Tobacco Business

[ 26 ] TOBACCO BUSINESS [ JULY / AUGUST | 21 ] sense that it was more production [driven]. Watching this, and being a part of that history, I think it’s always something that I’ve carried with me because I’ve seen how cigars were made in the early days.” When Perez-Carrillo began to immerse himself in the tobacco industry, there was little variety in the type of tobacco that was available. The blends that dominated the marketplace when Perez-Carrillo was growing up were mostly Dominican-based and on the milder side but still very flavorful. In those early days at El Credito, Perez-Carrillo’s father started to acquire Sumatran wrap- pers from Ecuador, and newer varieties of tobacco began to become available. As the tobaccos came in and the blends began to evolve, Perez-Carrillo started to learn more about the blending process and tobacco in general. El Credito started to become known for its use of Sumatran wrappers, which brought a new dimension to the factory’s blends and soon began Perez-Carrillo’s favorite wrapper. At a time, there were over 26 different small cigar factories inMiami. The increased competition caused El Credito and Perez-Carrillo to push their blends even more and to find ways to be different and stand out. Perez-Carrillo’s father taught him as much as he could about tobacco with what was available. Like anyone trying to learn a new craft, Perez-Carrillo realized he needed to take some initia- tive and learn as much as he could about tobacco and cigars from a number of different sources. He would go out and try different cigars made at other small factories, but what really changed his perspec- tive on cigars and blending came in 1982 when a friend brought him a pack of Cuban Davidoff Dom Perignon to try. “I remember smoking that, and I said, “Wait a minute. There’s something out there that I’m missing.’ That’s really when I started experimenting and looking at different tobacco that I could get my hands on, making different blends, trying different tobacco. I loved the business, and I liked blending even more. You know, working with the tobaccos and seeing how I could make different blends for the different lines that we had.” Another place to which Perez-Carrillo looked for knowledge about tobacco and blending were the mentors within the industry. One mentor in particular, Cucho [Angel] Oliva, was a man that Perez-Carrillo refers to as his godfather. He learned from Oliva just how much a wrapper could influence the strength and flavor of a Ernesto Perez-Carrillo has worked in the cigar industry for over 50 years, becoming known and celebrated for his cigar blending skills.