Punch-Punch Punch AXC DIC 04

[mm12]

Prelight: Moderate box press. Wrapper is medium brown and a bit on the rustic side. Construction appeared to be very good. Scent at the foot was sweet tobacco. Pre-light draw was a bit firmer than I like, but not to the point of it being a problem. Cold draw tasted like sweet cloves

1st third: Very mild, not a whole lot of flavor. Mainly just a vague tea flavor with hints of sweetness. Finish was short and bready. It started to pick up a bit of a honey flavor after the first inch or so. No spice whatsoever.

2nd third: Honey flavor now predominates. About halfway through, some pepper notes start coming through. Finish is mainly honey with a few notes of dark chocolate showing up occasionally, but it's still short.

Final third: Now it's REALLY picking up a lot of strength. Each draw feels like I'm biting the tip of my tongue. Honey flavor is still predominant. The finish is sweet and spicy, but short.

Overall, I'd give this an 84. It had decent flavor after the first inch or so, but it was kind of one dimensional. Also the finish was WAY too short. This was probably the strongest cigar I've ever smoked that I could no longer taste 5 minutes after tossing it.

These are better now than they were a couple of years ago. When they were younger, I felt as if they didn't really have any particular flavor profile at all, just a generic Cuban tobacco taste. I guess I'll wait a while and see if they keep improving.

[El Presidente]

Very good review...and not a bad 1st post

It is the hollowness of the Punch Punch in our recent tasting (you referred to it as being "short" ) that I was really disappointed with. It certainly had some intriguing nuances on the periphery....but you need a solid core to set them off against.