Brand: General Cigar
Line: Punch
Vitola: Cafe Royal 5.625 x 45
Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic
Flavor: Medium
Strength: Mild-Medium
Price: $31.50 (Box of 8)
The last Punch I had really didn’t impress me so when I got these at a tasting I tossed them in the bottom of my humidor and forgot about them. Well Sunday afternoon rolls around and I found myself craving a maduro and found my humidor rather lacking in maduros, then I saw this cigar wedged in a corner buried under 75 other assorted cigars. Well since I wasn’t turning up many other maduros I felt like smoking I popped open the tube and lit it up.
After I finished smoking the Cafe Royal Maduro and looked at my notes I realized I wasn’t sure what I smoked. General Cigar’s website wasn’t a huge help, so it was a great excuse to run down to the The Party Source and find out.
Construction: For a cigar presented in a glass tube it was a bit rough looking. The wrapper is very toothy and had a good sized vein running through it. Near the band the vein was very noticeable and made the cigar appear to be crooked. The draw was a bit easier than I liked, but typically I have the opposite problem with these small ring gauge cigars.
Burn: The Cafe Royale Maduro burned with a nearly razor sharp burn line on it. The ash was extremely flakey though, and more than once I knocked the ash off in my lap or on the table.
Flavor: Even before I lit this cigar I could pick up notes of chocolate, and sure enough, once lit that bitter dark chocolate flavor came through. After the cigar warmed up I also picked out some coffee and woody notes to it. There cigar was very smooth with just a touch of pepper.
Verdict: This cigar renewed my interest in Punch cigars. It had those rich maduro flavors I was craving, but didn’t over power. While not something I’d smoke all the time I would pick one or two up occasionally. I wouldn’t hesitate to hand this out to novice cigar smokers either as it didn’t pack much of a kick.
Popularity: 11% [?]
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
While I’ve never smoked this particular stick, I do like Punch’s maduros. They’re tasty without being strong, which is my general preference: strong flavour, but not a strong nicotine buzz.
I’m going to have to give a few of the others another chance. I’ve been focusing on the smaller guys for quite a while so I though I’d look at some of the bigger brands for a few days.
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