The Punch Bareknuckle is another of those cigars that have been on my to smoke list for some time and I finally picked up a couple last week. So here's my take on this cigar.
Quick Details
The first thing I noticed about this cigar once it was unwrapped was the dark oily wrapper. Feeling the body, the cigar was packed firm, but not hard, and the thick wrapper contained only very small veins and a medium amount of tooth. Overall construction Punch Bareknuckle was top of the line.
To the nose there were strong notes of coffee and cocoa from the foot and once the end was cut, the free cold draw produced flavors of spicy cedar mixed with chocolate.
After the end was toasted and burning the first draw filled my mouth with a large volume medium body of mocha and rich tobacco flavored, chewy smoke. As the burn progressed I other flavors of earth, oak, coffee and mild black pepper. Around the mid point there was also a bit of barnyard and sweet molasses. All of these flavors came and went creating an enjoyable cigar. The flavor mix of this cigar was so good I was thinking it would make my top ten this year, that is until the final third. In the final third, the strength moved more into the full range and the punch hit. All I could taste was tongue burning red pepper which I don't like at all. I continued on for another inch or so, but it subsided.
The burn on the Punch Bareknuckle was razor sharp leaving behind a soft looking gray stripped ash. with a nice oil line just above. I was a bit disappointed when the ash fell after the first inch, but oh well, you don't smoke the ash.
I have another of these in the humidor and I will see if some age helps the red pepper dissipate, but even if it doesn't the first two thirds of the cigar was fantastic! If I pick up more of these at a later date I will try it as a robusto and see if that makes a difference in the flavor mix.
Quick Details
- Cigar Size: 6.1 x 50 Pita (Toro)
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Sun-Grown
- Filler: Honduras and Nicaragua
- Paired with: Diet Pepsi
- Cutting method: Xikar double guillotine
- Price: $9.00 online
The first thing I noticed about this cigar once it was unwrapped was the dark oily wrapper. Feeling the body, the cigar was packed firm, but not hard, and the thick wrapper contained only very small veins and a medium amount of tooth. Overall construction Punch Bareknuckle was top of the line.
To the nose there were strong notes of coffee and cocoa from the foot and once the end was cut, the free cold draw produced flavors of spicy cedar mixed with chocolate.
After the end was toasted and burning the first draw filled my mouth with a large volume medium body of mocha and rich tobacco flavored, chewy smoke. As the burn progressed I other flavors of earth, oak, coffee and mild black pepper. Around the mid point there was also a bit of barnyard and sweet molasses. All of these flavors came and went creating an enjoyable cigar. The flavor mix of this cigar was so good I was thinking it would make my top ten this year, that is until the final third. In the final third, the strength moved more into the full range and the punch hit. All I could taste was tongue burning red pepper which I don't like at all. I continued on for another inch or so, but it subsided.
The burn on the Punch Bareknuckle was razor sharp leaving behind a soft looking gray stripped ash. with a nice oil line just above. I was a bit disappointed when the ash fell after the first inch, but oh well, you don't smoke the ash.
I have another of these in the humidor and I will see if some age helps the red pepper dissipate, but even if it doesn't the first two thirds of the cigar was fantastic! If I pick up more of these at a later date I will try it as a robusto and see if that makes a difference in the flavor mix.
Rated 92
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