Punch

[truckin25]

Over the last several years I have been very blessed to try darn near every Marca and many many Vitolas from the Cuban makers.

I have yet to try a single Punch.  Am I missing out?  Which one is a must try?

For perspective, I love VR Famosos, Trinidad, San Cristobals, Ramon Allones....

Thanks in advance for your input.

[NSXCIGAR]

Try them all. Punch is a well-liked marca. Not my favorite but I can enjoy them from time to time. Most are just under medium. The blend is clove, wood and a light frutiniess. 

I would say the DC is probably the best all-around model. The Punch Punch and Punch 48 would be tied for second. I'm not sure which one is better and they're about the same price. The Short de Punch is definitely the strongest model. I find them a bit harsh but others love them. 

I would avoid the tubed Coronations. 

[rcarlson]

8 minutes ago, truckin25 said:

Over the last several years I have been very blessed to try darn near every Marca and many many Vitolas from the Cuban makers.

I have yet to try a single Punch.  Am I missing out?  Which one is a must try?

For perspective, I love VR Famosos, Trinidad, San Cristobals, Ramon Allones....

Thanks in advance for your input.

Swore them off after bad experiences in the dreaded 2000ish era.  Picked them up again recently.  They're fantastic.  Punch Punch and SdP have been blowin' my balls off.  Clean off.  Must tries.  

[Chucko8]

I have thoroughly been enjoying the SdP. The Punch DC if you can get hold of, also is very worthy IMHO!

[MrBirdman]

30 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Try them all. Punch is a well-liked marca. Not my favorite but I can enjoy them

Second this - I don't know many (maybe any?) FOH members who count Punch as their favorite marca, but many rate it highly. 

Short de Punch is an excellent introduction to the line and available in boxes of 10. Doubt you'll regret picking up a box.

[karp]

29 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

The blend is clove, wood and a light frutiniess.

Interesting description. I’ve noticed some similarity with Hoyos - the clove and wordiness maybe. Surprising. More spice from the Punch though, also some nuttiness, like peanut. 

[Tunkat92]

I really like the short de punch and the punch dc. Its not my favorite brand so I don’t reach for them often but when I do I’m rarely disappointed.

[NSXCIGAR]

57 minutes ago, karp said:

Interesting description. I’ve noticed some similarity with Hoyos - the clove and wordiness maybe. Surprising. More spice from the Punch though, also some nuttiness, like peanut. 

I would say the woodiness is there in Hoyo but more cream. Sure, I can get some nuttiness in Punch. I don't get clove in any Hoyo except the Rio Seco which has a lot of everything.

1 hour ago, rcarlson said:

Swore them off after bad experiences in the dreaded 2000ish era. 

As did I. The only good Punch I had from 2001 to 2016 was an 03 50 cab of Punch Punch. They really hit a low point from 07-12. Had some really awful ones in that period. Some of the worst CCs I ever had. They really didn't start to recover until 2014-15. 

[99call]

Recent Punch (seemingly accross the board) have had a significant uptick in their quality. 

I agree with @NSXCIGAR that they went through a long unpleasant spell, whereby the flavour notes seemed only to include a pencil shavings sort of aroma. i.e. cedar and a sort of metallic unpleasantness. 

Fast forward to the last couple of years and they are full of flavour.    Some call it clove, I and a few others would call it a unique Juicyfruit gum sort of flavour.  That along with a rich creaminess.  nutty and woody.

For me the best thing about Punch is,  it exemplified 'Cuban Twang/tang".   that mixture of the juicy fruity sourness, and the cream,  I believe is the best most relatable version of this.  i.e. if a friend asked me to give them a cigar to experience what 'Cuban Twang' is,  I would always reach for Punch first. 

[99call]

7 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

I would avoid the tubed Coronations. 

Whats been your experiences? and are they recent?.  I put up a thread on this a while back trying to gauge opinion.  Cheers

[Doctorossi]

Looking at your professed favorites, yes, you are missing out. I think you'd love a lot of Punch.

[dshot]

Punch Punch is a great vitola. If you can find them they where a great deal for the size IMO.

[Namisgr11]

I'm also a fan of Punch Punch.  Even to my relatively inexperienced and unrefined taste, they have a pleasant woody, grassy and floral flavor distinct from any other cigar I've tried, and they're a favorite corona gorda size.  While I have some with a 2018 box date, I prefer the taste of the handful of singles I was able to get a hold of in 2022.

[SingleBarrel]

Punch is my favorite regular production brand. If you have the chance to pick on some Punch Punch or DC’s definitely take it!

[Rhinoww]

Smoked a Punch Punch 2018 tubos that I had not visited in some time. Worthy of the effort. I will be pulling more out to my singles tray when I next resupply the singles tray. 

[NSXCIGAR]

12 hours ago, 99call said:

Whats been your experiences? and are they recent?.  I put up a thread on this a while back trying to gauge opinion.  Cheers

I've always felt the Coronations aren't using top tier leaf. I can't recall if I ever tried any before around 07 so I can't comment on them past then but I feel they're pretty much in the same boat as the HU CJ/CM, Party de Luxe/CS/CJ and Hoyo Coronations--duty free specials. 

Of course, many here do like them and that's fine. I just wouldn't recommend them as the first stop for a newcomer to the marca. 

[SMELTZ]

I really like the Punch marca.  The 20-22 Punch Punch and Punch DC's are amazing flavor bombs.

[joeypots]

The old Royal and Super Selections were terrific cigars even if they needed lots of time to come around. Punch made a lot of corona gordas back in the day. Punch Punch Punch were out of favor when I started with Cuban cigars and the Siglo IV, Mag 46, and EPI #1 reigned supreme. The PPP came Bach in, like ’16, and have been a staple for me since. New ones are terrific, rich and potent with flavor. The rest of the line I’m less familiar with but I wouldn’t hesitate to stock up on the PPP if they are available at an affordable price.

[LizardGizmo]

My late 21 Punch Punch are smoking perfectly - I had one on the zoom call the other night and it really blew me away. Wish I had 5 boxes of them.

I'm not a huge fan of Short de Punch, but a few of my friends are obsessed with them.

I have a box of Punch DC resting - can't wait to get into them!

[BigGuns]

Punch never really grabbed my attention, but the Punch 48 I have (RAT JUL 20) certainly make me pay closer attention. Definitely in my top 10(ish). That peanut/peanut butter that everyone talks about screams out of these. Definitely worth giving a try. Looking to grab another box or two when I can, for sure

[alephilmac]

1 hour ago, BigGuns said:

Punch never really grabbed my attention, but the Punch 48 I have (RAT JUL 20) certainly make me pay closer attention. Definitely in my top 10(ish). That peanut/peanut butter that everyone talks about screams out of these. Definitely worth giving a try. Looking to grab another box or two when I can, for sure

Sounds awesome. I'll have to keep an eye out for these.