2019 Marks the 175 year anniversary of the H. Upmann brand. To celebrate this achievement, Altadis U.S.A. gave the the celebration it’s own cigar, the H. Upmann 175th Anniversary Limited Edition. This cigar only comes in one size, a Churchill size and in boxes of 10 numbered to 14,750. Also released was a special edition humidor containing 50 cigars.
The H. Upmann brand’s history starts back in 1843, when German banker Herman Upmann relocated to Havana, Cuba and opened up a bank. There he made small batches of cigars for his best clients and got passionate about tobacco. By 1844 he and his brother August had started their own cigar brand and bought a cigar factory. From there the brand went on to become one of the largest in the world.
The H. Upmann 175th Anniversary blend is special in that it uses the rare Medio Tiempo tobacco leaf as a wrapper. That leaf has been fermenting for over 3 years. The rest of the blend is Nicaraguan tobacco and is described as medium to full bodied. The cigar is blended by AJ Fernandez and rolled at AJ Fernandez’s factory, Tabacalera Fernandez. The price of the cigar is $18 each, and the special edition humidor sells for $1,250.
Pre-light
This Churchill sized cigar comes with a large gold band highlighting 175th anniversary and a foot band covering the entire foot of the cigar. The wrapper on the cigar was smooth to the touch with minimum veins and a medium brown color. The cigar feels fairly light in the hand and getting a nice musty sweet note on the foot of the cigar.
First Third
First thing I notice upon lighting is the draw is perfect. It starts off with pepper blasting on the first few puffs but fairly quickly starts to calm down to some earthiness. The smoke is rich and thick with transitions into sweet notes joining the earthiness. Maybe a bit of chocolate (Not bitter chocolate).The retro is smooth with a tinge of citrus.
Second Third
As the cigar starts to transition to the second third the sweetness from the first third continues into an almost cream soda like flavor with some vanilla and butterscotch type sweet notes. It does’t last long as halfway through it starts to transition into a bit of cashew with some black coffee on the finish.
Final Third
The Final third maintains the nuttiness from the previous third with some of the sweetness picking back up. Half way through the final third as the cigar began heating up it started becoming a bit more richer and the strength picks up to a medium plus.
Overall Impressions
When I was looking through the humidor of my local shop the H. Upmann 175th stood out like a shining star. I am always a sucker for Churchill sized cigars and while I rarely find time to fully enjoy one but when I do it’s always a treat. The cigar was well constructed and required no touch ups through the entire 1 hour and 45 minutes of smoking time. The ash held on in large chunks throughout the cigar. The second third hands down was my favorite as I was getting those cream soda notes which I usually don’t experience. Hands down would buy a box of these.
When I was looking through the humidor of my local shop the H. Upmann 175th stood out like a shining star. I am always a sucker for Churchill sized cigars and while I rarely find time to fully enjoy one but when I do it's always a treat. The cigar was well constructed and required no touch ups through the entire 1 hour and 45 minutes of smoking time. The ash held on in large chunks throughout the cigar. The second third hands down was my favorite as I was getting those cream soda notes which I usually don't experience. Hands down would buy a box of these.
