Ernesto Perez-Carrillo

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. (born 1952), is a Cuban American master cigar maker who resides in Coral Gables and the Dominican Republic.
Career.
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, the legendary architect behind the famous blockbuster brand La Gloria Cubana, is once again captivating the cigar world under his own name, E.P. Carrillo. As a young adult, Ernesto’s passion was for jazz, not cigars. He always dreamed of becoming a successful jazz drummer and, at the age of 25, he moved to New York City to pursue a career as a musician. After exhausting his efforts to catch on with the famed Stan Getz and his band, he finally returned to Miami, and began his journey to becoming a legendary master blender. In 1976, Ernesto discovered his true calling in life and spent the next four years shadowing his father and learning how a master created a cigar.
In his path to becoming an established name in the cigar industry, Ernesto took over the reins of El Credito, his father’s cigar company, and set out to create a cigar that would ignite the senses and create a full-sensory experience for cigar lovers. When he finally put the perfect blend together, under his sole craftsmanship, La Gloria Cubana was re-created.
The La Gloria Cubana instantly became a hit in the cigar craze of the early 90’s and, in 1999, Swedish Match purchased El Credito from the Perez-Carrillo family.
After working for Swedish Match/General Cigar until March 2009, Ernesto’s children proposed for him to return to the tobacco fields and craft the next great cigar. With the start of E.P. Carrillo, Ernesto had once again dedicated himself to perfecting a family-run, boutique cigar brand alongside his daughter, Lissette Perez-Carrillo, and son, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo III.
After dedicating over 50 years to his craft, Ernesto continues to develop top-rated, masterful blends under the E.P. Carrillo name at the family’s factory, La Tabacalera Alianza, in the Dominican Republic. In 2014 Ernesto blended the La Historia EIII, the #2 Cigar of the Year ranked by Cigar Aficionado magazine. Then in 2018 the Carrillo cigar, Encore Majestic received the highest honor as #1 Cigar of the Year from Cigar Aficionado. In 2020 Ernesto would once again enjoy Success with the #1 Cigar of the year from Cigar Aficionado, with the Pledge Cigar. 
Marriage and children.
Ernesto learned the trade from his father. He has two children. Prior to joining EPC Cigar Co., his son Ernesto Perez-Carrillo III worked for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and McKinsey & Company in New York City. His daughter Lissette McPhillips Perez-Carrillo worked for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.