Kingantz Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Punch Corona 1998 What a beautiful day with lots of sun and a gorgeous blue sky. There was a fairly decent breeze blowing that actually kept it a bit on the cooler side, but 65F isn’t so bad. Temp on the porch reading a steady 70F though. A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to pick up a fiver of 1998 Punch Coronas on another board, and today I decided I’d put fire to one. I went to dig it out the wine-a-dor and oops! Just happened to accidentally spill a small bowl of beads that I forgot was sitting on one of the boxes on top shelf. Needless to say it took me a while to empty the wine-a-dor and clean all those little suckers up. Wife was standing behind me arms folded tapping her foot and I heard myself say, “Well I didn’t MEAN to do it.” She huffed and went to go make sure the baby wasn’t planning on making a sudden appearance and decide to eat the beads (again, but that’s another story). After finally getting the mess up and all the boxes neatly stacked back in the wine-a-dor, I grabbed the smoke, camera, and The Ultimate Cigar Book (received froma BOTL on another board) and headed outside. The cigar was a slight pale brown and very little oil to the wrapper. This thing looked like it had some age on it, which of course it did. Decent construction with slight veins and the cap wasn’t perfect but did have the triple layer in one spot. I punched the head with the largest sized ring very carefully (usually use the medium ring) and slowly the procedure was done. Pre-light draw was of well-aged mature tobacco with a hint of sweetness. It was a bit on the tight side, but certainly not plugged. I toasted the foot and the smoke drifted to my nose with a delicious smell of wood (cedar) and spice. I could already tell this was going to be a good smoke. I put fire to the foot and first draw was full of wood, leather, and delicious smooth, raw, aged tobacco. Just a smidgen of peppery spice was barely noticeable as I exhaled through my mouth and nose. A dark gray ash formed quickly as I took several draws in a row. I just couldn’t seem stop! A bit of earthiness was in there somewhere. Something I should describe as a sharp taste. The draw was absolutely spot on with not too much and not too little smoke flowing through. A little ways in the wrapper had a small crack pop up informing me the cigar was slightly on the damp side towards the foot, but that was the only spot during the smoke. I was completely enjoying an incredible smoke, great read, and gorgeous day! So was Mandy. Ah, it’s a dog’s life! Aaaaaand so was this little critter! :laugh: Almost at the halfway point, the cigar really picked up in body and the spice picked up a bit, however still very smooth. Lots of wood and leather with a twinge of sweet earth. That raw, mature tobacco taste lingered afterwards and was quite good. I was thoroughly enjoying this cigar! There was definitely no doubt of nubbing this baby. Towards the end the sweetness picked up quite a bit and the smoke had creaminess to it. Ah but all good things must come to an end. It’s a shame I only have a few left of these to enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaltPointer Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Nicely done, Greg. You really make the entire experience come alive . . . great review. And I'll tell you . . . using that Swiss Army cigar punch is a real art--I've learned the hard way that an off-center punch leads directly to an uneven burn. I've started marking the center with the knife blade, which I can then "sight" thru the hole of the punch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrink Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Charming review of a nice little smoke. I've had a few of these aged Punch Coronas, and they never disappoint. The shot of the lizard was my fave. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandman Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Great review! I really enjoyed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Presidente Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 What a great from the heart review....pic of the dog was my favourite :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt45 Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Great review, great pics. I envy your "cool" weather - today was low 30s, wet and raw :-) Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsetOne Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 » Punch Corona 1998 » Awesome review, i love punch! alas a 10 year old punch isnt gonna happen for me for a while as i just cant seem to let them sit! oh well, i guess that juust makes a good excuse to go buy more right? James Edit: love the pic of the dog, I have a jack russell aswell, fat little thing he is haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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