other. Though the bourbon and cigar offered contrasting flavor profiles, they remained remarkably balanced. Neither dominated the pairing, allowing each to complement the other while retaining its own distinct character.

Throughout the 90-minute smoke, I also delighted in the welcome weather. A July evening with temperatures below 80° and humidity under 50 percent provided the perfect backdrop for the pairing. It proved to be one of those evenings where neither the cigar nor the bourbon demanded center stage. Instead, each quietly elevated the other, making for an exceptionally relaxing summer evening.

Cheers!

A Quiet Pairing: Pledge Purple and Bourbon at Sunset

This weekend got off to a delightful start. With mild temperatures and low humidity, the screened porch was especially inviting. Despite the still-high pollen levels, I opened the windows to let in the breeze. While scanning the humidor for an evening smoke, I settled on the E.P. Carrillo Pledge Purple box that arrived a few weeks ago. Though the cigars had rested for just three weeks, curiosity got the better of me.

The Pledge Purple is a one-time release to mark the five-year anniversary of the original Pledge line. The Pledge Prequel earned Cigar Aficionado’s 2020 No. 1 Cigar of the Year with a 98-point rating. For this anniversary release, the same Havana-seed Connecticut wrapper set aside from that original crop was aged an additional five years — bringing the leaf to roughly a decade of age. The blend was adjusted to complement the more refined tobacco. A Mexican binder surrounds a Nicaraguan filler composed of tobaccos from Estelí, Condega, and Ometepe.

The wrapper shows a slightly dry appearance, though the cigar feels well-kept and properly humidified. The box-pressed 6 x 54 Toro is dressed in gold and purple bands, and packed in a bright purple box to match. I’ve long had an aversion to the color — in clothing and dinosaurs — but I’ll make an exception here for the sake of the cigar. :-)

The Pledge Purple opens with mild notes of earth, spice, and espresso. There’s no initial punch; instead, the profile builds gradually. As the cigar develops, cocoa and a subtle sweetness emerge, keeping things in the mild-to-medium range.

After some time, I began sipping the Old Elk Cigar Cut Bourbon I had poured as an accompaniment. I held off initially to get a clean read on the cigar. Cigar Cut is a blend of bourbons finished in Sherry, Armagnac, Port, and Cognac casks, resulting in layers of dark chocolate, toffee, raisins, and baking spice, with hints of tobacco and leather on the finish. It’s a rich and complex pour that has paired well with many cigars.

Together, the pairing proved both enjoyable and instructive. The bourbon’s raisin and port-driven sweetness amplified the cigar’s cocoa and earthy core. Its long finish, however, occasionally overshadowed the cigar’s more restrained close, with the bourbon taking the lead.

As the “sip and smoke” continued, the cigar subtly built to a solid medium body in the second half. Cocoa and espresso remained the dominant notes, gaining depth and intensity, while a touch of cedar spice added interest toward the end.

I enjoyed the E.P. Carrillo Pledge Purple quite a bit. It stands apart from the core Pledge line — less sharp, less spice-driven, and notably more refined. In many ways, it feels like what extended aging might naturally draw out of the original blend.

Relaxation came easily as the sun set, a cool breeze moving through the porch. With a good cigar and bourbon in hand, the evening settled into a quiet, easy rhythm. The cigar burned slowly — nearly two hours in total — and I eked out a few extra minutes, holding the nub between my fingers to capture that last bit of flavor. With nine remaining in the box, I’ll pace myself in lighting up the rest.

Cheers!