Punch (cigar brand)
Encyclopedia
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
s, one produced on the island of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
for Habanos SA
Habanos SA
Habanos S.A. is the arm of the Cuban state tobacco company, Cubatabaco, that controls the promotion, distribution, and export of Cuban cigars and other tobacco products worldwide. The word habanos means literally from Havana, and is the word used in the Spanish-speaking world for Havana cigars...
, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
for General Cigar Company
General Cigar Company
General Cigar Company is one of the largest manufacturers of cigars in the world. It has been owned by Swedish Match since 2005.-Company history:...
, now a subsidiary of Swedish Match
Swedish Match
Swedish Match is a Swedish company based in Stockholm that makes snus, tobacco, cigars , Red Man Chewing Tobacco, dipping tobacco, matches and lighters. It was founded as Svenska Tändsticksaktiebolaget by Ivar Kreuger in 1917 in Jönköping...
.
History
The Punch brand was first registered in 1840 by German named Stockmann and named for the EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an puppet show character, Mr. Punch
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular puppet show featuring the characters of Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Punch and one other character...
(not the magazine
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
, which was created a year later). The brand quickly became a success, especially in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. The first change of ownership came in 1874, when the brand was bought by a Luis Corujo, and again in 1884, when the brand was purchased by Manuel López Fernández and its bands and boxes still bear his name to this day. Retiring in 1924 and dying shortly after, López gave ownership of the brand to Esperanza Valle Comas, who only held it for a few years before the Stock Market Crash of 1929.
Like most other businesses around the world, the Cuban cigar industry faced financial hardships. In 1930, the firm of Fernández, Palicio y Cía bought up the brand, where it became one of the company's headlining cigar marques, along with Belinda, La Escepción, and Hoyo de Monterrey
Hoyo de Monterrey (cigar brand)
Hoyo de Monterrey is the name of two brands of premium cigar, one produced on the island of Cuba for Habanos SA, the Cuban state-owned tobacco company, and the other produced in Honduras by General Cigar Company, now a subsidiary of Swedish Match.- History :...
, and maintained its popularity with British cigar smokers.
After the embargo was set against Cuba by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Fernando Palicio fled Cuba for Florida, where he subsequently sold his cigar lines to Frank Llaneza
Frank Llaneza
Frank Llaneza was a tobacco blender and former executive of Villazon & Co. who is regarded as a pioneer in the resurgence of the premium cigar industry at the end of the 20th Century...
and Dan Blumenthal of Villazon & Co., which has continued to make Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, and Belinda cigars from Honduran tobacco for the American market.
Cuba subsequently nationalized
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
the tobacco industry and Punch continued production and is still a popular, multi-locally-marketed Cuban cigar line. Among connoisseur
Connoisseur
A connoisseur is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts, cuisines, or an expert judge in matters of taste.Modern connoisseurship must be seen along with museums, art galleries and "the cult of originality"...
s, the eponymous Punch, Double Corona, Churchill, and Super Selection No. 2 are especially prized and sought after.
Punch also produces two machine-made cigarillo
Cigarillo
A cigarillo is a short, narrow cigar. Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wrapped not in paper but in whole-leaf tobacco. Cigarillos can be found for purchase alone or in packs, and are often made without filters...
s: the Cigarritos and Cigarritos Reserva.
Punch has not been chosen before for any Edición Limitada productions as of yet, but has proven extremely popular as a brand for the Edicion Regional series of cigars produced by Habanos for local markets.
Vitolas in the Punch Line
Hand-Made Vitolas
- Churchill - 7" × 47 (178 × 18.65 mm), Julieta No. 2, a churchill
- Corona - 5" × 42 (143 × 16.67 mm), Corona, a corona
- Coronation - 5" × 42 (130 × 16.67 mm), Petit Corona, a petit corona
- Double Corona - 7" × 49 (194 × 19.45 mm), Prominente, a double corona
- Margarita - 4" × 26 (121 × 10.32 mm), Carolina, a small panetela
- Petit Corona del Punch - 5" × 42 (130 × 16.67 mm), Mareva, a petit corona
- Petit Coronation - 4" × 40 (117 × 15.88 mm), Coronita, a petit corona
- Petit Punch - 4" × 40 (102 × 15.88 mm), Perla, a tres petit corona
- Punch - 5" × 46 (143 × 18.26 mm), Corona Gorda, a grand corona
- Royal Coronation - 5" × 44 (146 × 17.46 mm), Conserva, a long corona
- Royal Selection No. 11 - 5" × 46 (143 × 18.26 mm), Corona Gorda, a grand corona
- Royal Selection No. 12 - 5" × 42 (130 × 16.67 mm), Mareva, a petit corona
- Super Selection No. 1 - 6" × 42 (156 × 16.67 mm), Corona Grande, a long corona
Edición Regional Releases
- Superfino (Italy 2005, 2006) - 4" × 42 (110 × 16.67 mm), Minuto, a tres petit corona
- Robusto (Switzerland 2005, 2007) - 4" × 50 (124 × 19.84 mm), Robusto, a robusto
- Super Robusto (Asia Pacific 2006, 2007) - 6" × 50 (155 × 19.84 mm) Doble, a toro
- Robusto (United Arab Emirates 2008) - 4" × 50 (124 × 19.84 mm), Robusto, a robusto
- Serie d'Or No. 1 (UK 2008) - 6" × 52 (156 × 20.64 mm) Pirámide, a pyramid or torpedo
- Punch Royal (Benelux 2009) - 5" × 50 (141 × 19.84 mm) Goridto, a robusto extra
- Small Club (France 2009) - 4" × 50 (102 × 19.84 mm) Petit Robusto, a petit robusto
- Platino (India 2009) - 7" × 49 (194 × 19.45 mm) Prominente, a double corona
- Diadema (Italy 2009) - 9" × 55 (233 × 21.83 mm) Diadema, a diadema
- Northern Lights (Nordic Countries 2009) - 4" × 52 (110 × 20.64 mm) Petit Edmundo, a petit robusto
- Poderoso (Switzerland 2009) - 6" × 54 (164 × 21.43 mm) Sublime, a toro
Footnotes
- Min Ron Nee with Adriano Martinez Ruis, An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars. Hong Kong: Interpro Business Corp., 2003.
- http://cubancigarwebsite.com/brand.aspx?brand=Ram|on_Allones