Casa Carrillo (Formerly E.P. Carillo) Deep Blue Now Available

[JohnS]

Casa Carrillo Deep Blue Arriving Soon

Mar 9, 2026 - By David Clough

Photos/Casa Carrillo

Casa Carrillo, the company helmed by cigarmaker and Cigar Aficionado Hall of Famer Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, is releasing a new cigar inspired by the depths of the ocean. Called Casa Carrillo Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026, the single-size brand is expected to debut at a Smoke Inn event in Florida this month and will ship to retailers nationwide in May.

The limited-edition Deep Blue will arrive in a single vitola called Hades, measuring 6 inches by 56 ring gauge. Casa Carrillo says the cigar is named after the ancient Greek god of the underworld. Deep Blue is rolled with a Nicaraguan wrapper from Jalapa, a Honduran binder and Nicaraguan filler. It has a suggested price of $22 per cigar.

The company says that Deep Blue’s “strength rises steadily” as it burns. It’s billed as a “medium plus” bodied cigar.

“Deep Blue was blended as a journey,” said brand owner Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. “It’s a cigar about discovering what lies beneath.”

Deep Blue will come packaged in dark blue, 20-count wooden boxes adorned with ocean-themed imagery, including symbols of waves and a large eight-point compass rose. Only 2,500 individually numbered boxes will be released.

The cigar is rolled at the Casa Carrillo factory in the Dominican Republic.

Source: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/casa-carrillo-deep-blue-arriving-soon

[JohnS]

Perez-Carrillo Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026 Launching This Weekend

March 9, 2026 - Charlie Minato

This weekend, the newest release from Casa Carrillo will get its soft launch before its national release later this spring.

The Perez-Carrillo Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026 is a 6 x 56 toro extra that uses a wrapper from Jalapa, Nicaragua over a Honduran binder and fillers from Nicaragua. This is the first release for Deep Blue, though the name certainly hints at subsequent ones for later years.

Each cigar will have an MSRP of $22 and production is limited to 2,500 numbered boxes of 20 cigars. The first boxes will go on sale on Saturday, March 14, at The Great Smoke, an event hosted by Smoke Inn in South Florida. Casa Carrillo says other retailers will receive their boxes in May.

“Deep Blue was blended as a journey,” said Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr., the company’s founder, in a press release. “The wrapper speaks first. The binder stabilizes. The fillers carry you deeper. It’s a cigar about discovering what lies beneath.”

The company says the name was inspired by both the deep depths of the ocean and Hades, the Greek god of the dead and the king of the underworld.

Source: https://halfwheel.com/perez-carrillo-deep-blue-limited-edition-2026-launching-this-weekend/464220/

[Chibearsv]

Pretty box. Like a lot of these, I'd want to try before I buy.  If the pricing is accurate and available, doesn't seem too bad...for a good cigar.

[JohnS]

Casa Carrillo Deep Blue Shipping This Week

May 20, 2026

Deep Blue, the newest cigar line from Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, is shipping nationwide starting May 21.

It’s a limited-edition smoke, with a production run of 50,000 cigars—2,500 boxes of 20, each of them individually numbered—and sells for $22. The cigars are made from a Central American blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos. 

Full Article: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/casa-carrillo-deep-blue-shipping-this-week

[JohnS]

Casa Carrillo Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026 Now Shipping

May 27, 2026 - Press Release

Casa Carrillo announces the shipment of the Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026 to select retailers nationwide (USA).

Rolled at the Casa Carrillo factory in the Dominican Republic, Deep Blue features a Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper. Beneath that exterior lies a Honduran binder. The name Deep Blue draws inspiration from the unseen depths of the ocean and from Hades, the ancient Greek god of the underworld.

“Deep Blue was blended as a journey,” said Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. “The wrapper speaks first. The binder stabilizes. The fillers carry you deeper. It’s a cigar about discovering what lies beneath.”

Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026 is strictly limited to 2,500 individually numbered boxes, each containing 20 cigars. The cigar measures 6 x 56 with a suggested retail price of $22 per cigar.

National Launch Information

Deep Blue debuted at The Great Smoke – 20th Anniversary, hosted by Smoke Inn, on March 14, 2026, in West Palm Beach. The broader release will now follow, available through select Casa Carrillo retail partners nationwide starting today.

Source: https://www.cigarjournal.com/casa-carrillo-deep-blue-limited-edition-2026-now-shipping/

[bmac]

It was blended as a journey. Awesome! 🤓

[LizardGizmo]

We had a wonderful hourlong conversation with EPC that will be in next week’s episode - paired alongside the Pledge Purple (which was excellent).

He is a tobacco legend, sure, but I was blown away by his candor and how deep he was willing to go in his process of blending and how he thinks about tobacco. It's certainly one of my favorite conversations we've had!

[JDoughty]

Looking forward to it! Now if only I could actually get my hands on a Deep Blue. The shop that was supposed to get them for me flaked out last minute and now I can't order them anywhere. 😥

[JohnS]

Image credit: casacarrillocigars.com

By Menachem Kossowsky - Published at: 06-07-2026

Casa Carrillo Deep Blue 2026: A Limited Edition Cigar Worth Knowing

Casa Carrillo Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026: The Year's Most Compelling Limited Release Is Now in Humidors Nationwide

There are limited-edition cigars, and then there are statements. Casa Carrillo's Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026 falls squarely into the second category. After its heavily anticipated debut at one of the premium cigar world's most watched annual events, the release has now begun shipping to select retailers across the United States — placing one of the most symbolically loaded blends in recent memory within reach of serious smokers from coast to coast. For anyone who follows the Perez-Carrillo family and the trajectory of their operation, this release carries weight well beyond the band and box.

The Man Behind the Blend: Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and a Legacy That Defies Summary

To understand what Deep Blue means, you have to understand who made it. Casa Carrillo is helmed by cigarmaker and Cigar Aficionado Hall of Famer Ernesto Perez-Carrillo — a figure whose biography reads less like a résumé and more like a chronicle of the entire American premium cigar industry.

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. was born in Pinar del Río, Cuba, in 1951. His father, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Sr., was a Cuban Senator who left with his family following the Revolution in the late 1950s. Like so many other refugees, the Perez-Carrillos landed in Miami and, shortly after that, the cigar business. The family's connection to tobacco stretches back generations — the name "Carrillo" carries with it a rich tapestry of history, legacy, and over 100 years of unparalleled experience in cigar craftsmanship.

The younger Ernesto eventually inherited stewardship of the El Credito factory in Miami, where he oversaw a largely unknown brand called La Gloria Cubana. In 1992, Perez-Carrillo got his big break. The new La Gloria Cubana blend received a 90 rating from a then-fledgling publication called Cigar Aficionado, and demand for La Gloria Cubana skyrocketed. Eventually, Perez-Carrillo opened a second El Credito factory in the Dominican Republic, and La Gloria Cubana became one of the most respected brands in the industry — the original "boutique" cigar of the 1990s cigar boom.

After Swedish Match acquired El Credito, Perez-Carrillo didn't retreat. After selling El Credito to Swedish Match, Ernesto founded EPC Cigar Co. with his children, continuing to produce highly rated cigars. His legacy includes multiple top rankings by Cigar Aficionado, cementing his status as a cigar industry icon. That includes the pinnacle of the trade: after five decades in the cigar business, his name resonates throughout the industry as a beloved, well-respected figure whose distinguished career led him, in 2018, to the highest award any cigarmaker can receive — Cigar Aficionado's Cigar of the Year. He's also been inducted into the Cigar Aficionado Hall of Fame, turned a local Miami cigar into a national brand and continues to produce cigars at his own factory on his own terms in the Dominican Republic.

From Tabacalera La Alianza to Casa Carrillo: A Strategic Reinvention

The company that launched Deep Blue is itself operating under a relatively new identity. Two years ago, during an initial visit to Casa Carrillo, observers witnessed the beginning of the rebranding efforts initiated by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and his family. The first step in this process was to rebrand the Tabacalera La Alianza factory as Casa Carrillo. Shortly after, Perez-Carrillo further transformed his E.P. Carrillo company into Casa Carrillo. The rationale was strategic clarity: according to the team, the goal was to create a more seamless experience "for cigar lovers and retail partners alike," bringing "every aspect of [its] operation under one roof — both literally and figuratively."

Reflecting a forward-looking vision while honoring its heritage, Tabacalera La Alianza underwent a significant transformation, rebranding itself as Casa Carrillo. This change symbolizes the company's commitment to excellence and a deep respect for its roots in the cigar industry. The factory itself sits in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and remains a genuine working operation, not a showpiece. The factory is owned and operated by Ernesto Pérez-Carrillo, a veteran of the industry who has dedicated over 50 years to the craft of cigar-making. Ernesto Pérez-Carrillo, born in Cuba and raised in Miami, is a renowned figure in the cigar industry.

The operation has also benefited from elite outside talent. Ernesto hired Jorge Luís Fernández Maique as factory manager in late 2021. Maique came in with some impressive credentials — he spent many years at Habanos S.A. in Cuba working in various roles and also played a vital role in the development of the Cohiba Behike. Bringing in a man who helped shape one of Cuba's most prestigious cigars speaks to Perez-Carrillo's ambitions for his Dominican operation.

Deep Blue: What's in the Box

Casa Carrillo describes the Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026 as a cigar crafted to mirror the ocean itself. That's not mere marketing copy — the blend is constructed with a clear architectural logic, with each component chosen to reinforce the oceanic metaphor through actual flavor and physical experience.

The Vitola: One Size, One Name, One Vision

The limited-edition Deep Blue will arrive in a single vitola called Hades, measuring 6 inches by 56 ring gauge. A 6 x 56 toro extra is a substantial cigar — wide enough to carry complexity without turning into a campfire, long enough to develop through distinct phases. The decision to offer the release in a single size is a statement of confidence. Perez-Carrillo isn't offering a menu; he's making an argument about exactly how this blend should be experienced.

The Blend: Three Countries, One Direction

Rolled at the Casa Carrillo factory in the Dominican Republic, Deep Blue features a Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper. Beneath that exterior lies a Honduran binder. The filler rounds out the international collaboration: at the core, Nicaraguan fillers bring depth and dimension.

Each of these components was chosen with intention rather than convenience. The Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper delivers elegance and composure, known for refined sweetness and aromatic lift. Jalapa is a valley in Nicaragua's Nueva Segovia region, high in altitude and capable of producing leaf with notable finesse — it's a wrapper choice that signals sophistication rather than brute force. A Honduran binder provides balance and stability, guiding combustion and allowing the blend to unfold deliberately rather than all at once. Honduras doesn't dominate conversations about binders the way Nicaragua or Ecuador does, which makes its selection here a quiet flex — the right leaf for the right structural role, rather than a name-brand choice. At the core, Nicaraguan fillers bring depth and dimension. Earthier tones emerge, subtle spice builds gradually, and strength develops in controlled waves — never abrupt, never overwhelming.

The Flavor Arc: From Surface to Abyss

According to the company, the blend was designed to develop in stages, beginning with a lighter introduction of sweetness before gradually revealing earthier notes and a steady rise toward medium-plus strength. That progression mirrors the ocean itself: calm and almost pleasantly luminous near the surface, but progressively darker, denser, and more complex as you descend.

The company says that Deep Blue's "strength rises steadily" as it burns. It's billed as a "medium plus" bodied cigar. That designation will resonate with experienced smokers — medium-plus is the sweet spot where blenders earn their reputations. Too light and a cigar becomes forgettable; too heavy and it punishes rather than rewards. The aim here is a smoke that challenges without overwhelming, that reveals itself in layers over its considerable length.

The Name: When Mythology Meets the Abyss

The name Deep Blue draws inspiration from the unseen depths of the ocean and from Hades, the ancient Greek god of the underworld — a reminder that true power often resides below what is immediately visible. It's a layered reference worth unpacking. In Greek mythology, Hades ruled the realm below, a domain associated not with evil but with the hidden, the inevitable, and the profound. The ocean's deepest reaches share that quality — unreachable to most, home to phenomena science is still working to understand.

Naming the vitola "Hades" rather than something more commercially accessible shows the same willingness to lean into substance over easy palatability. Perez-Carrillo has always been a blender who thinks conceptually. His prior releases — La Historia, Encore, Pledge — each carried a narrative weight that extended beyond the leaf. Deep Blue continues that tradition, this time reaching into mythology and oceanography simultaneously.

Perez-Carrillo himself articulated the philosophy with characteristic precision: "Deep Blue was blended as a journey," said Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. "The wrapper speaks first. The binder stabilizes. The fillers carry you deeper. It's a cigar about discovering what lies beneath." In those four sentences, the man maps out an entire smoking experience — an arc with a beginning, a structure, and a payoff that requires patience to reach.

The Numbers: Scarcity by Design

Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026 is strictly limited to 2,500 individually numbered boxes, each containing 20 cigars. The cigar measures 6 x 56 with a suggested retail price of $22 per cigar. That works out to $440 for one of the 2,500 individually numbered boxes.

The math on this release is unambiguous: 50,000 cigars total, distributed across a national retailer network. That sounds like a lot until you account for how many serious smokers will be hunting this release simultaneously. The numbered-box format is a meaningful touch — it turns each box into a collectible artifact with a discrete identity, and it enforces transparency about production volume in a market where "limited edition" can sometimes be a fuzzy concept.

At $22 per stick, Deep Blue positions itself in the upper-premium tier without reaching into the rarefied air of ultra-luxury. It's a price point that requires commitment but rewards it in return — the kind of purchase a knowledgeable smoker makes with deliberate intent rather than impulse.

The Debut: The Great Smoke and What It Means to Launch There

Deep Blue debuted at The Great Smoke — 20th Anniversary, hosted by Smoke Inn, on March 14, 2026, in West Palm Beach. The timing and venue were not accidental. The Great Smoke has grown into one of the premium cigar world's anchor events, drawing serious enthusiasts and industry figures from across the country. For a new release — particularly one as symbolically loaded as Deep Blue — debuting at a 20th anniversary celebration carries its own resonance. The occasion matched the release: both marked milestones, both invited reflection on what depth of experience actually looks like.

A broader release followed in May 2026, available through select Casa Carrillo retail partners nationwide. That two-phase rollout — exclusive debut followed by wider distribution — is a deliberate approach to building anticipation. Those who attended the West Palm Beach event got first access; now the rest of the country gets its shot.

Industry Context: Why This Release Matters Beyond the Band

Premium cigar limited editions have multiplied dramatically over the past decade. Every manufacturer of note releases them; the market for numbered, short-run cigars has never been more crowded. Against that backdrop, what separates a legitimate collectible from a marketing exercise is the depth of the blending intelligence behind it.

Casa Carrillo has established a track record that lends credibility to Deep Blue before anyone lights one. Twice, Cigar Aficionado has named an EPC Cigar its Cigar of the Year, and dozens of other frontmarks have achieved 90+ ratings from various publications. That includes the Pledge Prequel being named Cigar of the Year, marking 50 years of Ernesto's dedication to the cigar industry — and to this date, Pledge Prequel's 98 rating is the highest for a number-one Cigar of the Year. A 98 rating is not a rounding error; it represents a near-consensus that something exceptional happened in the blending room.

The factory's ability to attract talent like Maique, who was previously involved in developing the Cohiba Behike — one of the most technically demanding and celebrated Cuban cigars of the modern era — suggests that Casa Carrillo is operating at a level where Deep Blue's ambitions are backed by genuine horsepower.

"I remember reading about Ernesto and his La Gloria Cubana jet-rocket ride to cigar stardom in the pages of Cigar Aficionado back in the '90s," said Jon Huber of Crowned Heads. "He was the originator of this thing we call 'boutique cigars' today." That context matters when evaluating a new release. Perez-Carrillo didn't invent the premium limited edition cigar as a concept, but he arguably invented the market conditions that made it possible.

The Tobacco Geography: Why Jalapa, Honduras, and Nicaragua Together

Cigar blending is fundamentally an act of agricultural geography — matching leaf to role based on the specific conditions of the growing region that shaped it. The three-country construction of Deep Blue reflects a sophisticated understanding of what each origin offers.

Nicaragua's Jalapa Valley produces tobacco under conditions that favor elegance. The region's altitude, rainfall patterns, and volcanic soil composition yield leaf that tends toward sweetness and aromatic complexity rather than raw power. It's a wrapper choice associated with experienced blenders who want a refined first impression — the smoke equivalent of a firm handshake before the conversation turns serious.

Honduras occupies a complicated position in the cigar world's geography. For decades it was considered a primary source country for premium cigars, then fell somewhat out of fashion as Nicaragua surged. Its reemergence as a binder source in a release like Deep Blue reflects a more mature understanding of what Honduran leaf actually does — it contributes structure, combustibility, and a particular kind of quiet depth that Nicaraguan binders don't always replicate. Using it here, in a structural rather than flavor-forward role, is a technically astute choice.

According to Casa Carrillo, the blend was designed to build gradually in strength and body, beginning with sweeter notes before moving into earthier flavors and spice. That progression is a function of how the three tobaccos interact across the length of the smoke — the wrapper's sweetness and the binder's structural contribution give way to the filler's earthier, spicier character as the cigar burns toward its final third. It's a journey with a defined itinerary.

How to Smoke It: Getting the Most from Deep Blue

A 6 x 56 ring gauge cigar with this kind of intentional layering deserves to be smoked without distraction. The wide ring gauge means generous smoke volume per draw, which carries the full blend in every pull. The length — a full six inches — provides the runway necessary for the arc Perez-Carrillo designed: a gentler opening third where the Jalapa wrapper sets the tone, a middle third where the Honduran binder's structural contribution becomes apparent in the smoke's texture and burn consistency, and a final third where the Nicaraguan fillers take command.

Given that the company explicitly describes the cigar as a medium-plus experience where strength rises steadily, this is not a morning smoke for most palates. An afternoon or evening setting, away from competing flavors, will allow the full progression to land. A pairing with a rum — Casa Carrillo has been working with Brugal, a Dominican Republic-based operation — or a bourbon with some sweetness and body will complement rather than fight the blend's earthier final third.

Getting Your Hands on One

Casa Carrillo has begun shipping its Deep Blue Limited Edition 2026 cigar to select retailers across the country. The release was first shown publicly during Smoke Inn's Great Smoke 20th Anniversary event in March and is now making its broader retail debut. The word "select" in that rollout description is not ceremonial — Casa Carrillo maintains a curated retail network rather than blanketing every tobacconist with product, which means not every shop will carry it. Calling ahead or checking with your regular retailer directly is the most reliable approach, given the limited total production of 2,500 boxes.

The numbered-box format also means that early movers will secure lower-numbered boxes, which carry their own appeal for collectors who treat cigar boxes as objects worth retaining alongside the smokes inside. Whether that matters to you is a personal calculus, but it adds another dimension to the decision of when to act.

The Broader Picture: What Deep Blue Says About Casa Carrillo in 2026

The launch of Deep Blue lands at a moment when Casa Carrillo is consolidating its identity under a unified brand name, operating a factory staffed with serious talent, and carrying the credibility that comes from a half-century of Perez-Carrillo blending at the highest level. Casa Carrillo Cigars is owned by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and his two children, Lissette and Ernesto III, making it a genuine family operation in the most substantive sense — not a brand identity grafted onto a corporate structure, but a business where the people who own it are the people making the decisions about what goes into every cigar.

Created for those who value complexity over immediacy, Deep Blue rewards patience and attention with a layered, evolving experience. That sentence, from the brand itself, could double as a mission statement for the entire Perez-Carrillo legacy. The man has never been in a hurry to impress — he's been in the business of building something that holds up over time, across decades and market cycles and the constant churn of trends.

Deep Blue, with its mythological name, its three-country construction, its deliberate flavor arc, and its strict production limit, is the kind of cigar that will age well in memory as well as in the humidor. For anyone who takes the leaf seriously, it belongs in the rotation — if you can find it before it's gone.

Source: https://www.gentlemanspursuits.com/news/luxury/cigars/casa-carrillo-deep-blue-2026-a-limited-cigar-worth-knowing-6a1d89e760425640d6e52e30