Robusto, 5.25" x 50 ring gauge, $6.80
Before this cigar, the last time I can honestly remember smoking a Punch was at the 2007 Las Vegas Big Smoke. Honestly, it is just not a cigar I reach for because they have never been all that interesting or distinctive. For that reason I was less-than-eager to find and try the new Uppercut from Punch. The mixed reviews I read and heard did not help. But here I am--smoking a Punch--taking one for the team (Go Team Tiki Bar! Woooo!). This cigar is manufactured in Honduras and marketed by General Cigar. The filler is Dominican along with two types of Nicaraguan: Esteli and Ometepe. It also has Nicaraguan leaf for the binder and an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. The Ometepe filler is highlighted in the foot band which features a photo of the volcanic island where the tobacco is grown. The website promises a "unique flavor" in that island's tobacco.
The appearance was a mixed bag: while the bands are nice and fairly classy, the wrapper leaf is fairly heavily veined and very mottled. The cap application was sloppy--looking like they got someone from a "roll a cigar" contest to do it. The aroma from the wrapper was kind of musty and faintly of barnyard. The foot had more and better aroma--more barnyard and a bit of chocolate. The prelight draw was very good; the cold flavors were sort of like the aromas--fairly faint and indistinct. There was a little cocoa powder in there along with some sweet tobacco--not much else.
Initial puffs had some chili pepper spice along with some notes of leather and earth. There was also a slight sourness that was not pleasant and it was dismaying to see it showing up this early in a smoke. I hoped this stick would get better from here, because it really had not started well. The first third was earthy and spicy but that was about it. The earthiness was not the pleasant earthiness you might get from a Padron, either, but just kind of like...dirt. The spice was nice and there were occasional hints of cinnamon or nutmeg or something like that, but I was really not digging the Uppercut at this point. On the plus side, the ash was almost pure white, hung on for a long time and burned very evenly.
Thankfully, the flavor improved in the second third, if only a bit. The earthiness gave way a little letting in some more autumn spice and toasty flavors; the pepper spice continued even stronger than it was previously. The construction was superb so far. The body had settled into a nice medium, not the medium-to-full that I had been expecting.
The last segment was really a continuation of the second third--earth, some autumn spice, some chili pepper. Overall, this was a "good" cigar, but not one I could see adding to my regular rotation. It had some decent flavor once past the first third, but nothing all that distinctive or interesting. In the end, it turned out to be your basic General product--decent, but not desirable for the experienced cigar smoker. It just did not deliver enough in flavor or body to make it an experience worth repeating.
Body: 7/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 4/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 1/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 2.5/5
Value: 0/1
Total: 5.5/10
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