Beneath the Band: Punch Short de Punch

[El Presidente]

This series seeks to explore whether a particular cigar is humidor worthy.

Cost these days is an issue for many so let's see if we can highlight some absolute standouts.  This should particularly assist those new to the cigar world.  

To be fair, most of the cigars we have featured to date have scored exceptionally well. Surprisingly well! 

Scoring is: 1-3 (Poor)   4-6 (Average to good)   7-10  (very good to excellent)  Use the Poll. 

You are more than free to comment away 

Today: Punch Short de Punch

Petit Robusto are up there with Divorce as among the things I despise most in life. Come-on people....find the extra 15 minutes and enjoy a full Robusto or go and find one of the many cracking Petit Corona!  To be fair the Punch Short de Punch at 4 3/4 " is almost there as a full Robusto, which leads me to ask "which moron marketing genius came up with this plan for Punch”. 

Well, that is how I use to think of Petit Robusto until Tabacuba/HSA started playing with my mind by releasing some exceptional 44-52 gauge / sub 5 inch cigars. Magicos/Behike 52/Medio Siglo/Magnum 48/Party 5&6....etc. I have to say I have always had a soft spot for the HDM Petit Robusto and its sugar cane coffee cream hit. I have always been a Hoyo fan however and that not all are. 

So, the Punch Short de Punch was released 2019 and proved to be an immediate hit. Why? because it hits its flavour stride from the first touch of flame and doesn't let go. Then cigar Armageddon came followed by a litany of production problems fed by top-down incompetence. Punch Short de Punch drifted in and out of availability. Remember as a child that uncle that you would only see at family gatherings sporadically because of a nebulous criminal past?......Punch SDP appearance is a little like that 

Your thoughts on the Punch Short de Punch? 

Outside of the poll, which Petit Robusto do you prefer and why? Let us know in this thread 

[cnov]

Top marks all round for me. 

Love them, look forward to attempting to get some age on a few boxes but not sure it'll be possible. There's definitely value in them still, be good to get a slb of 25 added to the roster. 

[Lucas Buck]

Recently picked up a box as I just started buying again and am a confirmed Punch whore. Was planning on letting them age a few years but suspect I won’t be able to resist smoking one sooner than that. Certain this poll will show lots of love. 

[Chibearsv]

I'm not a big fan of the size, but these have always delivered plenty of nice flavors. Creamy, nutty, a little barnyard twang, all good. I don't know what they sell for now but they were good value when they were going for $18 a pop.  

[Ford2112]

Good cigars, but I will go for the Punch Punch 9 times out of 10.

[Chibearsv]

8 hours ago, Ford2112 said:

Good cigars, but I will go for the Punch Punch 9 times out of 10.

A little more punch in those for sure…see what I did there? I’m so clever 🤪

[BlueWS]

I prefer Punch Punch. These little sticks are more "savory" in taste. Punch Punch come off a little sweeter. Hoyo Petit Robustos are #1 in the class imo. I love the salt/nuttiness of those.

[rascalmonkey]

The first one i smoked was great - so I bought 2 more 10-packs. Almost every single one of those remaining 29 smoke was toxic and noxious.

[Mike Mecklenburg]

My October 2022 box has started to develop into a very good cigar, so thumbs up on all categories.

[Li Bai]

I've really enjoyed all the ones I've smoked so far. Petit robustos are not on my radar to be honest but this Punch doesn't belong there to me given it's only 4mm short of the official length compared to the HDM which is a lot shorter (22mm).

Just like you Rob (and many here I presume) I can't figure out how someone would come up with this "Let's make a Punch robusto, but only a little shorter" idea and get it done...

[BrightonCorgi]

Cigar mavens clamor over anything Punch, so the Punch Short De Punch doesn't surprise me in its popularity. I've smoked a few, and enjoyed, but not rushing to go through the box either.  

Why is the Punch portfolio so small for such a revered and cherish marca? 

[MrBirdman]

Probably my favorite new release over the past 5-6 years, certainly the one I smoke the most of. I like that it offers a different side of Punch from the Punch Punch; it may not be quite as complex, but if you like that roasted peanut-forward flavor then it’s hard to beat among regular production cigars. 

I will say, however, that there are a number of NC cigars that have similar flavor profiles to SdP. I frequently find them in Illusione and some other Aganorsa-sourced blends. I stocked up on nearly a dozen boxes of SdP BC (before Cigarmaggedon) - they were $90 a box during a Black Friday sale in 2021, oh how things have changed! As much as I like them, I am not sure I’ll restock when I run out because you can get pretty close outside Cuba and in vitolas I like more. 

[chasy]

I'm a fan all around. I actually like the size as it's tough for me to find the time to smoke larger vitolas. I fantasize about smoking my double coronas and I reach from my robustos and petit robustos in reality.

[BG318]

I was always anxious to try these, but when I finally did I wasn't overly enthused by the peanut butter profile. After a couple of sticks I lost interest. I think that they are a good cigar but there are many more out there that I prefer. Punch Punch, Punch DC, as well as the 898 on the other hand, are among my favorites. For those who had them when they were more available and less money, I can understand why they would be seen as a reliable treat, but I won't be competing with you guys for the scarce boxes available today.

[Habanoschris]

I've had only a few singles of these one of which two years ago (pictured) was enjoyable/memorable. I'd have to smoke some more to really form an opinion.  👌😚💨

[qs210]

Solid stick. However its not one I go out of my way to acquire. 

[GVan]

Love these - I still have 5 boxes (2019 & 2020) stashed away aging. I smoked through three boxes of these pretty quickly at about the one-year mark. I decided to be patient and hope for even more refined flavors post 5 years of age. I generally don't touch any of the Punch-Punchs until after 7 years of age.

I wish I had bought more of the PSdP's!!!

[Fugu]

Was blown away by the OR sticks. Later production ones were not that great. But granted, I am not smoking a hell of a lot of them, so that could be attributed to sheer coincidence.