Origin: Honduras
Length: 5.25
Ring: 54
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper Type: Ecuador Sumatran
Binder: Connecticut
Filler: DR/HON/NIC

I was browsing through my Cigars International mail order catalog one night and came across a deal I though was pretty good. The sampler I ordered contained ten cigars, five Punch Magnums and five Gurkha Class Regents. I have had a curiosity about Gurkha cigars for some time now and have been dying to try one. My experience with the Punch brand was limited to only one cigar. I decided this sampler was the one for me as it had the most to offer from what I could see.

When my order arrived it was packed in the typical fashion, wrapped individually in cellophane, then again as a whole. I took off the outside layer of cellophane and put them into my humidor. I always leave the individual cellophane on due to a tip I got on writing the date on the wrapper to help keep track of your cigars.

Last night (Saturday) I went through the same precautions with the Punch as I did with the Nat Sherman. I was sure to have nothing to eat for a couple of hours and would only drink water leading up to the cigar. I have a tendency to do this with the first cigar of any brand I try. I do this to try and get the maximum flavors out for the sake of reviewing and my own enjoyment.

As always I took out my trusty plug cutter and cut the cap of my cigar. The cigar seemed a touch soft (just the way I like them) the cutter glided right through the cap and made a quick and clean hole. At this point I lit the cigar.

The initial draw was very light. I got a full mouth of smoke which was loaded with flavor. The first puff was incredibly salty. This made me salivate just a bit. This seemed to really enhance the flavors that followed. The salty flavor didn’t last past the second puff. At this point the cigar mellowed out and became smooth and creamy.

As I got towards the middle section of the cigar the flavor started to change a little. I was now getting a smooth but less creamy flavor as hints of pepper began to start. This part was a pleasant transition and was still very enjoyable. The burn rate picked up a little and the overall strength picked up a bit.

When I was down to the band of the cigar the flavors picked up some more. At this point in the cigar I was getting some more pepper which made my mouth and throat tingle just a little bit. I started to get some uneven burning where the cherry was burning up into the cigar leaving the wrapper in tack outside of it. This was self corrected after a few puffs and everything was back to normal.

As always I smoked the cigar up until it was about three quarters of an inch long. I then had to set it in the ashtray to let it burn out after an enjoyable hour and forty five minutes.

The Punch Magnum exceeded my expectations and was a great smoke. It was a little light in flavor for my taste but aside from that, again, a great smoke. I scored this cigar at a 90.5 out of 100.

Like before, you can check out my score sheet below.

My score sheet – 90.5 / 100