EPC雪茄公司的誓约在2020年度被评选为年度最佳雪茄，10月29日，这款雪茄推出新的尺寸，将向零售商发货。这款名为“顶峰”的新品58环径，6.25英寸。这款发布后，誓约产品线就一共有三个尺寸了。

“顶峰”与誓约产品线中的“前传”具有相同的烟叶混合成分，前传是《雪茄爱好者》杂志2020年度的最佳雪茄。这两个尺寸的茄衣都是康涅狄格地区种植的古巴种子烟叶，茄套是厄瓜多尔烟叶，茄芯是尼加拉瓜烟叶。

有人会问，为什么不推出60环径的大尺寸雪茄。EPC公司的老板埃内斯托·佩雷斯-卡里略有他的答案，他认为，目前这种烟叶混合成分的特点，如果放在60环径的大口径雪茄上，无法体现全部的优点和特征。

他说，在研制“顶峰”时，最大的挑战是如何配比，来达到和“前传”一样的口味和力度。他也曾经在60环径的测试中使用不同比例的利格罗烟叶，但是都没有获得他期待的烟叶强度。

今年7月份，“顶峰”在PCA贸易展上和雪茄零售商见面。这款新品是每盒10支包装，单支售价15美元。和产品线的其他尺寸一样，这款雪茄是在多米尼加的联盟雪茄厂卷制。

不同尺寸的雪茄会带来不同的雪茄体验，即使雪茄的烟叶混合成分一致。誓约的“前传”以98分的成绩被评为年度最佳雪茄。对比之下，誓约的“旅居”在杂志社的一次盲评中获得91分。

有关“顶峰”的评级，可以参阅最近一期的《雪茄内幕》。

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.