Casa Carrillo—formerly known as Tabacalera La Alianza—is a family-owned premium cigar manufacturing operation located in the Zona Franca Industrial of Santiago, Dominican Republic. Established in April 2009 by legendary blender Ernesto Pérez-Carrillo alongside his children, Ernesto III and Lissette, the company emerged following the 1999 sale of El Credito (home of La Gloria Cubana) to Swedish Match, marking a fresh independent chapter for the Pérez-Carrillo family’s multi-generational tobacco legacy.

Starting in a modest 40,000-square-foot former textile building with roughly twelve rolling tables, the factory was designed around hand-crafted, traditional Cuban-style techniques, including the signature triple-cap finish. Under the operational leadership of general manager Jorge Luís Fernández Maique—a veteran of the Cuban cigar industry—the facility integrates meticulous leaf processing, controlled fermentation, hands-on sorting, and aging.

While operating at a more boutique scale than the country’s massive industrial complexes, Casa Carrillo has achieved monumental international acclaim. The factory produces over four million cigars annually distributed to more than 50 countries, famously crafting blends that earned Cigar Aficionado’s Cigar of the Year titles: the Encore Majestic in 2018 and the Pledge Prequel in 2020, alongside other top-ranked expressions like La Historia.

In addition to housing its core lines (such as the Pérez-Carrillo Series, Essence Series, and INCH Series), the factory maintains select contract and private-label production for external brands like Crowned Heads. Rebranded as Casa Carrillo in 2024 to unify the factory with the family’s broader corporate identity, the Santiago facility stands as a premier center of boutique manufacturing precision, blending, and generational expertise.