Punch Punch (2017/18) 12DCRC

[mt1]

Ah yes, the Punch Punch--perhaps the most confusing name in the Habanos profile but then again we also have the Ferrari LaFerrari so maybe they're onto something.

I've been hitting the Christmas Sampler pretty hard with some downtime lately, many lunchtime smokes, early afternoon smokes, late afternoon and then evening smokes.  During the day, I like to stick with a coke to pair with my cigar, it's become sort of a baseline for me to pair with a cigar.  It was a rather warm day, cloudy with no sun, but generally nice and breezy.

My Punch Punch was soft, very soft, perhaps underfilled but the wrapper was pristine with nice sheen to it.  The cold draw was peppery, which was a bit alarming but my worries were for naught...

From the first puff, I was met with that typical herbal earthiness that I taste in Punch cigars.  To me, Punch Punch sets the bar for no sweetness whatsoever, I find them very even-keeled in that sense--there is no sweetness nor any bitterness, it just is flat.  The earthy vegetal flavor continues strong and full, the smoke production was amazing.  By half-way, it was still building on that earthy flavor, with maybe just a hint of coco and peanuts.  I was excited, as the peanut flavor is one of my favorites.

Alas, my troubles started then.  From halfway to the end, my cigar spontaneously went out four times!?  The peanuts never arrived but I was also fine with keeping to the same flavor all the way through.  All in all, not the best Punch Punch I've had, but not the worst.  See pictures below, where it seems there are two tunnels in my cigar, probably from being underfilled (did they forget to roll in a volado or seco leaf?).  Who knows, but I'm curious to see what the forum members are experiencing with their Christmas Sampler Punch Punches.  I tend to like softer cigars as the draw is more guaranteed and you get great smoke production (at the expense of a faster burning cigar) but this one seemed a bit too soft.

[adwinistrator]

I have yet to try a Punch Punch, but it's on my list.

I feel your pain though, I've had 2 out of 4 NC cigars do this to me this week.

I did have my humidor RH dip down from 62% to 59% while I was overseas, but quickly fixed this once home...  I can't imagine one week of 3% drop caused my issues, as normally tunneling is a rolling defect, but hopefully this is just an anomaly...

[mt1]

12 hours ago, crking3 said:

One of my favs .....sorry this ended poorly .....I like some of your comments about the flavor puts words to some things I was having difficulty describing .....I get a food bit of saltiness from them sometimes ...maybe that is incorporated in the peanut flavor U mention


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I gotta agree with you, Punch Punch is difficult for me to nail down as well and I'm oversimplifying it for sure.  I find the Punch profile to be very different from the other Habanos, it's not toast, it's not woody, it's not really chocolate either...closest broad generalization for me is earthy/herbal and the peanut is typically at the finish.

11 hours ago, adwinistrator said:

I have yet to try a Punch Punch, but it's on my list.

I feel your pain though, I've had 2 out of 4 NC cigars do this to me this week.

I did have my humidor RH dip down from 62% to 59% while I was overseas, but quickly fixed this once home...  I can't imagine one week of 3% drop caused my issues, as normally tunneling is a rolling defect, but hopefully this is just an anomaly...

Gotta agree with you, I doubt a week would've made a difference.  I honestly don't even know how accurate my hygrometer is...what if it's +/- 2%?  In this case, I don't think it was humidity, the cigar was just underfilled which happens but it was enjoyable nonetheless other than having to relight it multiple times.  I hope you get to try a Punch Punch soon, many people love them, they are middle of the road for me, I'll never say no to one but I may not reach for one as the first choice.

[unclepauly25]

I have to try one of these.  Never had one, I think I’ll order one next time I order off the 24:24 sale ?

[adwinistrator]

13 hours ago, mt1 said:

Gotta agree with you, I doubt a week would've made a difference.  I honestly don't even know how accurate my hygrometer is...what if it's +/- 2%?  In this case, I don't think it was humidity, the cigar was just underfilled which happens but it was enjoyable nonetheless other than having to relight it multiple times.  I hope you get to try a Punch Punch soon, many people love them, they are middle of the road for me, I'll never say no to one but I may not reach for one as the first choice.

Thanks for confirmation and advice.  I am 95% sure my hygrometers are still correct, but it's never a bad idea to double check.

I will eventually get the CC noob sampler, which should bring me up to speed on a lot of the "classics" I haven't tried yet...

[mt1]

22 hours ago, adwinistrator said:

Thanks for confirmation and advice.  I am 95% sure my hygrometers are still correct, but it's never a bad idea to double check.

I will eventually get the CC noob sampler, which should bring me up to speed on a lot of the "classics" I haven't tried yet...

I read Rob will be putting up some coupon codes over the break, so that would be a great time to stock up.  The FOH store actually sells singles of a lot of sticks at very reasonable prices, so the coupon should be an even better deal then.  Highly recommend you pick up at least 2 or 3 of each stick, as I think one stick is not very determinative of a cigar's profile--too many variables at play.  I've had many cigars I wrote off as not liking but upon a revisit, I loved them.  Happy tastings ahead to you mate!

[Derboesekoenig]

1 hour ago, mt1 said:

I read Rob will be putting up some coupon codes over the break, so that would be a great time to stock up.  The FOH store actually sells singles of a lot of sticks at very reasonable prices, so the coupon should be an even better deal then.  Highly recommend you pick up at least 2 or 3 of each stick, as I think one stick is not very determinative of a cigar's profile--too many variables at play.  I've had many cigars I wrote off as not liking but upon a revisit, I loved them.  Happy tastings ahead to you mate!

Completely agree. I think 5-6 samples is needed to make a determination, in the very least. I've hated one, and loved the next. Too many variables in consideration.