Cu Avana Intenso Punisher Review

Be ready for the ride! Because its just what you'll get, when you light this cigar up an savor its greatness! FratBoy surprised me with this gem in a cigar swap. The second I saw it, my jaw dropped and almost jumped for joy, as I have been wanting to try this bad boy from the second I saw it in the pages of various catologs. Buddy, I owe you BIG time for this one!

Cigars International describes this cigar from Cu Avana as: Punisher is crafted for the minority, the insatiable ligero lovers. The juxtaposition of deep, dense flavors, searing spice, and classical construction deliver a righteous blend with layer after layer of sand-pounding, toe-curling, full-bodied power.

I was almost afraid to try this cigar from the various descriptions on the net. So making sure I had a full stomach, I sat down with cigar diary in hand to take my stab at this bad boy.

First thing I noticed was the nice oily wrapper and firm body. Sweet straw fragrances could be smelled on the body and sweet chocolatey aromas to the foot. Its wrapped very nicely and has a generous cap. After clipping the cap, the prelight draw was medium with slightly sweet tobacco tastes. Then out of nowhere, before I even light, I could feel the burn on my lips and tongue! What the hell?!?!?!?!


It seems that the cigar had been treated with a bit of jalapeno pepper oil to the head! Quite the tingling surprise when your not expecting it. My first thoughts were, I better get a drink! But no! I'll take this cigar like a man!

So I lit this cigar from El Diablo, getting a little earth and roasted nuts. Lots of pepper through the nose, the spice on the head seemed to overtake any other flavors, but I was still enjoying this cigar very much! The hotness isnt so overpowering that you cant enjoy it, but I really like that jalapeno feel to my mouth. Definately medium in body, about an inch into the cigar it starts to mellow out and sweet tobacco tastes are on my palette. Black pepper notes are prevailent throughout the whole cigar.

This cigar isn't as strong as I thought it would be. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, the regular Cu Avana Intenso is stronger, but it could be the Jalapeno pepper thats throwing me off. The draw stiffened up a bit more and i find myself biting down to open it up a little. A bit of tar came to the head, so I decided to clip the head once again. Problem solved for the tar and the draw. I  would recommend cutting the head about halfway to three quarters down the generous cap.

A nice firm whitish ash was produced with a sharp pointy cone. The cigar produces a good amount of smoke.

Halfway through the spice picked up a notch through the nose and then quickly mellowed again this time right to the nub. A slightly nutty with pepper aftertaste is delightfully there. Had to break out my NUB BUDDY to get the most I could out of this great cigar!

Buzz rating I give an 8 out of 10: A wonderful medium buzz!

Overall I give a 5 out of 5: Thats right! You read correctly! A 5 out of 5! Just a hint of clean pleasing aftertaste, and not overbearing. This to me is a really good cigar! It reminded me of a Jericho by Comacho in terms of spice, but the cigar is no longer made. Also it is a bit like Comacho's Triple Maduro, my absolute favorite cigar, in terms of taste, but with a bit less buzz.

This cigar can be had from a couple internet sites. Cigars International sells it in a 5 pack for $40 or you can go to Cigars.com and get a sample of 3 Punishers and 3 Intenso's for $30. Definately worth a try if you like medium to full flavored cigars.

Thanks again FratBoy!
Till next post...................Peace.