Cigar of the month – Paris Smokeasy
Saint Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious celebration held on the 17th of March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. The significance is the commemoration of the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, so if you are Irish, you have that. But here in Texas, we have the Gumprechaun, the Patron Saint of Cigars! The club commemorated the arrival of this month’s cigar.
Our Humidor Master for the cigar club, Gary Flynn, aka “Gump”, selected a cigar from the Punch line. Punch is one of the oldest names in the cigar world. Established in 1840 in Havana, Cuba, its name and mascot were taken from “Mr. Punch” of a popular European puppet called “Punch and Judy.” After the embargo of Cuba in 1962, Punch was sold and moved to Honduras, they were pioneers in the non-Cuban-made cigars sold to the US and one of the first labels made in Honduras. Today, Punch is owned by General Cigars.
March’s Punch was the Golden Era Toro in a 6” x 52-gauge. A medium or light-medium-bodied smoke. It has both a Honduran Havana Seed Corojo Wrapper and Binder, with Honduran Havana Seed Corojo & Habano Fillers. The Punch website says “Featuring the finest, unadulterated Corojo tobacco sourced from the Eiroa Farm in Honduras, Punch Golden Era marks a glorious return to the halcyon days of cigar smoking. Balanced, flavorful, silky smooth, and incredibly nuanced, Golden Era delivers everything you could want in a premium cigar.” The Churchill size of this line received a 90 rating from Cigar Aficionado (CA) in Oct of 2023. To give you an idea of how many cigars they have made, CA has 393 reviews & ratings for Punch cigars. Recently they had a 95- rating and placed #5 in the Top 25 of 2020 cigar list with the Punch Short de Punch. They have made the Top 25 in 2019 the Diablo Scamp (#16), 2018 the After Dinner (#12), 2016 the Gran Puro Santa Rita (#10), 2012 the Gran Puro Santa Rita (#20), 2011 The Double Corona (#8), 2010 the Grand Cru No.2 Maduro (#13), 2007 the Double Corona (#16), 2006 the Super Selection No.1 (#21).
With 64 people present for March’s event, it received a Redneck Ratin of 87 out of 100. Most of the comments on the Ratin Cards were positive: Good Sunday smoke; a couple of “Great” comments; very nice mild smoke; really good stick; better than expected; loved it; and several comments saying it would be a great morning cigar with coffee. Of the 4 or 5 comments by members who didn’t like it, they all pretty much said it wasn’t for them or in their normal smoking profile.
With a few members relinquishing their membership in the club due to work and personal reasons, we welcomed two new members to the club, Steve Hodges and Melanie Poole Hodges.
Our sponsor for the night was Brad Archer with Archer Construction & Design. It is a locally owned firm specializing in Commercial, Industrial and Educational Facility design and construction. Primarily in Northeast Texas, they also have completed projects in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia. Brad Archer has been in the construction industry for 28 years and is currently finishing up his requirements to be a Licensed Architect and receive his state certification. Their mission statement is “Above all, we strive to run our business with respect, excellence, leadership, and integrity while partnering with our clients to deliver maximum quality and value on their projects.
Written by JD Marrs
Hosted by Rigby’s Cigars & Lounge
Photo Cred: Luciano and Rigby’s
@rigbyscigars
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