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Punch Cuban Cigars History
 
The Punch Cuban Cigar brand was first registered in 1840 by German named Stockmann and named for the European puppet show character, Mr. Punch (not the magazine, which was created a year later). The brand quickly became a success, especially in Great Britain. The first change of ownership came in 1874, when the brand was bought by a Luis Corujo, and again in 1884, when the brand was purchased by Manuel Lopez Fernandez and its bands and boxes still bear his name to this day. Retiring in 1924 and passing away shortly after, Lopez gave ownership of the brand to Esperanza Valle Comas, who only held it for a few years before the Stock Market Crash of 1929.
Like most other businesses around the world, the Cuban cigar industry faced financial hardships. In 1930, the firm of Fernandez, Palicio y Ci­a bought up the brand, where it became one of the company's headlining cigar marques, along with Belinda, La Escepcion, and Hoyo de Monterrey, and maintained its popularity with British cigar smokers.
After the embargo was set against Cuba by the United States, Fernando Palicio fled Cuba for Florida, where he subsequently sold his cigar lines to the Villazon family, which has continued to make Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, and Belinda cigars from Honduran tobacco for the American market.
Cuba subsequently nationalized the tobacco industry and Punch continued production and is still a popular, multi-locally-marketted Cuban cigar line. Among connoisseurs, the eponymous Punch, Double Corona, Churchill, and Super Selection No. 2 are especially prized and sought after.
Punch also produces two machine-made cigarillos: the Cigarritos and Cigarritos Reserva.
Punch has not been chosen before for any Edicion Limitada productions as of yet, but in 2006 it did see a special Edicion Regional release: a Robusto released only in Switzerland.
Vitolas in the Cuban Punch Line
A box of Punch Punch The following list of vitolas (sizes) within the Punch line lists their measurements in English and metric, their vitolas de galera (factory name), and their conventional name in American cigar slang.
Hand-Made Vitolas
Double Corona - 7 5/8" x 49 (194 x 19.45 mm) Prominente, a double corona
Churchill - 7" x 47 (178 x 18.65 mm) Julieta, a churchill
Punch - 5 5/8" x 46 (143 x 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda, a toro
Royal Selection No. 11 - 5 5/8" x 46 (143 x 18.26 mm) Corona Gorda, a toro
Royal Selection No. 12 - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Super Selection No. 1 - 6 1/8" x 42 (155 x 16.67 mm) Corona Grande, a long corona
Corona - 5 5/8" x 42 (142 x 16.67 mm) Corona, a corona
Petit Corona del Punch - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Mareva, a petit corona
Petit Punch - 4" x 40 (102 x 15.87 mm) Perla, a tres petit corona
Margarita - 4 3/4" x 26 (121 x 10.32 mm) Carolina, a cigarillo
Machine-Made and Hand-Finished Vitolas
Royal Coronation - 5 3/4" x 44 (145 x 17.46 mm) Conserva, a corona
Coronation - 5 1/8" x 42 (129 x 16.67 mm) Petit Corona, a petit corona
Petit Coronation - 4 5/8" x 40 (117 x 15.87 mm) Coronita, a tres petit corona
Cigarillo - 4 1/8" x 29 (106 x 11.51 mm) Chico, a cigarillo
Edicion Regional Release
Robusto - 4 7/8" x 50 (124 x 19.84 mm) Robusto, a robusto or rothschild

 

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