This is a new offering for Punch (a different vitola), although part of the Gran Puro line. Our cigar shop has these in stock now as kind of a sneak preview. They are supposed to be widely released in the next month of so...

The Gran Puro has always been one of my favorite Punch cigars. It has a great flavor, is well constructed and is reasonably priced. General cigar says this about the Grand Puro,

"When you light up a Punch Gran Puro cigar, you're smoking one of the finest examples of the Honduran cigar maker's art... an all-Honduran Puro cigar developed to bring out the best of the round, spicy flavors for which Honduran-made cigars have become famous. The Punch Gran Puro stays true to the Punch tradition of rich taste that's true to its name."
This "Libertad" is a 5" X 52 cigar, packaged in an aluminum tube. It is a little brute, that's for sure. The wrapper is toothy, but it has a nice sheen to it. The construction is typical Punch - very well made, not too soft. The pre-light draw was phenominal - very easy, just the way I like it.

When this baby is first fired up you get the nice spiciness a Nigaraguan cigar is know for - kinda grabs you in the back of the throat. I was VERY impressed with the incredible smoke this baby produced. Nothing I love better than "sipping" the smoke (leave it float out of your mouth while you taste the flavors of the cigar). The burn was incredibly sharp, with no touchups necessary.

After about the first quarter, the spice somewhat faded into the background, and there was an incredible mix of those rich flavors I love in a more medium to medium full cigar. I found myself getting lost in the smoking of it, thinking about the complexity I was tasting. With hints of leather, a woody taste and some chocolate, this was definitely a flavorful cigar. I smoked this down to a nub, with no overheating problems. It stayed consistent to nearly the end. After the initial spiciness, the cigar was very smooth. This smoke lasted over an hour and a half, which was a bit surprising to me because it was only a 5 inch cigar.

This is on my recommend list, and I give it a 8.5 out of 10. I think it would be best to smoke this with a nice single malt scotch or Anejo Tequila in the evening, while contemplating the activities of the day. The flavor of the cigar will play well with the complexity of the scotch/tequila. A Very relaxing smoke for sure.