Punch Dragon Fire Shipping to Stores on Feb. 1

For the last five years, General Cigar Co.’s non-Cuban Punch brand has released an annual limited edition cigar that is centered around the theme of Americanized Chinese food. These releases have seemingly coincided with the Chinese New Year celebration, which has become a holiday that sees various cigar companies release cigars based on the Chinese zodiac calendar and the associated symbols.

This year, General’s theme seems to be changing. General Cigar Co. has announced the new Punch Dragon Fire, which celebrates the upcoming year of the dragon.

The cigar is a 5 x 60 short gordo, which the company says is made to mimic the casing of a firework. As for the blend, it uses a Mexican wrapper over a binder from Condega, Nicaragua and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. It is produced at STG Estelí. It has a pressed head and a semi-closed foot.

The MSRP is set at $6.99 per cigar and it will come in boxes of 20. General Cigar Co. has announced production numbers for this release.

“The dragon is the only mythological figure in the Chinese zodiac and that inspired us to bring the fire-breathing totem to life with this year’s release,” said John Hakim, brand manager for Punch, in a press release. “We had a blast creating the bold and fiery blend, and gave the cigar a flat head in a nod to the wood dragon that will preside over 2024. And in a shout out to the celebrations that will be sparked by the dragon’s arrival, we made the packaging to look like a box of fireworks.”

General Cigar Co. says the Punch Dragon Fire will begin shipping to stores on Wednesday, Feb. 1.

Davidoff, Gurkha, Oliva, Maya Selva, Plasencia, Rocky Patel and Vega Fina have also announced Year of the Dragon-themed cigars.

Update — The original version of this story indicated the cigar itself was pressed; it is not.