Review Notes: an amazing smoke, exceeding my expectations. a few sized veins with no degrading importance, oily with a nice sheen..beautiful. Smooth w/a perfect draw. Complex and medium-bodied. Light grey-ash, cool burning down to the nub. Little bit of an uneven burn in spots, but nothing to worry about. Starts off with the mentioned cedar and vanilla and a general forest/fresh-cut wood taste throughout. A very slight hint of lacquer every so often. 2nd half is just as good, and I swear, a few strong whiffs of toasted marshmallow..what a nice surprise. Awesome value for this kind of quality. What an experience.

Review Notes: The Gran Cru is certainly the black sheep of the family (although a very beautifull one). The construction and appearence is flawless, each and every one is so perfectly round, with nearly invisible veins. It is slightly rough, with just enough firmness in the hand that it won't concave. On the nose, I detected nuances of cedar and black liquorice, with sweet vanilla being very dominate. The flavors are subtle, yet curiously complex, and share similar characteristics of the perfumed aroma. I would definately recommend in the morning before a good breakfast, or along side a sweet and sour asiatic meal...but do NOT make the mistake of smoking after a robust meal (or even an hour or two after a robust cigar) or your appreciation for this cigar will certainly deminish quickly. A good starter cigar for any beginner, who is brave enough to venture into the rather spicy final third phase...yet enough character to entertain the avid affivianado (just remember to smoke one BEFORE breakfast!)...Enjoy!

Review Notes: This is a top notch cigar, perfect construction, beautiful looks, very good draw. It holds the ash for 1 1/2 inches. It starts with a beautiful perfumy note of cedar, half way builds to cedar and vanilla, and lets out strong spice and enticing aroma, almost perfume. Very dry finish, but still a great aroma. I had the maduro, bought the box. For the price, this could easily be an every day cigar..

Review Notes: The best Punch NC that I've had. Nubbing it as I type this. Been a fan of the Punch Puro's for a long time but it met its match with this dark oily beauty. Has that sweet maduro flavor in a medium bodied goodness. Very smooth with a bounty of great smoke, easy draw and nearly flawless burn. Excellent cigar..

Review Notes: EXCELLENT SMOKE! This stick had a dark brown oily, toothy wrapper with minimal veins. Very nice prelight aroma and taste. Absolutely gorgeous looking stick with solid construction and no soft spots. Easy light. Perfect draw. Razor sharp burn without the need for correction. White ash. Started with cedar and very mild spice. A flavor of vanilla became apparent in the first third which was joined by a dusting of cocoa. A sweet leather note seemed to dance in and out through the whole smoke. The flavor profile didn't change much through the rest of the 1.5 hour experience, but was still most definitely enjoyable, epsecially as it matches my prefered flavor profile perfectly. Definitely one of my favorites - bought 10 more. All in all, it is similar to the Gran Cru natural, but with a slightly sweeter taste secondary to the maduro wrapper.