Punch Gran Puro Rancho Review

[txmatt]

Today I revisited one of my favorites that I haven't had for several months. The 5x54 Gran Puro Rancho was introduced in '93 by Punch and is my favorite of their many lines. As the cigar's name suggests, the wrapper, binder, and filler are all Honduran grown. The wrapper and binder are both extra dark and sungrown. The wrapper is used exclusively on this cigar which gives this smoke a wonderful unique character.

The previously mentioned dark oily wrapper of this cigar really draws my attention. Examining the cigar more closely its cap is perfectly applied and the butt end shows off the multiple colors of a highly varied filler blend.

Enough revelling in appearance though; how does it smoke!? It clipped well, drew wonderfully and the ash didn't drop. I knocked off the ash after half of the cigar was gone. The cigar produced a good amount of somewhat creamy smoke although I prefer it to be thicker. I touched up the cigar three times while smoking it.

As good as the cigar looked and smoked, its best feature was the taste. The taste was quite complex yet I was able to isolate the flavors caramel, vanilla, chocolate, and coffee while enjoying it. With the previously mentioned creamy character the cigar was somewhat like a capucino.

The bad part about these cigars is that they seem to have more common voids than others of the Punch brand. The one I smoked most recently lacked them however they were standard in the line for some time. If you try one and come across a void, clip it below the cherry and light it again because IMO the cigar NEEDS to burn with the full blend to taste right. I also recommend touching it up agressively as uneven burn also really throws off the flavor.

Scores:
Appearance - 96
Construction - 85
Burn - 80
Draw - 94
Flavor - 95
Value - 92
Overall - 93
(don't try to make sense out of the math for my overall score, as its an impression and not an average of the other 5 scores, but is frequently close)

-Matt-

[Scott M]

Last night I burned a Santa Rita from Punch's Gran Puro line and I concur with what you've mentioned here. Interesting, multi-faceted flavors with changing complexity through its' lifespan. Had to do a bit of maintenance on its' uneven burn a number of times.

Love to light one of these up after a year in a humidor.


Scott"thesearchcontinues"M

[IHT]

i must say that i didn't read your review totally, i saw the final score first.

coppertop and I had one of these (each) while down in Savannah, GA during OCT. we went down to an irish pub on the riverwalk one afternoon....

my overall score would be to reverse the #s of your overall score. that's the nicest way i could put it.

i have liked some other punch cigars, like the rare corojo.... and they normally make quality stuff. i was surprised by how... uh.... low of a score they got on MY scale...

look and construction were top notch, though.

[txmatt]

I recall reading either your or coppertop's replies on this cigar a few months back. Not only were they rockets but expensive ones. That is a shame and I suspect perhaps the cigars were abused somewhere before arriving at the uppity cigar shop you bought them at. Perhaps our tastes totally differ though, as I love 'em.

-Matt-