El Credito cigars are made in Little Havana in Miami, in the small El Credito Cigars factory. Ernesto Carrillo, a Cuban who came to America in 1959, has been maintaining the Cuban cigar-making heritage, by producing these excellent handmade cigars. The “factory”, actually comprises of a few small stores and is not at all stylish. However, whatever the company is lacking in style is more than made up with the excellent quality of cigars it produces.
History
El Credito Cigars Company was formerly based in Cuba and was purchased by the Carrillo family in 1928. The Carrillo family was reputed for owning many tobacco plantations in Cuba, and the head of the family was a leading politician. The communist revolution changed everything with the arrest of the politician and the government taking over most of the plantations, factory, and family property. Soon the family migrated to Miami and opened a bar, ran a catering business, and even made shoes. It was not until 1967 that the Carrillo family in Miami started working with tobacco again. Initially, the head of the family worked as a cigar roller in the Tropicana Cigar Company for about a year, and then thought of opening his own factory. El Credito Cigars restarted in 1969, and since then the family has not been able to meet the demand for their popular cigars.
Characteristics of El Credito Cigars
Ernest Carrillo, who took over the running of the family business in 1980, always liked working with tobacco. In his opinion, each tobacco has its own characteristics, and each one should be handled differently to understand how they could be blended effectively. The Carrillo family had always be an advocate of mixing and blending tobaccos. Their cigars mainly have Ecuadorian tobaccos grown with Sumatran seed and mild Connecticut shade tobacco leaf as the wrapper. The Carrillo family were first to use Ecuadorian tobacco, when most other makers depended on Dominican, Honduran, and Jamaican blends. However, Ernesto now uses tobaccos from Mexico, Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Nicaragua, as well.
The main thing that has made El Credito cigars so popular and successful is their multinational blend, which lends rich tastes and aromas. El Credito cigars are sold as four main brands that include La Gloria Cubana, Dos Gonzales, El Rico Habano, and La Hoja Selecta. Especially the La Gloria Cubana is a popular brand that was first made in Cuba and is still manufactured in that country. Even though this brand is sold at relatively cheap price, it is considered one of the best cigars.
Ernesto’s father believed that one has to produce something unique in order to succeed and it is quite evident with the La Gloria Cubana line of cigars. This line of El Credito cigars have a captivating complexity of flavors and aromas that are unlike Cubans or any other cigars. Ernesto still keeps experimenting with wrappers and blends and it usually takes about six years before he comes up with a new line of cigars.