Punch Signature

Punch Cigars, one of the most well-known cigar brands in the world, has released their newest cigar line – Punch Signature. Arriving at retailers early last month, the new cigar focuses on the brand’s early beginnings in the mid-1800’s.

The cigar features a modern rendition of the brand’s original logo, as well as marketing that utilizes the Mr. Punch character (of the famous Punch and Judy puppet show), which is what the brand was originally named after. But the most important throwback used is the tobacco – incorporating an Ecuadoran Corojo wrapper similar to the Cuban Corojo seed used in the original Punch blend. The cigar also makes use of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos of the same variety used in the original Punch.

Punch Signature Breakdown

Old meets new – that’s the theme of the new Punch Signature. The cigars are packaged in boxes of 18, having a clean look, with a solid red and blue color scheme. On the bands, Punch uses a rather large, white and black band, having the original Punch logo in the center and the Mr. Punch character on the back side.

I love the construction on these cigars! It feels solid, with a tight, springiness when squeezed, it reminds me of a Papier-mâché-like feel on the exterior. The wrapper is quite oily, with barely visible seams and a few prominent veins – it looks to have a double cap. On the nose, the cigar shows subtle notes of polished leather.

Lighting up, the cigar took quite awhile to get going, most likely due to the oiliness of the wrapper; I’d peg the draw at medium-firm. With the first few draws, the cigar is audibly sizzling and crackling, producing an intense cedar flavor. After a few heavy doses of cedar, there are added flavors of earth, tanginess, and jalapeño spice!

As the cigar progresses, the burn line becomes wavy (not unmanageable though), the ash is medium & dark gray, being somewhat flakey. One thing I noticed is the lacking amount of smoke from each puff; this wasn’t a huge negative though, as the cigar had a ton of flavor. Of course, I should note that the samples I tried had only about a week’s time in my humidor.

The majority of the cigar’s evolution happened within the first half, showing a lovely toasted cedar quality, milk chocolate, and (eventually) chili-spiced chocolate bar flavors. I really enjoyed the spice element here, being just the right amount to give a good zing through the nostrils, without being overpowering. As predicted, the cigar had a great construction throughout, there were no major touchups and I found the ash held for a good 2+ inches. Rounding out the profile, the finishing flavors were of toast, cedar, and almonds.

Would I smoke this cigar again?

I would, which is surprising because I don’t smoke many Punch cigars. This is where the brand is showing some promising changes for the future. I really enjoyed the cedar quality of it – if you want to know what cedar tastes like in a cigar, try the Punch Signature!

Short Link: