埃內斯托·佩雷斯·卡里略（Ernesto Perez Carrillo）一直在研究新的煙葉混合，他的最新作品使用了洪都拉斯煙葉，這是他14年以來的第一次嘗試。這次發布的新款叫做“短期復古2022馬杜羅”（ Short Run Retro 2022 Maduro），2月25日從邁阿密發往美國各地零售商。上一次卡里略使用洪都拉斯煙葉還是在2008年，當時用在他的一款“古巴榮耀邁阿密的工匠”（La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami）產品線里。

卡里略有時候每周嘗試三四種煙葉混合，他認為調制煙葉是一個持續的過程，就像職業運動員或者音樂家一樣。幾個月前，他終于獲得一種他比較滿意的煙葉混合，他覺得算是一款贏家產品。因為煙葉庫存有限，結果就給大家呈現出這款短跑復古2022馬杜羅。

今年的產品線和去年發布的產品線有一樣的尺寸，煙葉混合不一樣。茄衣用的是美國康涅狄格闊葉，茄套是厄瓜多爾煙葉，茄芯是尼加拉瓜、墨西哥、洪都拉斯的混合煙葉。

卡里略說，洪都拉斯煙葉成就了這款雪茄的煙葉混合，我一直想試試能否用洪都拉斯煙葉來調配一些雪茄。新冠病毒大流行之前，我從普拉森西亞家族那里購買了他們在賈馬斯蘭特山谷種植的洪都拉斯煙葉，然后我就開始不斷的嘗試。上一次我使用洪都拉斯煙葉的時候還是在生產“邁阿密的工匠”時，當時我們用洪都拉斯煙葉做茄套，從那以后我就沒有再用過洪都拉斯煙葉。

今年的產品線還是三個尺寸。Short Play（短劇）是羅布圖尺寸，50環徑，5英寸，單支售價是8.5美元。Extended Play（慢速唱片）是公牛尺寸，52環徑，6英寸，單支售價是9.5美元。Long Play（長篇）是格蘭德（grande）尺寸，60環徑，6英寸，單支售價10.5美元。這批產品線合計生產了大概4萬支雪茄，將供貨給150家零售店。

“這就是發布這些產品的目的，我們使用了非常獨特的煙葉。”卡里略說，雖然他從事雪茄生產已經50多年了，但是仍然對煙葉混合的研究工作感到非常興奮。還有很多煙草，可以繼續在接下來的煙葉混合研究中去嘗試。這是一件讓我非常興奮的事情。

附參考原文：

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is always working on new cigar blends, and his latest creation contains Honduran tobacco, a leaf he hasn’t used in 14 years. The E.P. Carrillo Short Run Retro 2022 Maduro, which is shipping today from Miami, has Honduran tobacco as part of the filler, which he last used in 2008 when he came out with his La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami.

Perez-Carrillo sometimes makes three or four blends a week. “Blending is a constant process, like a pro athlete or accomplished musician,” he says. It was a few months ago when he lit up something that made him smile, something he thought was a winner—but something he couldn’t make in enough quantity for a regular-production brand. The result is the E.P. Carrillo Short Run Retro 2022 Maduro.

This Short Run has the same names and sizes as the version released last year, but the blend is entirely different. The wrapper is Connecticut broadleaf, the binder from Ecuador. The fillers are a mix of Nicaraguan, Mexican and Honduran tobaccos.

The Honduran leaf is where this blend really started. “I wanted to see if I could make some blends with Honduran tobaccos,” says Perez-Carrillo. “Just before the pandemic I got two bales of Honduran tobaccos from Jamastran, from the Plasencia family. We started doing experiments with that…The last time I used Honduran tobacco was when I did the Artesanos de Miami. We used that tobacco as a binder at that time. I’ve never used it since.”

The cigars come in three sizes: Short Play is a robusto measuring five inches long by 50 ring gauge, with a suggested retail price of $8.50; Extended Play is a 6-by-52 toro priced at $9.50 and Long Play is a grande, 6 inches long by 60 ring, priced at $10.50. The run for this line is roughly 40,000 cigars total, and it will be offered to 150 stores.

“It’s what these Short Runs are about, using unique tobaccos,” says Perez-Carrillo. Despite having made cigars for more than 50 years, he’s still excited about blending. “There’s a lot of tobaccos out there that I know about but still haven’t blended with,” he says. “This is something I’m very excited about.”