Punch Egg Roll XL

Punch Egg Roll XL

The Punch Egg Roll XL is a medium bodied, limited edition 6 x 60 Gigante wrapped in a dark, toothy USA Connecticut Broadleaf leaf over an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and fillers from four countries: Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the United States. Handcrafted at General Cigar’s HATSA Factory in Danli, Honduras, the Egg Roll XL uses the same blend as the original 2019 Punch Egg Roll but supersizes it from a 4 1/2 x 50 Rothschild into a 6 x 60 Gigante that dramatically extends the smoking time and allows the five nation filler blend to express itself through longer, more gradual flavor transitions. The signature shaggy foot returns, with exposed filler tobaccos spilling out from beneath the Broadleaf wrapper in a design meant to resemble the shredded cabbage of a real egg roll. Released in February 2026 to celebrate Chinese New Year and the Year of the Horse, the Egg Roll XL delivers pepper, blackberry, earthy spiciness, dark chocolate, espresso, cinnamon, and molasses in a playful, Chinese takeout themed package that belies the serious quality of the blend inside. Packaged in 20 count boxes designed to look like Chinese takeout cartons at a suggested retail of $7.99 per cigar.

• USA Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with a dark roast coffee brown color, visible tooth, slight oil, and a rustic texture that delivers earth, cocoa, pepper, and natural Broadleaf sweetness from the first puff.
• Ecuadorian Sumatra binder adds smooth, creamy structure and aromatic complexity underneath the bold Broadleaf wrapper.
• Five nation filler blend using tobaccos from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the United States, creating a layered, multinational flavor profile with spice, wood, sweetness, and tangy character.
• Shaggy foot with exposed filler tobaccos resembling the shredded cabbage of an egg roll, providing a unique lighting experience where the unfinished foot burns through lighter binder and filler before the Broadleaf wrapper engages and the full blend profile kicks in.
• 6 x 60 Gigante format, dramatically larger than the original 4 1/2 x 50 Egg Roll, delivering a cooler smoke, denser draw, and longer session that lets every transition develop at an unhurried pace.
• Handcrafted at General Cigar’s HATSA Factory in Danli, Honduras, one of the largest and most established cigar factories in Central America.
• Limited edition release for Chinese New Year 2026, the Year of the Horse, continuing Punch’s tradition of Chinese American cuisine themed limited editions.
• $7.99 MSRP per cigar, maintaining the original Egg Roll’s reputation as a premium, handmade smoke at an accessible price point.

From April Fool’s joke to fan favorite

The Punch Egg Roll almost never existed. In early 2019, Ed Lahmann, then senior brand manager for Punch, drafted a fake press release announcing a Chinese food themed cigar as an April Fool’s Day prank. His sales team saw the concept and told him to make it real. “Initially it was going to be a fake press release,” Lahmann said. “But my sales guys told me to go with it, so I did.” The result was the original Punch Egg Roll, a 4 1/2 x 50 shaggy footed Rothschild limited to 75,000 sticks, packaged in Chinese takeout boxes with fortune cookie style messages hidden inside each band. It sold out fast. Retailers moved through entire boxes of 25 in under two weeks.

The success of the Egg Roll spawned a series of Chinese American cuisine themed limited editions from Punch: Chop Suey, Kung Pow!, and Spring Roll, each celebrating a different Chinese zodiac year. When fans kept asking for the original Egg Roll to come back, Punch brand manager Scott Abney listened. “Fans haven’t been shy about telling us how much they loved the first Punch Egg Roll,” Abney said. “So it only made sense to bring it back in a bigger size! Egg Roll XL has everything you remember and enjoyed about the original, and then some.” The XL shipped in February 2026, celebrating the Year of the Horse.

Punch Cigars

Punch is one of the oldest and most recognized cigar brands in the world, tracing its origins to 1840 in Cuba. The non-Cuban Punch line has been produced in Honduras since 1969, making it one of the longest running Honduran cigar brands. Now owned by Scandinavian Tobacco Group and produced at the HATSA Factory in Danli, Honduras, the Punch portfolio spans from everyday value smokes to limited edition releases like the Egg Roll XL. The brand has built a reputation for full flavored, no nonsense cigars that deliver bold taste at accessible prices, and the Chinese food themed limited edition series has become one of the most anticipated annual releases in the value segment of the premium cigar market.

The shaggy foot

The shaggy foot is one of the Egg Roll XL’s most distinctive features. Instead of the standard clean cut foot found on most cigars, the Egg Roll XL leaves the filler and binder exposed at the foot, creating a ragged, cabbage like appearance that directly references the egg roll theme. The shaggy foot changes the lighting and opening experience. When you toast and light the foot, you are initially burning unfinished filler and binder without the wrapper’s full contribution. This produces a lighter, more nuanced opening that can taste quite different from the body of the cigar. As the burn line reaches the wrapper and the full blend engages, the Broadleaf’s earth, cocoa, and pepper step in and the cigar transitions into its true character. Multiple reviewers noted that the shift from shaggy foot to wrapper engagement produced a noticeable jump in body and flavor intensity.

Smoking experience

The USA Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper is dark roast coffee brown with visible tooth, moderate oil, and a rustic, thick texture. The shaggy foot exposes the lighter brown Ecuadorian Sumatra binder beneath, creating an attractive visual contrast. The pre light aroma from the wrapper presents sweet barnyard, earth, and leather. The cold draw brings savory chocolate, prunes, pepper, and a mild spice on the lips.

The shaggy foot lights easily and produces thick, white smoke from the first puffs. The opening, before the wrapper fully engages, delivers molasses, raisins, dark toast, and minerals with a surprisingly mild, approachable character. As the burn line reaches the Broadleaf wrapper, the body jumps from mild to medium and the flavor profile transforms. Earth, toasted wood, and black pepper take the stage, and the Broadleaf’s signature cocoa and natural sweetness push through. Cinnamon appears on both the palate and retrohale, and blackberry emerges as an unexpected fruit note that adds brightness. White pepper lifts the retrohale with a clean, sparkling quality. Citrus weaves in as a subtle accent. The smoke is dense, chewy, and generous from the 60 ring gauge.

The second third sees the chocolate deepen from milk to semi sweet, and the earth and cedar from the opening persist as the structural foundation. Pepper continues strong on both palate and retrohale, and the cinnamon remains as a warm spice accent. The blackberry note holds, and a subtle sweetness from the Broadleaf rounds out the bolder elements. The five nation filler blend starts to show its complexity, with a tangy, slightly exotic quality emerging alongside the wood and earth. The 60 ring gauge keeps the smoke temperature cool and allows flavors to present themselves without rushing.

The final third amplifies the darker elements. Espresso beans and dark chocolate become the dominant flavors, with earth right behind. The pepper fades slightly from its peak intensity, and the overall character becomes richer and more concentrated. The Broadleaf sweetness persists as a counterbalance to the bolder espresso and earth, preventing the finish from turning bitter or harsh. The cigar burns cool and clean to the nub, with a lingering aftertaste of dark chocolate, espresso, and earthy spice.

Egg Roll XL versus original Egg Roll

The blend is identical. The size is the only change. The 60 ring gauge on the XL produces a cooler, more filler forward smoke with denser, slower transitions than the original 50 ring gauge Rothschild. The original Egg Roll was punchier and more concentrated, with reviewers noting a noticeable jump in body when the wrapper engaged and an intense pepper and espresso finish. The XL spreads those same flavors across a longer, more measured session, and the larger format’s cooler burning temperature gives the Broadleaf wrapper more room to express its sweetness alongside the bolder pepper and earth.

The Chinese food series

Punch has released a series of limited edition cigars themed after Chinese American cuisine, each celebrating a Chinese zodiac year and packaged in Chinese takeout style boxes.

• Egg Roll (2019, Year of the Pig): 4 1/2 x 50, shaggy foot, the original that started the series
• Chop Suey: Chinese takeout themed limited edition
• Kung Pow!: Chinese takeout themed limited edition
• Spring Roll: Chinese takeout themed limited edition
• Egg Roll XL (2026, Year of the Horse): 6 x 60, shaggy foot, the supersized return

Pairings

Punch suggests pairing the Egg Roll XL with IPAs and coffee, and both recommendations land well. A West Coast IPA with citrus and pine hops cuts through the Broadleaf’s earthy, chocolatey richness and lifts the blackberry and citrus notes in the cigar. A dark roast coffee mirrors the espresso and dark chocolate that dominate the final third, creating a rich, unified pairing. For spirits, a bourbon with vanilla and caramel complements the molasses and baking spice in the blend, while a dark rum draws out the raisin and prune qualities from the opening puffs.

Summary

• Box Count: 20
• Region: Honduras
• Strength: Medium
• Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
• Wrapper: USA Connecticut Broadleaf
• Filler: Colombian, Dominican, Mexican, USA

What is the Punch Egg Roll XL?

It is a medium bodied, limited edition 6 x 60 Gigante with a USA Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder, and fillers from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the USA. It features a shaggy foot and is packaged in Chinese takeout style boxes of 20. Released in February 2026 for Chinese New Year, Year of the Horse.

What does the Egg Roll XL taste like?

Pepper, blackberry, and earthy spiciness are the headline notes. The profile opens with molasses, raisins, and dark toast from the shaggy foot, then transitions into earth, toasted wood, cocoa, dark chocolate, cinnamon, and blackberry when the Broadleaf wrapper engages. The final third delivers espresso beans and dark chocolate with lingering earthy spice.

Is the Egg Roll XL the same blend as the original Egg Roll?

Yes. The wrapper, binder, filler, and factory are identical. The only change is the size: the original was a 4 1/2 x 50 Rothschild, and the XL is a 6 x 60 Gigante. The larger format produces a cooler, more measured smoking experience with more gradual transitions.

What is the shaggy foot?

The shaggy foot is an unfinished foot where the filler and binder are exposed beyond the wrapper, creating a ragged, cabbage like appearance. It changes the opening of the cigar by burning lighter binder and filler first before the wrapper fully engages and the blend’s full flavor profile kicks in.

How much does the Egg Roll XL cost?

The suggested retail price is $7.99 per cigar. Boxes contain 20 cigars in Chinese takeout style packaging.

Where is the Egg Roll XL made?

It is handcrafted at General Cigar’s HATSA Factory in Danli, Honduras, one of the largest and most established cigar factories in Central America.

What other Chinese food themed Punch cigars exist?

Punch has released Chop Suey, Kung Pow!, Spring Roll, and the original Egg Roll (2019), each celebrating a different Chinese zodiac year and packaged in Chinese takeout style boxes. The Egg Roll XL (2026) is the latest installment in the series.

What pairs well with the Egg Roll XL?

Punch recommends IPAs and coffee. A West Coast IPA lifts the blackberry and citrus notes. Dark roast coffee mirrors the espresso and dark chocolate finish. Bourbon with vanilla and caramel or dark rum also complement the blend’s earthy, chocolatey, spicy profile.