RealFreakinCigarReviews

Dan trys a punch... in the face?  Mouth? Hopefully not!

Punch Pita

Initial Thoughts 

I've never tried a Punch cigar, but have read the carrying on at the Thompson cigar site espousing the virtues of how great this stogie is.  While, I don't beleive everything in print (although everything in the Enquirer IS true), I'm game to try.

Removing the cellophane and doing a visual inspection reveals no blemishes to speak of.  A nice brown wrapper, no veininess to speak of.  Sniffing it, it smells pretty good.  Physical inspection; the cigar appears to be well constructed with no noticeable soft spots.

The Smoke

I used my punch cutter on this cigar (no, I still haven't got a notch cutter).  To some extent, a punch cutter can ascertain the construction of the cap fairly well -- if the cap cracks before you've successfully gotten your small cylinder of tobacco out, its likely a poorly constructed, or dry cap (in my opinion).

I ignite the stick, and take my first couple of puffs.  Nice, decently strong but not overpowering flavor.  The draw on this particular stick is firm, but not so bad that it requires the use of a vacuum pump to extract smoke and flavor from.  Flavor from the cigar is decidedly medium, with very good complexity. 

At the half way point, the draw continues to be a little bit tight, but the stick has plenty of flavor and a very good burn.  I'm not noticing any bitterness at all.  Definitely medium in terms of strength, although I'm noticing that it is getting a little bit stronger.  The burn continues to be fine, but the draw is still tight.

As I finish up this smoke, I'd say that I wouldn't mind trying it again.  Honestly, it wouldn't be an every day smoke for me.  I like the flavor, but the tight draw just really detracted from the experience.  When I smoke a cigar, I'm looking for an experience that is relaxing and truly pleasurable.  Having your lips wrapped around the stick like your sucking on a vanilla fake-shake from McDonalds doesn't particularly seem all that enjoyable to me.

The Rating