Here is a cigar company you may not have heard of, though it is starting to make itself known around the country. Ponce Cigar Company, founded was established by Frank Vazquez in 2021 with a single blend and vitola – the Ponce San Andrés (5.5 x 54) robusto. As for owner Frank, he worked for Central Florida based Corona Cigars for six years, before venturing out with his new brand. I will be one to admit, I did not know of Ponce Cigars until this past weekend when I took a visit to Smoke Rings 72 to say hello and support my BOTL Mike Holmes. As we walked through the humidor to see what was new, he asked if I ever tried a Ponce Cigar, and having not I said I will give it whirl. Thanks for the help, Mike! I grabbed the latest release from the company – the Ponce Sumatra in a Corona Largo format.
A little quick research and I learned that the Ponce Sumatra has a blend described by the company as:
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
- Binder: Ecuador (Corojo)
- Filler: Dominican Republic (Negrito Piloto Cubano & Olor Viso) & Nicaragua (HVA Hybrid)
The Sumatra is expressed in 3 vitolas, each packaged in 11-count boxes.
- Robusto (4 7/8 x 50) — $11.50 (Box of 11, $126.50)
- Corona Largo (6 1/4 x 46) — $11.75 (Box of 11, $129.25)
- Toro Corto (5 1/2 x 54) — $12 (Box of 11, $132)
For this review I sampled one of the Ponce Sumatra – Corona Largo vitolas that I purchased at Smoke Rings 72 in Merritt Island, Florida.
Pre-Light Examination
The Ponce Sumatra is draped with a dark reddish-brown wrapper that has some noticeable veins running through it. Other than the veins, the cigar is smooth to the touch and feels solidly packed. In fact, looking at the foot you can see it was decently bunched. A well applied triple cap finishes the presentation.
A single band adorns the cigar. It uses a royal blue, cream and silver motif and proudly displays the company’s “P” logo in the center.
Running the cigar along the nose, I picked up a fresh baking spice aroma along the barrel while the foot exuded notes of baking spice, fruit and cocoa. Pleasant introduction for sure.
I used my CigarMedics Baller cutter to open the cap perfectly and proceeded to give it some cold draw puffs that I found to be spot on as far as restriction while offering notes of light tangy fruit and touch of earthiness.
Using my single flame torch, I warmed the foot gently to bring it to an even orange glow and drew in the first puffs of earth and creamy smoke. Follow along as I burn this one to ash!
Cigar Review Notes
- Earth and cream almost like creamed mushroom to start
- Light grey ash forms on top of a medium thick and even char line
- Deeper earth notes evolve as I take some more puffs
- Smoke volume is full
- A sprinkle of black pepper adds a little complexity to the profile early on
- I started to notice a slight squish on the barrel just below the band as the leaf heated up
- A milk chocolate nuance forms in the background as the early cream adds a delicate sweetness to the profile
- A lingering harshness formed deep in first third for a few puffs
- Ash dropped in a decent chunk revealing a well-formed burn cone
- A Cashew note begins to evolve catching my attention
- The early milk chocolate begins to morph into a darker cocoa powder sensation
- Spice notes appear deep in the second third
- Hint of cream still lays in the background
- Cashew continued and even lingered nicely on the palate
- Smoke started to get hot in the final
- Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 45 minutes
Final Analysis
The Ponce Sumatra was a fairly pleasant cigar that started with earth and cream and a touch of black pepper. The cashew notes that entered in the second third stay with the profile through the rest of the journey though nuanced at times they did linger nicely near the end. I liked how it developed a sweet milk chocolate note early, but I was a bit taken aback with the lingering harsh note deep in the first third. Once that past after some puffs the blend continued to develop, swirling the cream, cashew, and spice down to the final. The final however did have a hotter than normal smoke. This is one you may want to try a few. I may grab a few of the other vitolas and see how they compare. I rate this a 90.
Point Deductions: (-1) Barrel Got a little Squishy; (-1) Touch Harsh end of first third; (-2) Smoke was Hot in the Final
