Punch Signature Robusto

Punch is one of the oldest Habano brands, founded in 1840 by Don Manuel Lopez of Juan Valle & Company and intended for the booming British market. The name Punch is drawn from a famous comic book, "Punch & Judy"; the clown, Mr. Punch, is still seen today on every box with his sly smile and cigar. In 1969, the brand moved from Cuba to its new home in Honduras after the nationalization of Cuba’s cigar industry, and they have continued to make high quality cigars ever since.

The Punch Signature you have in your shipment today is a modern throwback to the original Punch cigars that were created over 175 years ago. According to Master Blender Agustin Garcia, “Think of [Signature] as a brother who has a lot of fire in him, but also respects tradition and the family name.” The cigar starts with an updated version of the band, which still includes Mr. Punch, and one of the darkest non-maduro wrappers we have seen of late, an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper that was cultivated by a local grower specifically for this cigar. Under the super dark chocolate corojo lies a feisty, one-of-a-kind Nicaraguan binder that secures vintage long-fillers from lush growing regions in the Dominican and Nicaragua, similar to the tobaccos used in original Punch cigars. Rich and medium to full bodied notes of aromatic spice, cedar, and leather with hints of cinnamon provide complex and bold flavors from start to finish. With a 93 rating from Cigar Insider, this stogie is sure to impress any time of day. Enjoy with a chardonnay.

Honduras has been a tobacco growing and cigar manufacturing area for hundreds of years, but it was the Communist revolution in Cuba that really put Honduras on the map. In the 1960s, many Cuban cigar makers fled their homeland and arrived in Honduras to re-establish their way of life. The immigrants took advantage of the climate, soil, and geography, which were well-suited to tobacco growing, and began producing high quality cigars. The center of the Honduran cigar industry is the city of Danli and the nearby Jamastran Valley. The majority of the world’s pure Corojo tobacco is grown here, now that Cuba has stopped production of this iconic, spicy, and rich variety in favor of Corojo hybrids. Other important areas of Honduran cigar production include the Talanga Valley, Copan, and Trojes.