Punch Chop Suey

📌 Brand: Punch
📌 Line: Chop Suey (Limited Edition)
📌 Size: Lancero (7" × 37)
📌 Weight: 8.9 g
📌 Age: 5 years
📌 Origin: Dominican Republic

Tasting Notes

• Red Pepper – Immediate spicy kick

• Sweet Cream – Softens the edges mid-smoke

• Leather – Dry, rustic undertone

• Earth & Toasted Nuts – Steady background core

First Impressions

A slim lancero with a shaggy foot and rustic appearance. Cold draw is open and peppery. The shaggy light gives an initial blast of spice before settling.

Smoking Experience

• First Third – Red pepper dominates early, with earthy leather underneath. Retrohale sharp but enjoyable.

• Second Third – Sweet cream emerges, balancing the spice. Flavors deepen, but tar begins to build at the cap. Relight needed once.

• Final Third – Earth and toasted nuts take over with lingering pepper. Excessive tar affects the finish, forcing a second relight.

Pairings

• Alcohol – Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon, with caramel and baking spices that help cut through the sharper pepper and tar notes.

• Tea – Lapsang Souchong, smoky and bold enough to match the cigar’s spice-forward profile.

Music Pairing

“I’m Tore Down” – Freddie King

raw and sharp like the cigar’s spice.

Final Thoughts

Punch Chop Suey is bold and flavorful, with red pepper and earthy depth standing out. Unfortunately, excessive tar build-up and the need for two relights dampen the experience, pulling it down from what could have been a standout lancero.

Final Score: 7/10
Why not higher?
Tar build-up muted flavors and relights disrupted the flow, keeping it from reaching full potential.

Only cigars that deliver flawless draw, balance, flavour evolution, construction and satisfaction get a 10.