Cuba Aliados Torpedo by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo - Cigar Reviews by HB Cigars

Can't say I know anything about this cigar other than Ernesto Perez-Carrillo for some reason leaves his best blends for other brands. EPC labeled stuff are his worst. Fight me. This Cuba Aliados release proves the point - it's a limited edition collaboration made for Oliva Cigar Company after they acquired the historic Honduran brand from the late Rolando Reyes Sr.'s family in 2021. The backstory is actually touching: Reyes mentored a young Perez-Carrillo after meeting him in Miami's Calle Ocho, essentially teaching him everything about tobacco. Decades later, EPC returns the favor by crafting this tribute blend limited to just 10,000 boxes across all vitolas. Released at the 2022 PCA Trade Show, this uses a 5-year aged Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over Dominican and Nicaraguan guts, all rolled at Tabacalera La Alianza in the Dominican Republic where Perez-Carrillo does his best work - which is apparently everything except his own brand.

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🔥 THE VITALS 🔥

Cigar: Cuba Aliados Torpedo

Master Blender: Ernesto Perez-Carrillo - The man who makes better cigars for everyone else's brands than his own EPC line, according to people with functioning taste buds

Size: Torpedo 6 x 54

Country of Origin: Dominican Republic

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra (aged 5 years)

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan

Price: Mid-range pricing (limited edition)

Aging: Minimum 3 years on tobacco, some leaves aged up to 5 years

🚀 WE ARE LIT!

Draw: Great - smooth and effortless

Burn: Good with minor corrections needed

Smoke Output: Below average - not billowing clouds but functional

Ash: Solid formation

Great draw and good construction throughout. The torpedo tip has moderate tapering that converges nicely, showing proper rolling technique from Tabacalera La Alianza. The Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper has a medium brown reddish tint with noticeable mottling and oil content - it looks rustic and honest rather than cosmetically perfect. Below average smoke production is the main construction criticism, though it doesn't impact flavor delivery. The band features gold and red foil highlights that are either elegantly ornate or visually overwhelming depending on your tolerance for decorative excess. Limited to 10,000 boxes for the entire line across five vitolas (Robusto, Toro, Torpedo, Re-Gordo, Churchill), this represents genuine scarcity rather than artificial allocation theater designed to create FOMO among collectors who need validation through unobtainable cigars.

🎢 FLAVOR JOURNEY

FIRST THIRD: BUTTER HONEY SWEETNESS

pepper, cream, espresso, oak

Butter cream dominates immediately with sweet leather providing smooth tannin character. Honey adds natural sweetness that elevates the profile beyond basic tobacco notes. The opening is refined and approachable, delivering complexity without requiring a flavor thesaurus to describe - it's good without needing to compare it to obscure fruits you've never actually tasted or woodsy notes that sound like a Yankee Candle catalog.

SECOND THIRD: NUTTY EARTH TRANSITION

dark chocolate, smooth pepper, oak

Diminishing cream gives way to leather that becomes the primary force. Roasted nuts emerge with earth notes grounding the profile in classic cigar territory. The sweetness fades but the profile maintains balance rather than just becoming flat and boring. This section shows restraint and development, proving that flavor progression doesn't require dramatic mood swings between thirds.

FINAL THIRD: GRAHAM CRACKER FINISH

charred oak, pepper, espresso, earth

Leather persists as graham cracker sweetness arrives unexpectedly. Earth continues throughout while charred nuts provide roasted complexity to the closing act. The finish is composed and clean, ending without bitterness or harshness - this cigar knows how to exit gracefully rather than limping to the finish line like a marathon runner who overtrained and refused to listen to their knees.

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🏆 THE VERDICT

B TIER

Flavor: B

Construction: A-

Availability: B-

Price: B

Final Rating:

The Cuba Aliados by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Torpedo delivers a solid, refined smoking experience that showcases what EPC can do when working with aged tobacco and someone else's brand name. The 5-year aged Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper provides smoothness and complexity, while the Dominican-Nicaraguan filler blend creates balanced character. Limited production (10,000 boxes) keeps availability moderate without being impossibly rare.

📊 BOTTOM LINE

This Cuba Aliados release represents Ernesto Perez-Carrillo paying tribute to his mentor Rolando Reyes Sr., who took a young EPC under his wing in Miami's Calle Ocho and taught him the tobacco trade. Released at the 2022 PCA Trade Show, availability has remained moderate since launch - not sitting on every shelf but not impossible to acquire either. The B- availability rating reflects this middle ground. Pricing is reasonable for a limited edition tribute blend with aged tobacco and EPC pedigree - you're not paying allocated secondary market premiums or mortgage-level pricing. The historical context adds value beyond just tobacco quality - knowing this represents EPC honoring his mentor makes it more than just another limited release cash grab. If the thesis holds that Perez-Carrillo saves his best work for other brands (La Gloria Cubana, Inch, this Cuba Aliados), then this torpedo provides evidence for that argument. The refinement and balance here exceeds much of what the actual EPC brand line delivers, which raises questions about brand strategy or perhaps just proves that nostalgia and obligation produce better results than corporate portfolio management. For medium-bodied smokers who appreciate refined flavors and historical significance, the Cuba Aliados by EPC delivers solid value and enjoyment. Just don't expect massive smoke clouds or aggressive strength - this is sophisticated rather than bombastic.

TLDR: Pretty good. Get it on sale.