It would appear Habanos S.A. has some new bands.

Christoph Puszkar posted an image of the to-be-released Punch Punch 48, showing new Punch bands as well as secondary band for the La Casa del Habano that does not appear to be previously used.

Puskar is the marketing director for 5th Avenue Products Trading GmbH, the German distributor of Cuban cigars.

The Punch Punch 48 appeared on a leaked version of the 2016 Habanos S.A. release list, though the cigar is still not released. It was listed as an Hermosos No.3 vitola, meaning it is likely 140mm (5 1/2 inches) x 48. That document designated it as an exclusive to the La Casa del Habano (LCDH) franchises, something that seems confirmed by the secondary band.

Typical secondary bands for LCDH releases have used red bands.

Habanos S.A. did not immediately return a request for comment.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.