VCF to Distribute EPC Cigars in Italy

VCF will start distributing EPC cigars in Italy.

Fred Vandermarliere of VCF and EPC founder Ernesto Perez-Carrillo will officially announce the partnership on June 23 in Florence.

EPC’s cigars include acclaimed brands such as Encore Celestial, Majestic (voted cigar of the year by Cigar Aficionado in 2018), Pledge Prequel (Cigar Aficionado cigar of the year in 2020) and Pledge Sojourn, along with a sampler of three cigars called Triumph.

Each of these was created by Perez-Carrillo, who VCF describes as one of the best master blenders in the world

Created out of the merger between J. Cortes and Oliva in 2016, VCF has cooperated with EPC in the past. For example, Perez-Carrillo helped VFC resurrect the cult hero brand Aliados by recreate the original blend from his mentor Rolando Reyes Sr.

VFC has great expectations of the partnership between its leaders. “It is no coincidence that these titans share a vision and cooperate on several projects,” the company wrote in a press release. “It reflects a similarity in the way in which both parties look at the craft and its heritage, at the industry that is built on it, and on the answers that may guide its future.”