Punch Punch

[Drguano]

After reading numerous glowing reports of the Punch Punch, I picked up a box. I let it acclimatize for a month and lit one up. Okay draw, smoked fine but no flavor. Nothing. I tried another a week later. Dull. I gave them a month. Boring. I wondered what the fuss is about and buried the box in the cooler. Last Sunday, Chris from Vancouver gave me a stick in London and I fired it up today while the lads are installing a new furnace. Wow! Now I can see what the raving has been about. Very tasty! Nuts, nougat, honey, touch of caramel. What planet did my box come from? Thanks, Chris!

[MaxG]

I bought a 10 box (EML FEB 14) earlier in the year, loved them and bought a box of 25 (LAU OCT 15) from our host.  Fantastic cigars.  But, I've heard enough reviews like your original experience to know this must be, yet another, inconsistent cigar.  Glad I got good ones!

- MG

 

[Eric E]

I tried a couple of boxes a decade or so ago, and they never made me buy another box. Maybe I need to rethink it, but I haven't been able to pull the trigger. Trust me, I want to like them, and maybe I'll jump on a box soon to try them again. 

[Ethernut]

My luck I'm sure, but never had a PP come through for me. Was tempted by a 24:24 a while back but was just gun shy..

[skalls]

First one I had was when the box was 15 months old and was disappointed.  second one was at 18 months and the flavors just opened up.  When my funds restore (Mag 56, Monte 1 and a Sig Sauer MPX have annhilated my credit cards-- stupid birthday justification lol) a cabinet of these is on my short list.

[Ethernut]

56 minutes ago, skalls said:

First one I had was when the box was 15 months old and was disappointed.  second one was at 18 months and the flavors just opened up.  When my funds restore (Mag 56, Monte 1 and a Sig Sauer MPX have annhilated my credit cards-- stupid birthday justification lol) a cabinet of these is on my short list.

Looks like perfectly acceptable purchases to me! ?

[LLC]

Love them in 50 cabs.

[PapaDisco]

I've had the 2013's and 14's that everyone raves about and they are damn good cigars and also very, very different from the earlier sticks (2009) that I've had of Punch Punch.  I've never had one with a bad palate, just plugged ones, but all Punch Punch for me are tasty.  I prefer the super dark flavors in the 2009 to the lighter blend they're selling today, but I still stock up on the current production they are so good.

And the plugs were only in the '09's.  Haven't had a plug yet in two boxes of '13's and '14's.

[Ethernut]

Good word @PapaDisco thx!

[moryc]

I love these sticks, just finishing a box and I have another one ready to go.  I've had a few plugged ones, but nothing that a draw enhancer didn't fix.  Whenever I have company over and someone wants to try a smoke I give them one of these and they love it.  They usually smoke it to the last 3rd which is pretty good for non smokers.  Thats fine with me, pass it over and I will finish the last third 

[earthson]

It's an iconic cigar, so they tend to allow supply to overwhelm quality. Luck of the draw. Caveat: most (75%) PP I've had have been excellent.

[leftimatic]

The recent Punch Punch are my deserted island smokes. They seem to have everything I want. Haven't been disappointed in three years. Hope it keeps up. Need to get the credit card down and stock up. Not planning any shipwrecks but one can never tell.

[Philc2001]

I am a self-proclaimed Punch whore, totally hooked on the marquee for the past two decades. Punch to this day is firmly burned into my brain as the most wonderful and rewarding smoking experience of my life. Unfortunately, Habanos S.A. has not been kind to the marquee and they decimated the regular line. There have been some special limited releases, but I haven't tried them. Over the years I did try a couple of boxes of PP, but never really got into them because I always found the Punch SS#2 and RS#11 (in that order) were always more intense and flavorful. Sadly, the only remaining CG in the marquee now is the PP, so I may have to give them a try. I took a hiatus from buying CCs for a few years, but fortunately I had stocked several hundred Punch and others to carry me through, but now I'm getting very low and need to restock. I still haven't found a suitable alternative to those marvelous Punch vitolas that are now extinct, but I keep looking (and praying).

How is the recent production, is there a factory code that members have enjoyed more than others? I'm keeping an eye open and hope to land a box in the near future. 

[Ethernut]

14 minutes ago, Philc2001 said:

I am a self-proclaimed Punch whore

LOLOL! 

[ChrisMG]

I think I will have to give one a try after reading this thread!

[gweilgi]

5 hours ago, Philc2001 said:

I am a self-proclaimed Punch whore, totally hooked on the marquee for the past two decades. Punch to this day is firmly burned into my brain as the most wonderful and rewarding smoking experience of my life. Unfortunately, Habanos S.A. has not been kind to the marquee and they decimated the regular line. There have been some special limited releases, but I haven't tried them. Over the years I did try a couple of boxes of PP, but never really got into them because I always found the Punch SS#2 and RS#11 (in that order) were always more intense and flavorful. Sadly, the only remaining CG in the marquee now is the PP, so I may have to give them a try. I took a hiatus from buying CCs for a few years, but fortunately I had stocked several hundred Punch and others to carry me through, but now I'm getting very low and need to restock. I still haven't found a suitable alternative to those marvelous Punch vitolas that are now extinct, but I keep looking (and praying).

How is the recent production, is there a factory code that members have enjoyed more than others? I'm keeping an eye open and hope to land a box in the near future. 

If you can get your hands on some RE Punch robustos I would strongly recommend them to you!  I scored a couple of boxes of the 2005 Switzerland release, and they are divine!

 

 

[JohnS]

On ‎14‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 0:54 PM, PapaDisco said:

I've had the 2013's and 14's that everyone raves about and they are damn good cigars and also very, very different from the earlier sticks (2009) that I've had of Punch Punch.  I've never had one with a bad palate, just plugged ones, but all Punch Punch for me are tasty.  I prefer the super dark flavors in the 2009 to the lighter blend they're selling today, but I still stock up on the current production they are so good.

And the plugs were only in the '09's.  Haven't had a plug yet in two boxes of '13's and '14's.

I had the impression that Punch Punch were a long-term rest proposition, but I wonder if this is based on those 'dark flavors' you mention from a different blend then recent 13/14 production. I have some late '14 Punch Punch, but I'm at the 18 month mark for resting them, with the hope of getting to 5 years. Are they more approachable before then?

[Philc2001]

On 7/15/2016 at 10:48 PM, JohnS said:

I had the impression that Punch Punch were a long-term rest proposition, but I wonder if this is based on those 'dark flavors' you mention from a different blend then recent 13/14 production. I have some late '14 Punch Punch, but I'm at the 18 month mark for resting them, with the hope of getting to 5 years. Are they more approachable before then?

I can't comment on recent production, but Punch (especially SS#2, RS#12 and Coronas) from the late 90s and early 2000s were wonderfully receptive to aging, but quite pleasant and smokable at 12-24 months too. With age Punch tends to retain a solid medium to medium/full bodied flavor but gets increasingly balanced and complex in a nuanced sort of way. I just smoked an RS12 last night, the last of a 2004 box I had, and it was simply magnificent, I almost shed a tear when I had to put it down. I literally licked my fingers when I was done, not just because of the great flavors but to cool them down from holding the nub to the very last nth. 

[joeypots]

I'm smoking through a cab of GUT ABR 13 PP and I amazed  at how good they are. These are dark, oily cigars, others I've had were less  so. My last gig buy was the SS#2, they took a long while to come into their own. Gotta admit, Rob wasn't fooling when he got on the PP a few years ago. They draw a tad loose but that's my only complaint. Except for the fact that I could burn this cab in a month. 

[luv2fly]

Recently, Punch Punch young...a year or less on the box...have been stellar.  This was the first cuban I ever smoked and have had numerous boxes.  Some were ok, a few terrible but the majority were just what I wanted.  Some friends I have shared with were not impressed but hey, I buy for me.  

In the end, I would buy all I could, if I could.  A box of 2009 is inbound and I have high hopes.  Young or old, I love the Punch Punch.

[PapaDisco]

On July 15, 2016 at 7:48 PM, JohnS said:

I had the impression that Punch Punch were a long-term rest proposition, but I wonder if this is based on those 'dark flavors' you mention from a different blend then recent 13/14 production. I have some late '14 Punch Punch, but I'm at the 18 month mark for resting them, with the hope of getting to 5 years. Are they more approachable before then?

I'm doing the same with 5 boxes of the 13/14 production in hopes of getting close to that '09 flavor profile in 5-7 years.  But I've got a couple of current production boxes that I've been dipping into to tide me over and they are very good, just very different, but still no youthful bite to them (except maybe in the final third) so that says to me they're ready to smoke now.  Will we continue to get darker flavor development with more time down?  I hope so, but the current production tastes light to me and I have a hard time imagining them getting darker in flavor.