Punch Golden Era Robusto

Today, we take a look at the Punch Golden Era in the Robusto size. The Punch Golden Era is a project done in conjunction with Julio and Justo Eiroa at JRE Tobacco Co. It uses tobaccos grown on the JRE Tobacco farm and is produced at JRE’s factory in Honduras. Given both Punch and JRE’s history in Honduras, the Golden Era pays homage to that.

Over the years, Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) has incorporated several brands that can be traced back to Cuba, but one can argue Punch has been its most successful one. The Punch brand was first registered in 1840 by a German named Stockmann and named after a European puppet show character named Mr. Punch (not the magazine, which was created a year later). Produced in Cuba, the brand quickly became a success, especially in Great Britain. There were several ownership changes before the Cuban embargo hit. At that point, the Cuban cigar industry was nationalized. The owner at that time was Fernando Palico, and he fled Cuba and would sell his lines to Frank Llaneza and Dan Blumenthal of Villazon & Co. Villazon was later acquired by General Cigar. Meanwhile, the brand continues to be sold in Cuba by Habanos S.A.

Closed Box of the Punch Golden Era Robusto

Without further ado, let’s break down the Golden Era Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Punch Golden Era Robusto – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Golden Era has a wrapper and binder made of Honduran-grown, Cuban-seed Corojo tobacco, and its filler is comprised of Honduran-grown Habano and Cuban-seed Corojo tobacco. As mentioned, all of the tobaccos come from the JRE Tobacco Farm and JRE’s factory, both located in the Jamastran Valley of Honduras.

The name Golden Era highlights the fact that Corojo tobacco had a prominent role during the golden age of cigars. Corojo had been a wrapper of choice for many cigars until tobacco diseases and mold brought the tobacco to the brink of extinction. While there are hybrid variants of Corojo that help mitigate disease, Eiroa family patriarch Julio Eiroa is credited with bringing back authentic Corojo.

Wrapper: Honduran Corojo
Binder: Honduran Corojo
Filler: Honduran Corojo and Honduran Habano
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: Fabrica de Puros Aladino SA

Vitolas Offered

The Golden Era is available in four sizes. Each is presented in 20-count boxes.

Lancero: 7 x 38
Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52.
Churchill: 7 x 48

Appearance (*)

The Honduran Corojo wrapper of the Golden Era Robusto was medium brown in color. There was not much oil on the surface of the wrapper, which had some prominent veins and minimally visible wrapper seams.

Close-up of Punch Golden Era Robusto

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

A straight cut was used to remove the Golden Era Robusto cap. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw stage. The cold draw delivered a combination of natural tobacco and date sweetness. There was a savory component to this pre-light draw. Overall, this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to toast up the Golden Era Robusto and head into the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Golden Era Robusto opened with more notes of natural tobacco, date, earth, and mixed pepper. Early on, natural tobacco and earth moved into the forefront, with both notes alternating in intensity, with the natural tobacco having the edge. The date and mixed pepper settled in the background. The natural tobacco had some of the savory qualities present during the pre-light draw. Meanwhile, there was an additional layer of mixed pepper on the retro-hale.

The second third of the Golden Era Robusto opened up with the natural tobacco and earth still alternating in intensity. The natural tobacco had a slight edge during the early part of this third, but as the cigar crossed into the second half, the earth notes took the edge. Meanwhile, there was a slight increase in the amount of mixed pepper on the tongue and retro-hale. There was also a slight decrease in the date sweetness.

The final third of the cigar experience did not see any change. Earth and natural tobacco were the primary notes, with the earth having an edge. Notes of pepper and date rounded out the flavor profile. This is how the Golden Era Robusto came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Golden Era Robusto’s burn was prone to meandering along the burn path, resulting in frequent touch-ups. The burn line was also jagged. Meanwhile, the Golden Era Robusto had a slightly loose ash, which had a light charcoal color. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were ideal.

Burn of the Punch Golden Era Robusto

Draw

The Golden Era Robusto’s draw performed quite well. This draw had a touch of resistance, which I enjoyed. Meanwhile, this was a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor.

Strength and Body

The Golden Era Robusto was a solid medium for strength and body. There wasn’t much variance in the intensity levels of the strength and body. In the end, the Golden Era did not get out of the medium range of the spectrum for either attribute.

Both the strength and body balanced each other nicely throughout the smoking experience.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

The Punch Golden Era’s packaging is outstanding. It combines classic and contemporary qualities. It’s not overly complicated, but it works great. This goes from the wooden boxes to the gold and blue bands. The golden leaf as the secondary band was a nice touch.

Open Box of the Punch Golden Era Robusto

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

When talking about the Punch Golden Era, since it is made with the Eiroa family, it’s difficult not to compare this cigar to lines like the Aladino Corojo. The Golden Era Robusto is a good cigar, but it simply isn’t better than the Aladino Corojo, which is only about $1.00 more in the Robusto size. The Golden Era has some nice flavors, but it falls short in complexity and could have performed better burn-wise. At $9.99, the Golden Era Robusto won’t break the bank, but in the end, I’d still recommend trying a sample first and seeing what you think.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Earth, Date, Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Low to Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good