Punch Rare Corojo Limited Edition Regalias Perfecto

Smoked: Punch Rare Corojo Limited Edition Regalias Perfecto

Smoked at: West Chester, Ohio

Punch Rare Corojo Regalias Perfecto weighs in at 7.25 by 54. I typically shy away from Perfectos, Bellacosas, Salamons – but this was gifted to me and I’m also not shy about smoking what I don’t have to pay for. I think the rough translation of Salamone from Spanish is “Big Ass Cigar.” How long is this smoke? 3 hours?

It’s a limited release that supposedly will become a new addition with the previous annual release vitolas being retired. It may also be that Punch will release the Limited Edition along with the regular annual Rare Corojo release each year. Consult your local listings for time and channel. The Rare Corojo Regalias uses Honduran, Nicaraguan and Dominican filler, a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and a toothy oily reddish brown Ecuador Sumatra wrapper. The cigar bands are muted reddish brown on a cream colored background rather than the usual Punch red, gold, white & black colors.

I have been a big fan of the Punch Rare Corojo for quite some time so a limited release had me intrigued. This Perfecto/Salamone is tapered with a small nipple foot. Sometimes I’ll clip the nipple before igniting, but let’s walk on the wild side. Fired it up and Voila – combustion with no issues. Whew!

The cigar opens with flavors of wood, leather, mixed nuts, bread/toast, mild pepper and other spice – pushing mostly cinnamon by the 2nd third, cream, herbal and fruit. I don’t often taste berries or cherries in cigars. I taste subtle hints of both in the background of occasional puffs. There are also hints of coffee by the second third. It was difficult to identify the wood until midway through the smoke. Cedar and oak were hiding behind the notes of nuts and bread. Those cedar and oak flavors become a little charred by the final third.

Generally, the full recognition of many of the flavors slowly emerge as the smoke progresses. To paraphrase Elton John: I Guess That’s Why They Call It Transition. There’s a lot going on with this cigar. It’s medium-full bodied, medium strength.

The retrohale is pretty harsh, heavy pepper/hot sauce. It’s a medium-full bodied and strength cigar with the strength slowly increasing through the final third. Even the retrohale transitions to a charred wood aroma by the final third.

It begins with a tight draw that must be opened early and often with short toothpick pokes. I dare not use deploy the Perfect Draw on this narrow ring guage head. It has a wavy burn line through the first third, gave off copious amounts of smoke, and held onto its white ash initially to only a half inch but gathered some mettle to produce a two inch length ash. The burn line evened out by the second third and a slight wrapper tear at a soft spot midway self-corrected as well.

If you’re a fan of the Punch Rare Corojo you have to try this Limited Edition Regalias. If you can have one gifted to you as I did, it’s a no brainer. But even if you have to tap plastic on a card reader, the Limited Edition Regalias is reasonably priced – not much more expensive than the annual Rare Corojo release. Conclusion: This is a very good cigar. BTW: For those who keep track, this cigar spent 6 weeks in the humidor. My thought is it could improve even more with a few months rest. If anyone ages one longer down the road, let me know your thoughts.