Punch Bottle Rocket cigars are made in Honduras with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan Esteli binder, and a blend of Nicaraguan, Dominican, and Honduran fillers. The cigars became available in February 2025, in one small figurado size (4.5 x 50) priced at $6.99 per stick. For more information about these cigars, please check out the press release.
Punch Bottle Rocket cigars were made to commemorate the new lunar Year of the Snake. This has become an annual tradition for Punch, which has been producing an annual special limited edition cigar since 2019, in celebration of Chinese new years. The blend, size and name of each annual release varies from year to year. For example, the Punch Dragon Fire Cigar (5 x 60) was produced in 2024 to commemorate the Year of the Dragon.
The sample Punch Bottle Rocket cigar started off with a bold, full bodied, sweet and peppery flavor. After a few puffs, the pepper tamed down a bit as the sweetness gradually started to fade away. By the 5 to 10-minute mark, the predominate flavors were earth, pepper and spice. After another 5 to 10 minutes, a leather taste joined the mix and the texture of the smoke became a bit smoother. I ashed the cigar only one time at the 20-minute mark, and applied a minor touch-up light shortly thereafter. The flavors remained pretty consistent for the remainder of the smoke.
It took me 40 minutes to smoke the sample Punch Bottle Rocket small figurado down to about 1½ inches remaining. During that time, the cigar had a good draw, even burn and held a long ash. No relights were required, only the one minor touch-up at the halfway point.
The Punch Bottle Rocket is a firecracker of a cigar, especially during the first 15 to 20 minutes. It is not a cigar that is recommended for beginners. However, seasoned cigar smokers are more likely to appreciate its bold flavor and full body. I rate it with a very good 4 points on a 5-point scale.
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer.
