Punch Spring Roll

The Zodiac Calendar has become a very popular source of inspiration for new cigars over the past several years, which has been well documented on this site.

But in 2019, General Cigar Co. decided to take a different approach to the Lunar New Year celebrations, releasing the first in what is now a series of limited editions for its Punch brand that has a more Americanized take on the holiday, namely using the names of several food dishes and even a style of mustache for the cigars.

 

This year was no exception, as in early January, the company announced the Punch Spring Roll, a 4 1/2 x 50 petit robusto that would be coming to stores the following month. It also marks the first time in the series that a size has been used twice. The first cigar in the line, the Punch Egg Roll, was also a 4 1/2 x 50 petite robusto

The cigar uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a U.S.-grown broadleaf binder and fillers from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the United States, the latter of those being a broadleaf varietal. The blend is also similar to the Punch Egg Roll, which used a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder, with the fillers the same—at least on paper.

“Punch Spring Roll is like a three-course meal: It delivers a great smoking experience in a size that really brings the blend to life, and it comes at a price point that hits the post-holiday sweet spot for cigar lovers,” said John Hakim, brand manager of Punch, in a press release. “Paying homage to the original, Spring Roll is the yin to Egg Roll’s yang. Since the Year of the Rabbit is said to bring good fortune, we invite Punch fans to kick back and let the good times Spring Roll.”

Like the previous four releases, the cigar would finish an unfinished foot, meaning that the wrapper was cut short of the end of the cigar, and in this case, it appears the binder was as well. The cigars were produced at the STG Danlí factory in Honduras, with production limited to 5,000 boxes of cigars, though they weren’t ordinary boxes. Keeping with the tradition of the line, the packaging was rather unique, as the cigars were presented in the kind of to-go food containers that are often found at Chinese restaurants.

• Cigar Reviewed: Punch Spring Roll
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: STG Danlí
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
• Binder: U.S.A. (Broadleaf)
• Filler: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico and U.S.A. (Broadleaf)
• Length: 4 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Petit Robusto
• MSRP: $5.99 (Box of 25, $149.75)
• Release Date: Feb. 1, 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 5,000 Boxes of 25 Cigars (125,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The bright, almost jewel-like red band makes a good case for being the first thing to catch my attention, but I find myself drawn to the uncovered foot a bit more. Both are eye-catching, but the latter has me thinking about the flavor change that seems to be in store for me. It also looks a bit different from cigar to cigar. One cigar’s foot is fairly dense and solid, not showing the individual pieces of tobacco that another sample does as the leaves spread apart just a bit. The third cigar is nearly as tightly packed as the first, but a single piece of tobacco that is folded over stands out. The cigar is rolled firmly with just enough give to keep it from being called hard. It appears to be rolled quite well, though there is one cap that is cut more like an oval and so droops over one side a bit. The wrapper is very even in color, save for a bit of difference with the cap, which isn’t terribly uncommon and not something I really care about. It also matches the color of the fillers pretty well, which provides some visual consistency but doesn’t always accent the uniqueness of the unfinished foot. The foot has aromas of dry tobacco, a bit of sweetness, then soft wheat pretzels and other wheat bread expressions. There’s not a lot of pepper, and while the sweetness is subtle, it serves an interesting role in tying the various aromas together. The cold draw is on the firm side of the spectrum, with a fairly thick body and a flavor that is a bit buttery before showing a bit of toast, dry mixed nuts, and a very light woodiness, a combination that would seem more dry and textured on the taste buds than it actually is.

Given the shaggy foot that the Punch Spring Roll offers, I find myself a bit more focused on the first puffs than I might otherwise be. The cigar opens without a lot of fanfare, starting with mixed nuts, toasty flavors, and what I imagine dry tobacco leaves would taste like were I to eat some. There’s a good amount of smoke and it has a decent body that occasionally offers some creaminess, making for a pretty enjoyable and approachable start. After taking a few initial puffs, I find myself checking the burn line after each subsequent puff to see how close it is to hitting the wrapper. While I don’t want to prompt myself to notice a change, I also don’t want to glance over it. When the burn line hits the wrapper, the profile gets a bit more flavorful and robust, adding roasted nuts and a bit of smoky earth to the profile, while the retrohales are a bit more fragrant with a quick hit of spent bourbon barrels that gives way to bright white pepper one-two punching my nostrils with black pepper on the finish. None of the three samples offer a dramatic change, but it is noticeable, particularly with a bit of attention given to the profile. I’m always intrigued when a cigar can capture my attention when sitting in the ashtray, which is what happens with the second sample; I don’t know if it was a continuation of the finish in my nostrils or a thin wisp of smoke while it rested, but a sweet, rich nuttiness finished off with a bit of pepper does just that as the first third comes to a close. The flavor is medium-plus, the body is medium-plus, and the strength is mild. Construction is good on the whole, though the first cigar’s ash doesn’t hold on very well.

The second third brings about a slightly more intense and concentrated flavor profile, one that’s not inherently different from what the first cigar finished with but one that does find ways to catch my attention. The finish does show a bit more change; it has become lengthier due to some more black pepper, a flavor that can pick up a bit of char at times but stays fairly agreeable. The cigar also shows some variance with the creaminess, but the more it hangs around, the better I find the profile to be. Retrohales don’t have as much of that sensation, and when it is there, it tends to be powdery, but it still manages to soften and round out the smoke. Around the midpoint, the result from each puff is impressively complex and balanced, and while they vary a bit from puff to puff and cigar to cigar, it does show a decent range of the blend. There is some dialing back of the flavor’s intensity, leading me to hold off on calling the profile robust for the moment, which seemed where it had been heading, but for the most part, the flavor intensity holds steady during this section, leading me to peg it at medium-full, though I could see others calling it outright full. Body is medium-plus, while strength is medium-minus. Construction is still very good, and after the fragile ash of the first cigar, a bit more delicate handling leads to better results in the other two cigars.

The final third starts with much of the same flavor intensity that the second third offers, which leads to each puff generating a lot of sensation on my taste buds and through my nose. There is a bit more creaminess beginning to emerge not long into this section, an aspect that seems to reveal the main area of variance between the three samples as they are otherwise quite consistent. Until it returned, I didn’t even notice the creaminess had departed, as the underlying earthiness and bright pepper do more than enough to keep my taste buds engaged and the profile never takes a puff off. The further into the final third that the burn line goes, the more I find heat becoming a factor, something that starts by manifesting as a bit of red chili pepper on the tip of the tongue but quickly morphs into a distinct sharpness that isn’t tied into a flavor. It’s controllable with a bit slower puffing rate, which allows the cigar to be smoked down to a small nub, with nuttiness coming back into the profile to pair with a lighter expression of the earth and woods and a lesser amount of pepper. Construction remains very good, with only an occasional touch-up needed, while the burn line is sharp and smoke is plentiful. The flavor intensity finishes around medium-full, body is medium-plus and strength is medium-minus.

Final Notes

• The ash on the first cigar was almost completely uncooperative when it came to setting up a photo, as it dropped off randomly and usually as I was just starting to think it was time to snap a photo.
• The back of the band contains what seems to be a fortune. Two of the three cigars said “You were smart enough to buy this cigar. You don’t need good luck.” The other had “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but not this one.”
• I found it a bit odd that a cigar called the Spring Roll would seem to come with a fortune, but this has been a theme among the previous releases.
• I happened to review the Punch Egg Roll back in April 2019, and while I can’t say I have distinct memories of it, judging by the fact that it got a 90 means I had to have liked it.
• While not explicitly marketed as a U.S. exclusive, they are, as General Cigar Co. only holds the rights to the Punch trademark in the U.S. This is a notable difference with Zodiac Calender-themed cigars from other companies that tend to sell those cigars around the world.
• Even though the Punch Zodiac Series hasn’t won any of our Packaging Awards, I do think the creative team at General Cigar Co. deserves some credit for these. It is a solid execution of a theme that should catch some eyes on store shelves.
• In September 2021, General Cigar Co. released the Punch Bento Box, a limited edition sampler that contained the first three releases in the Zodiac Series. Specifically, there were 20 of the Punch Egg Roll, 12 of the Punch Chop Suey, and 10 of the Punch Kung Pow!
• I could make the case that the first third of the Punch Spring Roll should be just the uncovered foot, and then the rest of the cigar could be split into two sections. But to keep with our policy, I did split the cigar up into thirds more or less by length.
• None of the three cigars hit me with any nicotine strength, and I can’t say that despite flirting with that medium strength mark, I never felt any of the cigars while smoking them.
• General Cigar Co. advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was one hour and 35 minutes on average.
• Site sponsors Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co. Famous Smoke Shop, and Gotham Cigars carry the Punch Spring Roll.