Punch Uppercut - Review

[kenstogie]

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While at a recent Herf (NERF) I was given a bag of 15 or so cigars. It had some good ones too like the Room 101, Liga Pravada T-52 and so on. One of them was the Punch Uppercut. I had heard of Punch a million times but never actually had one.

Supposedly this was one of those cigars that had some angle. This one’s was a super special ingredient …
“A feisty binder leaf grown in the volcanic soils of Ometepe - an island off the coast of Nicaragua.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ometepe Ometepe is an island formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words ome (two) and tepetl (mountain), meaning two mountains.

This was kept in my humi for about a month at about 65%.

Although I had heard of Punch I had never heard of Uppercut. Hence a review. I figure if it’s good, give the BOTL’s/inmates a heads up if it’s a dud well hey let em know that too. Cost for these at CI is about $30 for a fiver and $103 for a box. ON to the review….

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PRE-LIGHT - The cigar was obviously a well built cigar so props to Punch for that. Draw was just about perfect maybe a little tight for me but still right on. That’s a preference thing, you know. More props. It was solid with no spongy spots but still had a touch of give. Smell had a nice smell nothing overwhelming or really intense.

LIGHT/FIRST IMPRESSIONS - The first tastes were a little sweet, a lot of earth and a touch of dirt and leather. Didn’t notice any spice to speak of and I wasn’t overwhelmed nor especially excited about this cigar so far.

ONE QUARTER THROUGH - The sweet picked up a bit and the earth subsided a bit while the leather picked up. Still it was ok but not great.

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ONE HALF THROUGH - I noticed a grass flavor and the varying degrees of the other flavors above especially the leather.

THE REST - That was about the entire cigar for me. It was a very well built cigar and burn was flawless but the flavor didn’t do it for me. Not bad although some of it seemed a bit off (grass/dirt).

CONCLUSION -Would some age do anything for this? Maybe. And maybe it just wasn’t my kind of cigar. Definitely (for me at least) there are better values out there to be had. I had fun with the review and the photography so it was a good time.

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[kelmac07]

Nice review...thanks for sharing.

[SmokingPoker]

Good review and I smoked one the other night and I'd have to agree with your conclusion. I have one more laying down in the humi I will revisit later this summer (something about it just seemed comfortable and screamed beer gar on a hot, clear summer night star gazing trying to catch a falling star).

[NCRadioMan]

If you remember the Punch Vote promotion where you get two cigars (A and B) and vote on which one you liked best, this was the one that received the most votes.

[KenyanSandBoa]

Nice review...thanks. I still have my Uppercut from the NERF sitting in my humi. I'm curious to see if I have a similar experience.

[homerjay19]

Nice review...thanks. I still have my Uppercut from the NERF sitting in my humi. I'm curious to see if I have a similar experience.

As do I, I will probably let it sit for a while.

[OHRD]

Nice review Ken, and great photos!

[KenyanSandBoa]

Nice review Ken, and great photos!

Yeah, those photos are amazing. That one with the cigar next to the watch looks like it should be in a magazine...it makes me want to by that cigar...or the watch. :D

I noticed that weird "time effect" on the second hand of the watch...is that from leaving the shutter open?

[kenstogie]

Yeah, those photos are amazing. That one with the cigar next to the watch looks like it should be in a magazine...it makes me want to by that cigar...or the watch. :D

I noticed that weird "time effect" on the second hand of the watch...is that from leaving the shutter open?

Thanks for the compliment. :)
Yes it's from a 6 sec exposure or thereabouts.

[tx_tuff]

Very nice review and good pics but no pics of the burn or ash?

I smoked one last night and thought it was a good cigar, had a crazy white ash (crazy because of how white it was) and it held on nice. I didn't get and grass or dirt flavors from it. But grass is not always a bad flavor anyway depending on the rest of the profile.

[bookman]

Well, guess I can skip this brand. Used to love Punch ncs esp. the London Club and Roths, until I tried the cc Punch Royal Coronationes!! Man, now that's a cigar with a...

PUNCH!!!

[Scott1966]

I had a couple of these from last year's trade show and I liked them. Pricepoint makes them appealing.

[G G]

Thanks for a great review.:tu

[kenstogie]

Thanks for the compliments. In all fairness some folks like this cigar. Maybe I got one that was not as good as others. Maybe the my tastes don't suit the flavor profile of this cigar too. But either way thank you. :)

[kenstogie]

Very nice review and good pics but no pics of the burn or ash?

I smoked one last night and thought it was a good cigar, had a crazy white ash (crazy because of how white it was) and it held on nice. I didn't get and grass or dirt flavors from it. But grass is not always a bad flavor anyway depending on the rest of the profile.

No pics of the ash, sorry. I will say that my ash was not white at all just a typical gray.

[CEC_Tech]

If there's one thing I've ever gotten from Punch, it's leather and earth. They seem to excel at putting out cigars with those flavors and not much else. Most of the one's i've gotten I've let sit for about a year and it seems to take the bite out of them. Flavors do not change much though.

[MarkinAZ]

Nice review and photo's Ken. Sometimes a little rest is just what is needed for certain brands:tu

[Sanchy]

Thx for the review. Been wondering about these.

[kenstogie]

Thought I might mention that the HDM excal legend has some of the Ometepe tabaco in it. I am enjoying this considerably more than the Uppercut. Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur Legend is incredibly complex due to its Nicaraguan and Dominican filler. The majority of the filler is ligero, which produces robust notes of earth with exaggerated hints of spice in the aftertaste. In addition, Legend also contains a unique tobacco grown on the volcanic island of Ometepe, also in Nicaragua. This tobacco creates a complexity unnoticed in other cigars, creating oak flavors, cedar, and a rich aftertaste..."
Posted via Mobile Device

[MarkinAZ]

Thought I might mention that the HDM excal legend has some of the Ometepe tabaco in it. I am enjoying this considerably more than the Uppercut. Posted via Mobile Device

What size in the Legends series are you smoking Ken? I've really enjoyed the Crusader (5.75 x 45) which is an awesome little stick...

[Cigary]

I have had this cigar a few times myself and while the review is pretty accurate this cigar gets really better after as little as 6 months on them. It matures nicely and the notes of leather and earth stand out more than ROTT. It really never becomes harsh or overpowering at any point as it stay pretty much in the medium range but for the taste and cost it's a nice change of pace when you smoke too many of your "go to" cigars.

[kenstogie]

What size in the Legends series are you smoking Ken? I've really enjoyed the Crusader (5.75 x 45) which is an awesome little stick...

It was a 7x52 (guessing) It was pretty good, it got creamy toward the second half. It had some soft spots and the wrapper split but the flavor was good. I have to say that the Punch UC was pretty new and the HDM EX Legend had been in my humi for nearly a year.