Punch Crowdsources Fans for The People’s Champ

Next week, General Cigar Co. will launch a new Punch brand that it says was created over the course of three years and after receiving feedback from thousands of the brand’s fans.

The Punch The People’s Champ is a 5 x 50 robusto that uses a habano wrapper from the Talanga Valley in Honduras over a Mexican San Andrés binder and fillers from Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. STG Danlí is making the cigar. General Cigar Co. asked The Punch Brotherhood, its online fan club for the Punch brand, for feedback about the profile, size and packaging. The end result, according to the company, is a medium-bodied robusto.

It will have an MSRP of $6.49 and is limited, though General Cigar Co. has not disclosed production numbers. The People’s Champ will be offered in both 5- and 10-count bundles. In addition, the company says it will only be sold at brick-and-mortar retailers.

“We asked. They told. We crafted. This is the best way to describe how The People’s Champ cigar was created,” said John Hakim, brand manager for Punch, in a press release. “While some may say we spent a lot of time on such a limited run of cigars, we beg to differ. We learned so much from Punch’s most devoted fans, and those insights will be incredibly valuable in guiding us on future releases.”

You will notice that there are no pictures of the packaging. General says it will not show off the packaging until after it begins shipping to stores on June 1.