Punch Golden Era cigars were introduced during May 2023, in three vitolas priced from $9.99 to $10.99 per cigar. In July 2024, the line was extended to include a Lancero size (7 x 38) priced at $10.99 per stick. The blend is the same, with all sizes of Golden Era cigars being made in Honduras with a Honduran-grown Cuban seed Corojo wrapper and binder, along with fillers comprised of Honduran-grown Habano and Cuban-seed Corojo tobaccos. For more information, please see the press release.
The sample Punch Golden Era Lancero cigar began with a medium bodied and somewhat dry taste that improved after about 5-10 minutes, when a nutty flavor with hints of spice emerged and continued improving until about the 20-minute mark. After that point, the taste stayed pretty much consistent until the end of the smoking session.
It took me 55 minutes to smoke the Punch Golden Era Lancero down to 1½ inches remaining, when it went out by itself. The cigar burned evenly and held a medium-to-long ash. No relights nor touch-ups were needed. The draw was pretty decent for such a relatively thin cigar, but was not comparable to cigars having a larger ring gauge.
After sampling several Punch Golden Era Robustos (5 x 50) back in 2023, and not enjoying them very much, I was pleasantly surprised by the new Lancero size. A cigar with a smaller ring gauge has a higher ratio of wrapper to filler tobaccos, which makes the taste of the wrapper more predominate (which is usually a good thing). I rate the Punch Golden Era Lancero cigar with a very good 4 points on a 5-point scale.
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer.
