Punch 180 Aniversario – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

The Punch Brand has been around since 1840 and was originally made for the United Kingdom market. General Cigar is celebrating the brands 180th anniversary with the Punch Aniversario, which the company says it its most limited cigar to date.

The blend for Punch Aniversario uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper which has gone through some additional cedar aging, Connecticut Broadleaf binder, and fillers from Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Honduras. It is rolled at the HATSA factory in Danli, Honduras. Punch Aniversario is only be sold in brick and mortar retailers. Only 3,400 boxes were produced and they are presented in wood boxes of 10 accented with navy and gold. It just comes in one size, a 7 1/4 x 54 Double Corona and sells for $14.99.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Double Corona
Length: 7 1/4″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Honduras
Wrapper: USA (Connecticut Broadleaf)
Binder: USA (Connecticut Broadleaf)
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Honduras
Factory: HATSA
Blender: Agustin Garcia
Number of reviewers: 4 – Chad M. (Chad Tchad) Randy B. (randobush) Allison T. (The Yoga Ash) Vance T. (Vance)
Price: $14.99
Age: 6 Months
Release Date: September 2021
Contributed by: General Cigar

Initial Impressions – Punch 180 Aniversario

Appearance: 91

“Very dark chocolate wrapper. A lot of the veins of the leaf present on the wrapper; however seems are not visible at all.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

Aroma: 93

“The pre-light gives off the smell of walking into a high end garden center in spring, delicate floral notes with mixing dense black soil and hints of barnyard.” –Allison T. (The Yoga Ash)

First Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Wow! I am 3/4” in and I’m loving it alright I reckon! Roasted coffee beans, dried oak bark, stone fruit, and there’s a velvety creaminess that’s not quite baking spice. Retrohale is smooth with a slight citrus zing.” –Randy B. (randobush)

“It lights up beautifully, with a solid draw facilitating big, billowing puffs of thick, white smoke. Initial flavors are sweetened baking cocoa, dark coffee, charred oak and a hint of pepper on the retro – a lovely balance that I hope persists through this (long) first third. Profile stayed consistent for the inch and a half and the draw and construction is solid. It’s full-flavor and medium strength through the first third.” –Vance T. (Vance)

Second Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“The only reason for things to have changed with 1229 is because I draw poker this cigar 3 times for it to smoke correct and allow me to not fight it. After that, the second third starts out with a light oak, ground white pepper and cedar that dances around on my tongue. Nothing really lingers as it is finally smokable. Interesting enough, as this cigar is not over heating anymore as the wrapper is heating up it is showing off an oily sheen that glistens in the sunlight. Closing out this third a subtle sweetness with cinnamon and nutmeg have joined the cedar for a delight smoke.” –Allison T. (The Yoga Ash)

“At the beginning of the second third, the roasted coffee beans I detected in the first third seemed to have been replaced by cinnamon. Whereas the coffee beans sat on the front of taste buds, the cinnamon resides on the back side. A bit of nougaty butterscotch-ishness (that’s right) has come in a bit. The draw has just a hair more resistance than I’d like, but is overall just swell.” –Randy B. (randobush)

Final Third

Flavor: 93
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Heading into the final third the sweetness has diminished and the charred oak has picked up significantly. It’s a little out of balance but the flavors are still great and it’s smoking beautifully.” –Vance T. (Vance)

“Starting off the last third an enjoyable cinnamon cream mixed with fresh cracked wood is in the forefront. The cedar notes have given way to hints of cayenne and nutmeg with a very crumbly ash.” –Allison T. (The Yoga Ash)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 83

“Nice firm cigar, and the draw wasn’t bad. I just would have preferred a tad less resistance.” –Randy B. (randobush)

Burn: 86

“Very wavy burn line, but no touch ups needed to correct anything.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

Construction: 89

“The cigar burned okay and the ash stayed on for about 1/2 inch at a time. The cigar felt very soft.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 87

“For such a dark cigar I thought I was going to get a bold rich experience however this was opposite. It was a lot more mild and light. The flavors were ok; but that tart/harsh burnt coffee acid flavor on the tip of the tongue took away from the cigar.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

“The constant transitions about every 1.5” made this cigar very interesting I think. It had its core flavors that I mentioned but the way that they came in and out through the smoke was entertaining. In the final third I thought it hit on all cylinders.” –Randy B. (randobush)

“This cigar experience almost got put in the ashtray in the first third because of all the issues. However, after it was draw poker 3 times it became a good experience. The cinnamon cream on the last third was delish with the hint of cayenne.” –Allison T. (The Yoga Ash)

“I don’t usually go for the bigger cigars but this was excellent start to finish. The sweet cocoa at the beginning that morphed into buttered toast and warm cinnamon at the midway point was perfectly balanced by charred oak and black pepper on the retro. The final inch or so got a little heavy on the wood notes but I would definitely smoke this one again after a big dinner with a nice rye to pair.” –Vance T. (Vance)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 105

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Punch 180 Aniversario – Blind Cigar Review