Punch Super Selección No. 2 - Cigar Review

[ChanceSchmerr]

Alrighty - here's my entry in the Bushido Draw contest!

Recently, a good friend sent me a few sticks, including this cigar that I'd never tried, and had wondered what all the fuss was about. Here goes....

Punch Super Selección No. 2

Box Code - DIC 00 (December 2000, no factory code given)

Discontinued - Of course they were! Every good cigar cuba makes gets discontinued Something something people want 58 RG cigars or something. Anyway, off the soapbox - this cigar got discontinued in 2002. Which means that it's nigh on impossible to find.

Accompaniment - 1995 Springbank Cask Strength (TWE bottling)

Pre-smoke - What a silky, smooth wrapper this cigar has! Certainly not a thick wrapper, this harkens back to those silky, impossibly thin wrapper you see on pre-97 cigars, and yet it retains much of the oils despite nearly 14 years of age. A few green blemishes on the wrapper, but nothing egregious, I don't think much of them. A nice Colorado colour, almost reddish but not quite.

The bunch looks good, nice and even.

The cigar feels perfect - a little give, but not too much, so I don't think i'll be plagued with the usual 2000 fear of a tight draw. The Corona Gorda is such a good size, feels right in the hands, almost as good as a Corona-size. The cap is well applied, giving me further confidence in the cigar's construction.

Alright, let's give 'er a cut and take it for a spin! After a clip, the pre-light draw is.....excellent! Pretty much a perfect draw, just a slight hint of resistance but enough airflow for sure.

Pre-light taste - Lots of light, sweet tobacco notes, with just a hint of sourness to remind you it's a Punch. I hope that's an indicator of the profile - if it is, we're going to have a winner!

First few puffs - PUNCH TOWN. A quintessential Punch flavour profile - sour, fruity tobacco, with earthy spice weaving in and out of the taste delivery. Bullseye!

First Third - This is truly a cracker cigar right from the get-go. Acres of sour, stewed plum notes with lots of baking spices on the periphery. The burn is nice and even, everything about this is awesome. I can barely express how good this is.

Slight harshness creeps in about 5 mins in, but quickly evaporates. Probably a weird bit of leaf, but didn't stay long enough to make a dent. I'll keep an eye out for that again.

Now starting to round out after about an half inch, and the flavour is fuller now - it's a veritable symphony of Punch flavours erupting with each puff. Hints of Caramel and dark chocolate emerge, and recede after a few minutes. The balance on this cigar is just incredible, everything is in perfect harmony, no bit of flavour is out of place or out of sync. I'm even getting hints of cream now - wow. What a Blockbuster!

Second Third - Perfect Balance. I don't know what more I can say here. There's sour fruits, there's sweet walnuts (candied, but not overly so), layered over by waves of rich baking spices, something like cinnamon and maybe a hint of cloves even. Every puff is just so rich and creamy.

The evolution of this cigar is subtle, but it is noticeable that the flavour is intensifying as we go through - the balance keeps everything in line, it feels like a symphony orchestra that started off with a jaunty number, and rather than continuing with a quiet middle section, it kept right on going with the bold notes and exciting melodies. You can tell the crescendo is coming!

Just so good. Sweet and creamy as we pass the halfway point, with the sour notes now framing the rich nuts and spices within. Nutty milk chocolate emerges - this cigar has it all. The strength of the tobacco is no more than medium, whatever ligero was in this is very mellow and refined now, but hasn't lost too much potency that you can't notice it anymore.

Final Third - I've been trying to find another Punch cigar (or another cigar period) to compare this to. I think the closest approximation to another Punch is the Punch Petit Punch. I think most of the flavours I get here I've glimpsed in a Punch Petit Punch, but so much more briefly (given the size), and not as uniformly. That's probably because I havn't had too much aged Punch PP's - I'll check back with my 2007 box in about 7 years and see how it compares to this! Still, that's the only cigar I can think of that delivers (at least a little bit) the sourness, the spices, the cream, and the balance that this one does. Nothing I can think of that I've smoked in a while has this kind of complexity though. Wow.

Right up to the end, the spices and sourness reign supreme, but now more and more I'm noticing a sweet woody note creeping into the profile. It certainly fits right in, and takes the place of the creamy tastes from earlier. The chocolate still comes and goes, but right through the last inch of so, the woody notes climb higher and higher in to the profile, until the last few puffs before my fingers start to burn, it is the primary flavour. Even then - it's in perfect balance with everything on the palate. Woody and sweet to the end. I definitely nubbed this one.

Final Thoughts - Good freakin' God. I have not had a cigar this good in a long long time. Before lighting up, I was wondering if it would hold up with the other Super Seleccion that I tried for the first time around a year ago, the Punch Super Seleccion No. 1. That one was a very good cigar, but this one was a blockbuster, no comparison. The perfect balance, complexity of flavours, excellent burn and draw, this truly was the whole package. Punch had 4 Corona Gordas before they started discontinuing them, now I have tried them all. Before now, the best was the Black Prince, followed by the Royal Seleccion 11, and the lowly (but recently better) Punch Punch. This now takes the top spot, by a country mile. Personally, I think the discontinuation of this cigar is a *CENSORED* disgrace. Nothing comes close to this in the current Punch lineup, not even the stellar Double Corona when aged. If anyone knows where these can be had, I'd love to know - they are officially on my Search List.

Rating - 99/100. 1 point deducted for breaking my heart, in that I don't know that I'll ever find or smoke another one ever again......

Thanks to Maplepie, who sent me this stick. Best cigar I've had in years, man!

[Maplepie]

Rating - 99/100. 1 point deducted for breaking my heart, in that I don't know that I'll ever find or smoke another one ever again......

I hardly think that's fair...

Good to know that you paired it with something deserving. '95 Springbank must've been reaaaaaal nice! Very glad that I managed to give you a 100-pt cigar there, Chris!!

As a side note, I remember those old Punch SSs from 1980 that a mate of mine had a while back. Just imagine what a stick like that would do to you...

[ChanceSchmerr]

As a side note, I remember those old Punch SSs from 1980 that a mate of mine had a while back. Just imagine what a stick like that would do to you...

Probably break my bank, as well as my heart!

[ChanceSchmerr]

The 1995 Springbank was decent. Not the best Springbank I've ever had (i like the 12 yr Cask Strength a little better, and the 18 yr a LOT better, and the Local Barley RIDICULOUSLY BETTER) but still pretty darn good.

[Maplepie]

Probably break my bank, as well as my heart!

Trophy wife?

[Habana Mike]

Nice review on a great stick. I miss them too.....

[LGC]

These are some of my all time favorite cigars. I'm glad I stocked up on these a while back.

[Optic101]

Great review and reminds me I may never smoke one of these and some other great but discontinued cigars.

[leftimatic]

Nice review, probably the most enthusiastic one I have ever read. But now my heart is also broken knowing I will most likely never be able to share that kind of joy.

Why Tabacuba?!! Why?!?!!

[Rye]

Great review!

[cottierm]

Great review for a wonderful cigar which I also miss a lot!

[Duxnutz]

Great review, great smoke!

[OZCUBAN]

Alrighty - here's my entry in the Bushido Draw contest!

Recently, a good friend sent me a few sticks, including this cigar that I'd never tried, and had wondered what all the fuss was about. Here goes....

Punch Super Selección No. 2

Box Code - DIC 00 (December 2000, no factory code given)

Discontinued - Of course they were! Every good cigar cuba makes gets discontinued Something something people want 58 RG cigars or something. Anyway, off the soapbox - this cigar got discontinued in 2002. Which means that it's nigh on impossible to find.

Accompaniment - 1995 Springbank Cask Strength (TWE bottling)

Pre-smoke - What a silky, smooth wrapper this cigar has! Certainly not a thick wrapper, this harkens back to those silky, impossibly thin wrapper you see on pre-97 cigars, and yet it retains much of the oils despite nearly 14 years of age. A few green blemishes on the wrapper, but nothing egregious, I don't think much of them. A nice Colorado colour, almost reddish but not quite.

20141113_200440.jpg

The bunch looks good, nice and even.

20141113_200446.jpg

The cigar feels perfect - a little give, but not too much, so I don't think i'll be plagued with the usual 2000 fear of a tight draw. The Corona Gorda is such a good size, feels right in the hands, almost as good as a Corona-size. The cap is well applied, giving me further confidence in the cigar's construction.

20141113_200453.jpg

Alright, let's give 'er a cut and take it for a spin! After a clip, the pre-light draw is.....excellent! Pretty much a perfect draw, just a slight hint of resistance but enough airflow for sure.

Pre-light taste - Lots of light, sweet tobacco notes, with just a hint of sourness to remind you it's a Punch. I hope that's an indicator of the profile - if it is, we're going to have a winner!

First few puffs - PUNCH TOWN. A quintessential Punch flavour profile - sour, fruity tobacco, with earthy spice weaving in and out of the taste delivery. Bullseye!

First Third - This is truly a cracker cigar right from the get-go. Acres of sour, stewed plum notes with lots of baking spices on the periphery. The burn is nice and even, everything about this is awesome. I can barely express how good this is.

Slight harshness creeps in about 5 mins in, but quickly evaporates. Probably a weird bit of leaf, but didn't stay long enough to make a dent. I'll keep an eye out for that again.

Now starting to round out after about an half inch, and the flavour is fuller now - it's a veritable symphony of Punch flavours erupting with each puff. Hints of Caramel and dark chocolate emerge, and recede after a few minutes. The balance on this cigar is just incredible, everything is in perfect harmony, no bit of flavour is out of place or out of sync. I'm even getting hints of cream now - wow. What a Blockbuster!

20141113_203222.jpg

Second Third - Perfect Balance. I don't know what more I can say here. There's sour fruits, there's sweet walnuts (candied, but not overly so), layered over by waves of rich baking spices, something like cinnamon and maybe a hint of cloves even. Every puff is just so rich and creamy.

The evolution of this cigar is subtle, but it is noticeable that the flavour is intensifying as we go through - the balance keeps everything in line, it feels like a symphony orchestra that started off with a jaunty number, and rather than continuing with a quiet middle section, it kept right on going with the bold notes and exciting melodies. You can tell the crescendo is coming!

Just so good. Sweet and creamy as we pass the halfway point, with the sour notes now framing the rich nuts and spices within. Nutty milk chocolate emerges - this cigar has it all. The strength of the tobacco is no more than medium, whatever ligero was in this is very mellow and refined now, but hasn't lost too much potency that you can't notice it anymore.

Final Third - I've been trying to find another Punch cigar (or another cigar period) to compare this to. I think the closest approximation to another Punch is the Punch Petit Punch. I think most of the flavours I get here I've glimpsed in a Punch Petit Punch, but so much more briefly (given the size), and not as uniformly. That's probably because I havn't had too much aged Punch PP's - I'll check back with my 2007 box in about 7 years and see how it compares to this! Still, that's the only cigar I can think of that delivers (at least a little bit) the sourness, the spices, the cream, and the balance that this one does. Nothing I can think of that I've smoked in a while has this kind of complexity though. Wow.

Right up to the end, the spices and sourness reign supreme, but now more and more I'm noticing a sweet woody note creeping into the profile. It certainly fits right in, and takes the place of the creamy tastes from earlier. The chocolate still comes and goes, but right through the last inch of so, the woody notes climb higher and higher in to the profile, until the last few puffs before my fingers start to burn, it is the primary flavour. Even then - it's in perfect balance with everything on the palate. Woody and sweet to the end. I definitely nubbed this one.

Final Thoughts - Good freakin' God. I have not had a cigar this good in a long long time. Before lighting up, I was wondering if it would hold up with the other Super Seleccion that I tried for the first time around a year ago, the Punch Super Seleccion No. 1. That one was a very good cigar, but this one was a blockbuster, no comparison. The perfect balance, complexity of flavours, excellent burn and draw, this truly was the whole package. Punch had 4 Corona Gordas before they started discontinuing them, now I have tried them all. Before now, the best was the Black Prince, followed by the Royal Seleccion 11, and the lowly (but recently better) Punch Punch. This now takes the top spot, by a country mile. Personally, I think the discontinuation of this cigar is a *CENSORED* disgrace. Nothing comes close to this in the current Punch lineup, not even the stellar Double Corona when aged. If anyone knows where these can be had, I'd love to know - they are officially on my Search List.

Rating - 99/100. 1 point deducted for breaking my heart, in that I don't know that I'll ever find or smoke another one ever again......

Thanks to Maplepie, who sent me this stick. Best cigar I've had in years, man!

Great review Chris

Hands down these are the best cigars I have ever had ,period.

Still have a cab of 50 left cost me an arm and a leg plus a Kidney LOL,but well worth it

You nailed the review spot on,when you have a really good one ,like the one you just had ,there are no words really.

They still can be found but they are like rocking horse s%#t

If I come across any I will PM you

Cheers Mate

Steve

[OZCUBAN]

The once great Punch catalogue has been decimated it's a travesty,but let's not go there it just gets me angry

[Arkay]

The SS#2 was my favorite in the Marca--review was spot on.

[Maplepie]

Awwwwwww........ so many nostalgic people in this thread

[...]

Thanks for the nice review!

[Strada]

Good job Chris!

[habanolover]

My fav WAS the RS#11 WHYYYYY cut them???

[habanolover]

Ohhh, AND the petite corona del punch!

[Habana Mike]

And the Black Prince, Prince of Wales. Why HSA, why?

[teyreborn]

it has been close to 9 years since i smoked thru my last box of these. Throwback to my cigar czar days lol. Miss them dearly

[tmac77]

Nice review Chris. The Punch ss#2 is one of my all time favorites. I don't have many left but once in a while I break one out to remind me how great Punch used to be.

[Kpmx77]

nice review