Punch

About

Punch Cigars The origin of Punch cigars, like so many of the most ancient Cuban cigar brands, is clouded in mystery and the source of some debate. The official version given by Habanos SA is that Punch were founded in the middle of the 19 th century and named after a satirical magazine popular in England at the time. Don Manuel Lopez of Juan Valle & Co is the man credited with the vision of capitalising on the magazine’s place in the English zeitgeist to give his new brand an edge in what was one of the most lucrative cigar markets of the time. Other sources put forward an alternative theory – that Punch was in fact founded in 1840, one year before the magazine of the same name, by a German named Stockmann. Herr Stockmann is said to have taken the name from the lead character of a puppet show found at most European seaside resorts of the era. Whichever version holds the truth, one thing is for certain: Punch cigars have been around for almost 200 years, and remained popular throughout their long history. One thing both stories have in common is the character of Mr Punch himself. The lead character of that seaside show, adopted as the mascot and namesake of the satirical magazine, was beloved by audiences across Europe in the 19 th century for his antics. The slapstick brand of comedy employed in Punch & Judy shows – Judy being Mr Punch’s long-suffering spouse – was deemed hilarious at the time but would now be the source of moral outrage, as it portrayed no small amount of domestic violence. Today, Punch & Judy shows have been consigned to history, but Mr Punch remains on the livery of the cigar brand which took his name, cigar smouldering gently in his hand as he sits surrounded by imaginings of torcedores and vegueros working to bring us our beloved Havana cigars. Throughout their long history Punch cigars have enjoyed enormous popularity among smokers around the world. By the 1970s Punch was the fifth-largest Cuban cigar brand when measured by global