First, a little background. I fell down the CC slope around May of this year and since then I have been smoking 90 percent CCs, but as finances will be tight over the holidays I've wanted to conserve my stash and smoke some of those lonely little NCs that have been orphans for all intents and purposes these last 6 months, and while I've been digging out the NC stash from the tupperdor I have decided it would be fun to give some of my old go-to NCs and the few sticks I never even got around to trying some reviews from the eyes of the full fledged CC whore that I have become. I have to give thanks for the knowledge generously shared by the BOTL on this forum, especially that gained from the beginners questions and cigar smoking technique threads. A great smoke usually smokes itself, but keeping one's stash in optimum condition and knowing how do deal with the snafus that may arise make the experience all that better. I forget the name of the technique discussed here in the last day or so of toasting the foot without clipping the cap, but I tried that tonight, and found that it really does improve the first inch or so of the cigar. That coupled with a frequent schedule of purging kept this cigar experience from going down hill.
I chose this cigar because it is the only Honduran puro that I know of, and I find that smoking puros is an excellent way to get a feel for what each country has to offer. I wanted to see what the best of Honduras tastes like.
Punch Gran Puro - Rancho
Robusto (5.5x54)
Wrapper: Honduran Sungrown
Binder: Honduran Sungrown
Filler: Honduras
Drink: Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, then water
Humidor Time: 1 1/2 years
Construction: This thick robusto was very well rolled, with a dark, nearly maduro in shade and very oily sungrown wrapper with some small veins. It had a nice heft in hand but was not overfilled. It proved to have a great draw with lots of smoke, but a problematic burn required 3 or 4 serious touch ups.
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Tasting: The pre-light aromas were of leather with hints of dried fruit. I toasted the foot, then cut the cap off, blew out the smoke a little and was greeted with a nice, chocolate taste with a chalky, smooth pepper in the nose and slightly harsh finish from the first drag.
1/3: The first third of this cigar was mostly leather, with that chalky, smooth but slightly peppery flavor in the nose that I get from a lot of DPG sticks up front. The finish was twangy, peppery and intermittently sour. The first purge I did sent out a plume of blue flame, so this puppy had a lot of residual ammonia built up, even after over a year in the humi. I find this to be a common failing with Honduran smokes, that no matter how much age they have, they have a tendency to get a sour apple taste from too much ammonia. Purging the stick every third puff or so really helped diminish this, and made the experience much more satisfying. The burn was constantly slanted and needed several touch ups in addition to the purging, but with this attention came a vast improvement of flavor.
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2/3: The 2nd third brought more woodsy flavors, predominantly oak, with a little bit of vegetal tones, and the finish remained twangy and slightly sour, but with a healthy tobacco flavor to it. In the nose it was still smooth and chalky, but started to have a peppery sting. I tried to break my habit of snorking every draw and was rewarded by tasting more of the oaky flavors in my mouth, rather than just getting my nostrils burned. I needed to touch up the uneven burn pretty frequently, but this coupled with the frequent purging kept the cigar tasting quite good.
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3/3: The last third I started having some problems with over heating, so I had to slow down my generally fast smoking pace in order to keep the flavors pleasant. The burn improved a little and the flavors became more earthy, with coffee overtones. The nose was full of a more gentle spice and the finish was leathery and dry.
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Overall: This was on the lower end of being full bodied, with some good flavors but not a whole lot of complexity. The frequent purging eliminated almost all of the sour ammonia flavors, but that is my big pet peeve with NCs, as I've found that pretty much the only NCs that don't have a least some of this sourness are the Nicaraguan puros. That sour-apple taste is something that usually makes me pitch a cigar, and I have NEVER tasted in a CC.
At $3.50 a stick, this is a good, full bodied smoke with good construction that isn't quite bundle price, but is what I would consider to be a decent cheap stick. If nothing else, try it to see what honduran leaf tastes like with out any other types of fillers.
Would I smoke this again? I have another single, so I might fire it up as a yard gar, or if I was out drinking with the boys and didn't want to waste a great smoke on a drunken palate.
Would I buy it again? Not with the amount of baby sitting it needed to taste good.
Would I buy a box? Absolutely not.
Would I recommend it? If you like the other Punch NC lines it is worth checking out. It is more full bodied than the other lines and I think it is worth smoking a puro from every country just for the learning experience and fine tuning for your palate, but only buy a single or two before you make up your mind.
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