1998 Punch Corona 2012

From time to time just by the luck of numbers I find a chance to smoke a 1998 Punch Corona.  Apart from an occasional lackluster performance, over the 40-50 I have smoked I have found nothing but amazement in them and pleasure in giving them credit.  And tonight I had an extra pleasure in smoking one of the ones I really like...the stack cigar that lies above the cardboard spacer on the second layer of 12.  They get so flattened out and look like some kind of cuban Padron.  They can sometimes get a little tough on the draw, and this would be the case tonight.  But oddly enough for me, this was NOT an impediment to enjoyment.  This cigar came very close to being perfect in flavor. 

I admired the cigar for a moment, even put my glasses on to do it, haha.  Such a beautiful cigar, such a monument to the way it used to be done.  I had no trouble imagining that this cigar was going to reward me somehow, and it was just about to do it.


I cut the cigar and tested the draw.  Too tight.  I cut to the shoulder of the cap and re-tried it.  Still firm, but do-able.  I mixed up a fresh peach Daiquiri I made from some peaches I bought to day at El Supermercado.  I cut em up and sugared them when I got home.  I tossed em into the Jimmy B and cranked it up to 11.  I poured the drink into a cup and headed outside.

The stick was dry yet oily, and the band was slipping wildly from end to end.  It took the flame slowly and I evenly lit it.  The first puff was such an intense serving of tea and milk that I was completely taken aback.  This was coming close to it's 15th birthday and it was as good as a cigar gets.  Well, as good as MY own cigars get.  I have simple tastes I guess.  That flavor carried on with a soft  leather, a little wine, and an occasional taste of cane sugar.  The tight draw held it back a bit, and I am still kicking myself for not poking it.  I can't imagine what an intensity of flavor that might have produced.  But I was outside for the duration and had nothing to poke it with anyway.  There was a mystical subtlety to it that was so completely captivating that again, I wondered how it could be going on so strong after such a long time in a dress box.  On top of that, it is likely that these were slightly abandoned for a portion of their life.  But they taste pretty damn good.  Everything was going along well, no real flavor intricacies or changes, but very smooth and elegant.  Then I ashed it and the exact opposite of what I thought would happen...happened. I was hit by a gigantic explosion of cocoa powder almost as if it had actually come out of the cigar like a shaker and onto my tongue.  I was shown over and over again that there is nothing you can put past an old habano.  It is always going to outfox you no matter how clever you think you are.  Color me impressed with this one.

This is the cigar that tells me that our friends at Habanos are slapping something together with smoke, mirrors, duct tape and propaganda.  I still think they are the best tasting cigars made today, but I can't figure out if the soil is spent, the methods have become too intense for such a natural process, or if they are just making too many cigars with the materials they have.  You can't tell me that my 2010 Montecristo No.4s are going to be anything LIKE this in 13 years.  But you know what, I HOPE THEY ARE.  A man can dream I guess.


I am tickled to award this smoke a 90.  With a perfect draw this thing would have hit 95 without even breaking a sweat.