Cigar Aficionado

General Cigar Co. has turned to the Eiroa family to make its newest Punch line, the Golden Era, which features the Corojo-seed tobacco that the Eiroas have been growing in Honduras for decades. 

Though countries such as Nicaragua, Honduras and the Dominican Republic have been producing exceptional cigars over the years, Cuba remains a high-water mark for many consumers, especially Cuban cigars cloaked in Corojo wrapper, a long-retired varietal that was abandoned for more disease-resistant strains. The Punch Golden Era pays tribute to Cuba’s Corojo era, which is made with Corojo-seed tobacco grown in Honduras. It ships to retailers today.

The Punch Golden Era is a Honduran puro, with all of the tobaccos grown by JRE Tobacco Co., including the Cuban-seed Corojo. According to the Eiroa family, who grows the tobacco in the Jamastran Valley of Honduras, their Corojo varietals are from non-hybrid seeds that originated directly from the El Corojo farm in Cuba and have not been cross-strained. Aside from some leaves in the filler, the Honduran Corojo makes up the rest of the blend. 

Made in Honduras by JRE Tobacco, Golden Era is available in three sizes: Robusto, measuring 5 inches by 50 ring gauge ($9.99); Toro, 6 by 52 ($10.49); and Churchill, 7 by 48 ($10.99). The cigars come in 20-count boxes and feature an eye-catching golden band, with a secondary golden band made to resemble a tobacco leaf. According to General Cigar, the Punch Golden Era is a mild to medium-bodied smoke.

This cigar differs from the Punch Rare Corojo line, as Rare Corojo is made with an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper. 

For a rating on the Punch Golden Era line, see a future issue of Cigar Insider.

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