Date Added: Tuesday 07 June, 2016
by Staff
£35.99
Reviewed by Peter Nørgaard
It was one of the first balmy days of spring in frosty Denmark, and I was sitting on the porch after lunch debating which cigar to go with the gentle breeze and the leafy shadows playing on the grass. I chose a Punch Punch from the humidor - a corona gorda, which is a bit smaller size than I usually prefer. As regards the vitolas, I tend to be tempted by bombast. Large ring sizes, great length. But somehow, it seemed right for the smaller size to echo the small improvements of the thermometer.
First of the pleasures, the pre-lighting aroma. None of the dreaded (by me) animal odours, but fresh, crisp, oaky tobacco smells, combined with a tang of liquorice root. Then, the feel. The construction of the cigar was perfect - supple, but not soft, and easy to cut.
Then, the sight. Though the wrapper was not entirely free from veins - it was, after all, a cigar leaf, not a printed piece of paper - it was aesthetically pleasing, medium brown, slightly red-tinged. The lighting went well; tight, grayish-white ash formed, and the flavours began. The draw was not exactly loose, but not uptight either. I must confess that I abhor a tight draw on a cigar and its incumbent associations of sucking oatmeal through a straw. The smoke was just right - not great, billowing clouds enveloping me, but a light, bluish veil that was in accordance with the wispy spring clouds above.
Taste-wise, the Punch Punch is no heavyweight. It does not knock you over the head with violent sensations, but in so far as a cigar may be said to possess sophistication, this is it. You won't find the sheer force of a Bolivar or the overwhelming earthiness of a Montecristo 2; more of a flowery freshness and a subtle dried-fruit flavour that enlivens the senses instead of deadening them. Think of the smell of balsa wood converted into tobacco taste, and you've about got some of the nuances. All in all, it is refreshing like a tall, cold gin-and-tonic on a hot day, not like a heavy, dark brandy at day's end. As a matter of fact, I smoked it with a cup of cafe latte, but at a later hour I would have preferred it with a mellow, buttery Australian chardonnay, or perhaps - yes! - an American single cask bourbon. As a matter of fact, I think I will do just that tonight So if you are in the mood for a little mozartian massage of the taste buds, there is a cigar for that kind of experience. The Punch Punch.
