EPC雪茄公司的誓約在2020年度被評選為年度最佳雪茄，10月29日，這款雪茄推出新的尺寸，將向零售商發貨。這款名為“頂峰”的新品58環徑，6.25英寸。這款發布后，誓約產品線就一共有三個尺寸了。

“頂峰”與誓約產品線中的“前傳”具有相同的煙葉混合成分，前傳是《雪茄愛好者》雜志2020年度的最佳雪茄。這兩個尺寸的茄衣都是康涅狄格地區種植的古巴種子煙葉，茄套是厄瓜多爾煙葉，茄芯是尼加拉瓜煙葉。

有人會問，為什么不推出60環徑的大尺寸雪茄。EPC公司的老板埃內斯托·佩雷斯-卡里略有他的答案，他認為，目前這種煙葉混合成分的特點，如果放在60環徑的大口徑雪茄上，無法體現全部的優點和特征。

他說，在研制“頂峰”時，最大的挑戰是如何配比，來達到和“前傳”一樣的口味和力度。他也曾經在60環徑的測試中使用不同比例的利格羅煙葉，但是都沒有獲得他期待的煙葉強度。

今年7月份，“頂峰”在PCA貿易展上和雪茄零售商見面。這款新品是每盒10支包裝，單支售價15美元。和產品線的其他尺寸一樣，這款雪茄是在多米尼加的聯盟雪茄廠卷制。

不同尺寸的雪茄會帶來不同的雪茄體驗，即使雪茄的煙葉混合成分一致。誓約的“前傳”以98分的成績被評為年度最佳雪茄。對比之下，誓約的“旅居”在雜志社的一次盲評中獲得91分。

有關“頂峰”的評級，可以參閱最近一期的《雪茄內幕》。

附原文：

The 2020 Cigar of the Year is now available in a beefed-up new size and it’s going to retailers tomorrow. The upcoming E.P. Carrillo Pledge Apogee, which measures 6 1/4 inches long by a hefty 58 ring gauge, brings the Pledge line to three sizes.

The new Apogee is made from the same blend as the Pledge Prequel —Cigar Aficionado’s No. 1 cigar of last year—and consists of a Connecticut Habano wrapper, Ecuadoran binder and Nicaraguan filler.

So why didn’t brand owner Ernesto Perez-Carrillo just push the ring gauge to 60? According to him, the full character of the blend didn’t come through at that size.

“With Apogee, the challenge was how to get the same strength and taste profile as the Prequel,” he says. “I tried the blend using different percentages of ligeros in a 60 ring gauge but was not getting the strength complexities I was looking for.”

Apogee was previewed to tobacco retailers at the PCA tradeshow in July. It is set to retail for $15 per cigar, and (like the other Pledge sizes) it comes in 10-count boxes. Like the rest of the Pledge line, Apogees are made in the Dominican Republic at Perez-Carrillo’s La Alianza factory.

Different sizes of cigars make for different smoking experiences, of course, even when a cigar is made from the same blend of tobaccos. The Pledge Prequel was rated 98 points and is Cigar Aficionado’s Cigar of the Year. By comparison, the Pledge Sojourn scored 91 points in one of our blind tastings.

For a rating of the new Pledge Apogee, see a future issue of Cigar Insider.