Today, we review the Deep Blue by Casa Carrillo in the Hades (Toro) size. Casa Carrillo introduced Deep Blue in 2026 as part of its Perez-Carrillo line. Perez-Carrillo underpins Casa Carrillo’s premium regular production and limited-edition lines. It also pays tribute to the Perez-Carrillo family and their supporters.
Deep Blue carries an ocean theme and ties it to the blend. In a press release, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo said, “Deep Blue was blended as a journey. The wrapper speaks first. The binder stabilizes. The fillers carry you deeper. It’s a cigar about discovering what lies beneath.” Deep Blue was released in a size called Hades, which is named for the Greek god of the Underworld. While Deep Blue carries a theme of descending, recently Casa Carrillo introduced a Perez-Carrillo cigar called Ascend, which carries a theme of ascending a mountain.
As mentioned, Perez-Carrillo is Casa Carrillo’s premium line. With the release of the Battleborn 2025, Casa Carrillo upped the packaging seen in the Perez-Carrillo series by introducing a collectible box with a dog tag. A similar packaging style appeared with the 2026 release of Deep Blue 2026.
Without further ado, let’s break down the Deep Blue Hades and see what this cigar brings to the table.
SPECIFICATIONS
Blend and Origin
The Deep Blue Hades is a Nicaraguan-forward blend with a Nicaraguan wrapper from Jalapa and Nicaraguan fillers. The binder used is Honduran tobacco. Casa Carrillo’s factory in the Dominican Republic produces it.
- Wrapper: Nicaraguan Jalapa
- Binder: Honduran
- Filler: Nicaraguan
- Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
- Factory: Casa Carrillo
Vitolas Available
The Hades is the only size that was released with Deep Blue. This cigar is a 6 x 56 parejo. The factory produced 2,000 twenty-count boxes.
Appearance (*)
The Nicaragua Jalapa wrapper on the Deep Blue Hades was caramel-colored. The wrapper had a very slight amount of oil on its surface. Upon closer examination, the surface showed slight mottling. In addition, there were some visible veins and wrapper seams.
PERFORMANCE
Pre-Light Draw (*)
A straight cut was used to commence the smoking experience of the Deep Blue Hades. Once the cap was removed, it was time for the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered a mix of bread, cream, and fruit. Overall, I found it a satisfactory pre-light draw. Next, I removed the footer band of the Deep Blue Hades, toasted the cigar, and began the smoking phase.
Tasting Notes
The Deep Blue Hades began with a diverse range of flavors, featuring notes of bread, cream, natural tobacco, chocolate, and baker’s spice. Initially, bread, cream, and fruit dominated, while the natural tobacco, chocolate, and baker’s spice receded into the background. On the retrohale, an extra layer of pepper and fruit sweetness emerged, adding complexity to the experience.
In the second third of the Deep Blue Hades, the bread notes took over as the primary note. The cream and fruit notes settled in the background. Meanwhile, the chocolate notes faded into the background. Meanwhile, black pepper and natural tobacco increased. By the midway point, natural tobacco joined the bread notes in the forefront. By this point, the natural tobacco developed some bitter qualities. The baker’s spice notes held constant.
The final third showed little change. The bread and natural tobacco notes remained primary. The natural tobacco still had some bitter qualities, but it wasn’t harsh. There was fruit, black pepper, and baker’s spice remained secondary. The black pepper was a more prominent secondary note in the background on the tongue. In addition, there was more pepper on the retrohale. This is the way the Deep Blue Hades came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.
Burn
While the Deep Blue Hades had a straight burn path, it required multiple touchups to maintain it. While the touchups did the trick, the cigar needed more touchups than I preferred. The burn line had a few spots where it was slightly uneven. As for the ash, it was caramel-colored. The ash was skewed toward the firmer side. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.
Draw
The Deep Blue Hades started out with a slight amount of resistance, which was in my sweet spot. However, with each cigar I smoked, the draw became more open. While the draw never became overly loose, it was still a little more open than I preferred. There were no adverse effects from the draw on the overall smoking experience.
Strength and Body
In terms of strength and body, the Deep Blue Hades started out medium strength with medium-bodied flavors. There was a gradual increase in intensity with both attributes. By the second half, strength and body moved into medium-to-full territory. The increase in strength and body continued in the second half, but leveled off once it reached the final third.
Strength and body balanced each other nicely, with neither attribute overshadowing the other.
BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)
As one would expect, the packaging of the Deep Blue focuses on the color blue. Deep Blue has three bands.
- The primary band is a blue (and silver version) of the bands found across the Perez-Carrillo line
- The secondary band is blue and silver, identifying the cigar as “DEEP BLUE LIMITED 2026 EDITION”
- The footer band is also blue and silver. It says “UNCHARTED DEPTHS – ETERNAL CURRENT – DEEP IN LEGACY”
The Deep Blue Hades comes packaged in a blue rectangular box:
Inside a box is a blue velvet sleeve housing the actual cigar box:
The actual box is quite elegant. It has lots of blue, silver, and gray. It looks like a humidor, but I haven’t seen anything from Casa Carrillo indicating it is one.
A side panel of the box houses the dog tag:
Overall, this was an excellent presentation.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
When I first saw the packaging of the Deep Blue Hades, it really wowed me. I was hoping the cigar would wow me, too. Coming out of the gate, I was quite encouraged. Unfortunately, as the cigar experience progressed, some of the bitters that emerged didn’t work in this blend’s favor. The good news was the bitterness didn’t become harsh. Any expectations for this cigar to impress were not met. My evaluation of the Deep Blue Hades is similar to my thoughts on the Battleborn Warriors; it’s a $22.00 cigar that fails to distinguish itself from the competition. Ultimately, I recommend trying it yourself before deciding to buy.
Summary
- Key Flavors: Bread, Cream, Natural Tobacco, Chocolate, baker’s spice, pepper
- Burn: Very Good
- Draw: Very Good
- Complexity: Medium Plus
- Strength: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
- Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
- Finish: Very Good
Rating
Value: Try a Sample
Score: 88
REFERENCES
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted.
(*) Indicates this is not factored into the score or value rating
