Popular Post PigFish Posted September 21, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted September 21, 2014 Well it looks like I just might meet the deadline for the review contest… But before I start I will simply say… Joe, this one is for you… Punch Punch: NNSE-V2 Funny, I remember knowing that ‘secret’ code to box dates! Now I have to go to Trevor’s site to reference them… -LOL How quickly we forget! First a little bias. It might sound odd, but in a sense I was actually looking to pan this cigar. Frankly, I think aged cigars are a bunch of hype! No, it is not that I don’t enjoy a good one, and that the aging experience goes unnoticed by me, but unlike others, it is not ‘the’ defining factor to me. I just want to smoke a cigar and if I review it, share how good or awful it was… I am beyond “expecting” a cigar to do anything for me based solely on its age. Here is what some love about aged cigars… You can lie about them! This is my spin on collectors of course… but frankly, I could spin a tale of bullshit here, and based on the age of the cigar most folks would likely lap it up. What I hate about aged cigars; the hype and the bullshit that surrounds them! One of course is the expectation that age fixes a bad cigar. Another, that any cigar with age is a good cigar. That cigars must experience these periods, undefined and incalculable, to become something that they will certainly never become…! Enough of my bias! I have had this box of cigars for many years now and it was sourced from a prominent Swiss vendor some number of years ago. This is the first cigar out of the box. The cigar itself was rock solid with a pronounced box press. Lets just call it a diamond! That would be a good thing as the box has its sign of wear. The box pressing has likely been the saving grace of this 20yo cigar, as it has not been beaten to death on account of the ‘sardine effect.’ The draw was good and overall the cold olfactory sense was one of must. The cigar came to life rather quickly and the cigar still had a profound taste of yesterday’s tannins. I cannot quite define this for you if you don't know the taste yourself. You only know it if you have experienced it. And of course this is simply how I can describe the taste to you. I cannot be sure that what I am tasting here are, flavans or congeners, but I will call them that to fit the mould as set by the establishment. I suppose that if there is an ‘old Cuban’ flavor, this is at least part of what it means to me. At first I noticed quite a bit of acidity to this cigar. While pepper is commonplace, this is not what I am describing. This was more a stinging sensation, perhaps somewhat like vinegar without the vinegar odor or specific flavor. It was unusual to say the least. The taste of the cigar was neither harsh nor muted. I could detect three pronounced flavors; hazel nut, mocha and anise. I cannot say that the flavor was “wonderful” or particularly appealing to me. It was not offensive either but there was some pronounced bitterness to go with the strength in the cigar. The flavors were robust and monotonic and it was largely constrained to these three distinct flavors. I tend to find many cigars from this vintage like this. Frankly, while I need a robust cigar, I prefer more floral and complex notes in my cigars. Bold flavors are fine, but a slightly sweeter, and more refined tonal flavors are more to my liking. If anything I would prefer a mix of both adding to the depth and character of the cigar. I like cigars to evolve and this one perhaps was a little backwards. I felt the cigar got better, and a bit milder towards the end, whereas I was rather assaulted by it in the beginning. Perhaps the roller put the cap on the wrong end!!! One uniqueness of this cigar was experienced during repeated retrohaling of the smoke. Immediately after a retrohale, I would experience a sweet taste, in my upper palate, right behind my front teeth… It was the damnedest thing, quite unique! I can imagine that I resembled a fire breathing koi fish, looking to be fed dinner, while analyzing the experience. Overall I would have to say that cigar was a pleasure to smoke, but not really what I have come to call my preference. Frankly this cigar does not hold a candle to one of my favorites, which is a 10 to 15yo RGCE. I don’t feel that a numerical reference number is suggestive of anything here and may be likely misleading so I simply won’t include one. I will rate the cigar as good to better, but not best or excellent. I can find many cigars, much younger and less pricey than the current value of this cigar that I would rate as better. But of course that is based on my preference, as if I had rated this cigar blindly against others in recent memory, against what I would consider better cigars. Thanks for reading! Here are the pics! -Dr. PigFish! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hohenthal Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Great read as always, I like my RG too ;-) Best, Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftimatic Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 You know Piggy , I was smoking a Punch Punch just the other day. Part of a sampler of singles I put together, so nothing vintage. I had the same sweet aftertaste near the end. On the retrohale, top of the mouth behind the teeth. Just stuck there. Not super pronounced but made me burn my fingers nubbing the cigar trying to put a name on it. I have a box on order hoping to get it again. No big revelation here just saying I had the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdays Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 A very good review , Well done Ray! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maplepie Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Shame you didn't enjoy it as much as other mid-90s cigars. perhaps you should've discussed with Leo the selection before you both smoked a punch punch together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subport Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Thanks for your time Ray, great read. "The cigar itself was rock solid with a pronounced box press. Lets just call it a diamond! " - but this was brilliant 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerryg05495 Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Loved the review, and thanks for the context. I always like a little context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyfall Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigarsmoke Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Thanks for the great review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontrealRon Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Thanks for a great review, Ray! Happened to be smoking a ERDM Gran Coronas from around the same period as I read it, and as I write this. A single, bought way back when, so no precise date... While quite enjoyable, it also seems to be lacking something... Perhaps these cigars are indeed best in that 10-15 year window. I wholely concur as to the RGCE, also one of my all time favorites. '02s and '03s have hit that sweet spot; '07s not there yet. '08s and '09s still sleeping... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcmontie Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 great review and very nice photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramrod918 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Thanks for the review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckSARTech Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 The pig with the perfectly manicured hands!!! Great review, Ray, thanks for sharing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optic101 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Like your style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottierm Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Nice review. And yes, I also share your taste for RGCEs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 The pig with the perfectly manicured hands!!! Great review, Ray, thanks for sharing! ..never had a manipeti mate! These hands are so eff'd up they don't bend until run under hot water in the morning and they have digested 4 ibuprofen. A couple of decades of racing motorcycles did them in. Not to mention, fixing cars, houses and hammering on a few skulls! They swing hammers, scratch horses necks, run demolition hammers and power tools and still manage to hammer at keyboards. They make a sound like cracking nuts when flexed yet still pull a trigger with precision! Manicure…. kiss my ass! … so I don't snack on my cuticles like you do!!! -LOL -Ray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PigFish Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 … thanks for the likes and comments on the review mates. We all should review more often. It is the universal language we all speak. Cheers! -Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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