Ok, so I find myself cheating quite frequently because there are just so many excitnings new brands and/or new variations coming out and epinions just won't catch up. In this case, the cigar under the microscope is the Punch RARE-COROJO double corona, and a damn impressive corojo it is...

Lately cigars jacketed in this fine wrapper have taken the spotlight, and happily, we continue to see very reasonable prices on excellent cigars (IE Camacho corojo). Surely with this newly garnered attention demand (and there prices) have inf act risen, however in my honest opinion they've remained very realistic and the Punch is a stunning example of a well made cigar which a ton of wonderful corojo flavor. Unfortunately, the rare-corojo had its fleeting moment of stardom in the Punch line and then quickly went away - discontinued most certainly because the lack of up-to-par corojo wrapper available (yes, like its name implies, corojo is in fact pretty rare). In any event, I'm happy to report that more wrapper is curing and fermenting as we speak, and Punch DOES plan on re-launching the line, sort of a second-coming, and I'm excited. What's really sad about the rare-corojo's temporary demise is that some tobaconists have taken advantage of the production cut and have inflated the prices (notice I saw SOME...for that reason, it's common to see these selling from anywhere in the range of 3.80 to 9.00!!!)

The double corona isn't quite in the baseball bat category...weighing in 6 3/4 x 48, it's almost there, and this brawny cigar is perfectly pressed and very square. While I've certainly smoked my own fair share of Punch's in my time, I have always complained about consistency problems and for that reason, never fell truly in love with the brand. The corojo line has swayed me however, and despite some minor constructions faults, the cigar burns like a champ and I've yet to smoke a bad one. Despite having smoked a few with substantial seems, I was surprised at how well they still burned - draw is barely firm and for me, just right - no double puffs, just a smooth deliberate pull yields a mouthful of rich and moderately dense smoke. The ash is well white and holds together nicely, accounting for a very cool burn. These do open up a bit, and once you get into it, the flavors broaden and this is where this one really starts to impress....

Flavor wise, this one starts out humbly, with a simple leathery/cedary base with just a slight vegetal tinge...smoke a bit more a watch out! This one just opens rights opens right up and a whole hidden barrage of flavors jump out - any hints of vegetality (is that a word) dissapear and the cigar suddently smokes as if it had alot more age - slight spiciness along with a rich almonds and coca, certainly this one developes more depth the cooloer it burns, and the firm ash helps alot. It has a long smooth finish which just lingers on your tongue - surely this is one of the better 4 dollar cigars I've smoked! Althuogh I usuallt refrain from recomending any kind of accompanying drink, this one goes absolutely perfect with a good single malt. I usually prefer glen levet 12 (over the 18 actually) and the Punch is one of my favorite lounge and scotch cigars. The corojo wrapper is gorgeous, silky with an attractive chocolate color and spicy aroma - don't be fooled, there's nothing overbearing abou this one - justa richly flavorful but still medium bodied friendly smoke. This one is just spicy enough.

If you can still find 'em, buy em up! My only complaint is that these are becoming harder and harder to find, price gouching is getting rampant, and sadly I'm running very low, which is really amazing, because considering all the other cigars I smoke, 3/4 of a box seems to have just dissapeared out of my humidor! In any event, beware of alluringly low prices (fi 60/65 per box) there are a ton of retailers advertising these kinds of prices but 95% of them are surely out of stock -- the ones that are not are almost certainly gouging! The rare-corojo is best bought at a real mom & pop cigar shop which sticks to the more "typical" cigars like the macanudos and partagas types(I know there's so many that fit that sentence, don't be offended if I left out your frequent though).... If you can still find these, particularly in the non-stratospheric price range, I say they're a must buy. Even if you're not a Punch fan (like myself) the corojo is by far one of the best Punch I've smoked and I'm hoping Punch follows through with another release!

Recommended: Yes

Cigar Name: Punch Rare-Corojo Double Corona
Cigar Rating: Better than most
Price per cigar ($US): 3.80