Punch Robusto Edicion Regional

Measures: 123 mm x 19,5 mm

Age: The cigar was bought from a highly respected shop in Geneva in January 2006. I don't know the box code.

Setting: The winter has started early in Helsinki, with snow on the ground since first days of November. Conditions for cigar smoking outside have deteriorated to a level that affects my consumption. Today, nevertheless, I wanted to smoke a good cigar despite the conditions: it was Father's day in Finland, and I had some reading to do. So I brewed some strong coffee, dressed up warmly, and then started to search for a cigar fitting the circumstances. It was then that the lone Punch Robusto winked an eye: why not?

The Edicion Regional cigar was a feast to the eyes: the wrapper is very oily and smooth, and the double bands give the cigar an exclusive flair. Closer inspection showed, however, one quite prominent vein in the otherwise flawless cigar. It turned later to be reluctant to burning. I clipped the cigar and found the draw to be relatively light.

I was not sure what to expect from the cigar: Punch is not a marca that I have a lot of experience of. What emerged was a quite surprising smoking experience. The Robusto started with a strong dose of cedar and something that reminded me of thick brown sauce: strong and unusual. This stayed essentially similar during the entire length of the cigar. At times, the youthfulness of the cigar became dominant with bitter tannins seeping to the front. The blend of the cigar must have had an extra leaf or two of ligero. The burn was not ideal due to the vein that refused to burn along with the rest of the cigar. Some corrections were needed to fix that.

So, the overall experience was interesting, but not uniformly positive. The cigar would probably have benefited from a longer rest period. How long? How good would it become? I do not venture to guess.