Pre-light Experience

Seth: The Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple is rough in appearance. The cigar is poorly pressed, and the 109 cap is short a few points. It has a dark wrapper that is dark Natural to Maduro in coloring, and there are aromas of rich earth and barnyard. The cigar is firm in hand with some medium sized veins throughout. You look at this cigar and realize how beautiful it could be if a better wrapper was in place and it was better constructed.
John: The Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple features an Oscuro-colored wrapper with the artisanal complication of an oval box press with rounded edges. I weighed the cigar at 14.1 grams and measured the humidity at 65.9% using the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper were fairly straightforward, consisting of dry wood, while the foot offered musty earth and tobacco.
Jiunn: The look of the Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple is not the best. There’s a sizable exposed vein running down the middle of the cigar, and the cap is sloppily applied. The wrapper itself is oddly colored, to the point where it looks like its been painted on. Pre-light aromas were nice though, giving jasmine flowers and barnyard.

Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple

First Third

Seth: The cigar begins with damp wood and barnyard notes. Rich earth and mineral flavors are present with a medium strength and body level. Nice level of spices.
John: The first third opens with malty, sweet, and exceptionally chewy tobacco leading the profile, while leather and wood combine through the center. The retrohale delivers creamy, sweet tobacco, and as the cigar settles in, delayed pepper develops through the post draw. As the first third progresses, earth moves into the center of the profile and builds to medium strength. Dark chocolate quietly joins the retrohale, while a subtle espresso note is present but largely overshadowed by the growing earthiness.
Jiunn: Off the get go, there’s a really nice charred meatiness/gaminess to the profile. Few draws in, an interesting creamy milkiness forms, followed by hints of star anise. Retrohaling gives nose tingling dried red pepper spice. The finish is short with cedar wood. Strength and body is medium.

Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple

Second Third

Seth: The second third delivers a similar profile with more mineral notes. The cigar is still smoking around that medium level with notes of damp wood, barnyard and spices.
John: The second third opens with creamy earth and light spices leading the profile, while earth and wood combine through the finish. Once the second third settles in, the earth at the center of the profile briefly recedes to light-plus strength, restoring some balance. Through the bottom half, however, the earth gradually builds back to medium strength, once again becoming the dominant component.
Jiunn: The second third shows a decrease in complexities and fullness of flavors. Now it’s mainly about cream and charred oak wood. Strength ramps to medium-full, while body remains medium.

Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple

Final Third

Seth: The final third is in line with the first and second, but the mineral and spice notes continue to rise. In terms of strength and body, the cigar remains at that medium level.
John: The final third begins with creamy, sweet wood leading the profile, while medium-strength earth occupies the center and intensifies to medium-plus through the finish. Approaching the halfway point of the final third, sweet wood continues to lead while the earth recedes slightly to medium-minus strength. Although less assertive than before, the earth continues to define the post draw.
Jiunn: The final third is unchanged, still showing a lackluster flavor profile of cream and charred oak wood. I’m especially missing the meat/game and fuller creaminess from the first third. Strength and body is unchanged at medium-full and medium, respectively.

Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple

Burn

Seth: The burn is off throughout the cigar.
John: The burn was uneven through the first third and eventually required a touch-up during the bottom half. The uneven burn continued into the second third, where a crack developed in the wrapper, requiring another touch-up. Later in the review, the burn formed a canoe that also required correction. In total, the cigar required three touch-ups to maintain an even burn.
Jiunn: No issues with the burn as the burn line was straight, tight ashes, ample smoke production and cool burning temperatures.

Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple

Draw

Seth: The draw is decent from beginning to end.
John: The draw measured 30 inches of water on the Cigar Medics draw tester. Subjectively, it sat at most one notch toward the open spectrum, placing it comfortably within the ideal range.
Jiunn: The draw was also free of issues as it struck a good balance between air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: I don’t care for the Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple. The flavor profile is one-dimensional, and the presentation is awful. There is no complexity or depth. I hope the bands are glorious on this cigar, because everything else is bad. It is poorly pressed and has a rough 109 cap. An insult to both. A subpar cigar.
John: Blind Cigar #1568 makes an excellent first impression with a rich, chewy texture and an engaging combination of malty sweet tobacco, leather, wood and creamy sweetness. The mouthfeel is particularly noteworthy, giving the opening third a satisfying richness. The addition of dark chocolate through the retrohale provides another layer of complexity, even if the espresso note never fully emerges from beneath the increasing earthiness. As the cigar moves into the second third, earth steadily becomes the defining characteristic. There is a brief period where the earth recedes and allows the sweeter components to reassert themselves, but that balance is short-lived. By the bottom half of the second third, the profile has returned to a more earth-driven character that lacks some of the complexity found early in the smoke. The final third remains enjoyable but continues to revolve around the interplay between sweet wood and earth. The earth eventually settles back slightly, allowing the sweet wood to regain the lead, which helps prevent the profile from becoming overly heavy. While the cigar avoids developing any significant bitterness or harshness, it also doesn’t introduce enough new flavors to create a memorable finish. Construction tells a different story. Although the draw is outstanding from beginning to end, the burn requires frequent intervention. Three touch-ups and a wrapper crack interrupt what is otherwise a relaxed smoking experience and detract from the cigar’s overall performance. Although the first third of the Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple had a strong start, the increasingly earth-forward profile and below-average burn performance prevent it from building on that early promise. The result is a cigar that remains enjoyable throughout but ultimately earns an average overall rating. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 5 minutes.
Jiunn: The first third was the only highlight of the cigar. The fullness of the meatiness/gaminess paired with milk creaminess and trailing star anise was a combination worthwhile to sit with. But the majority of the Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple showed a mediocre flavor profile of charred oak wood and cream, which became a bit monotonous. This is an overall pass for me.

Seth Geise

SCORE

4.68

Cost/Point

$3.84

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.90

Cost/Point

$3.05

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$2.95

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Casa Carrillo Pledge Purple