H. Upmann cigars

Hermann Dietrich Upmann arrived in Havana in 1843 as a representative of a Bremen banking house, and quickly saw opportunity beyond finance. He purchased a local cigar factory at 85 San Miguel Street, and by 1844 H. Upmann cigars were in production. The bank and the cigar business grew together: Upmann is credited with pioneering the cedar cigar box as a commercial format, originally used to ship his own cigars to European banking clients as promotional gifts. The seven gold medals still printed on every H. Upmann box were won at international exhibitions in the nineteenth century and have become the brand's visual signature.

The Upmann family was eventually forced to sell the factory after World War I due to financial difficulties. In 1935 the factory was acquired by Alonso Menéndez and Pepe Garcia — the same Menéndez who would found Montecristo that same year. After the 1959 revolution and the 1960 nationalization, H. Upmann passed to the Cuban state and is now produced by Habanos S.A. at the José Martí factory in Havana.

The Cuban H. Upmann sits squarely in the medium-bodied tier: smooth, creamy, cedar-forward, with restrained spice and a characteristic nuttiness. The No. 2 — a torpedo — is the brand's prestige piece and one of the most technically demanding vitolas to roll well. The Magnum 46 (a corona gorda) and Sir Winston (a gran corona) are favored by smokers who want an extended, unhurried session.

The Non-Cuban H. Upmann

After the US embargo, Altadis U.S.A. produces a separate H. Upmann line in the Dominican Republic at the Tabacalera de García factory in La Romana. Lines like the 1844 Reserve and The Banker have attracted strong reviews. Both labels carry the H. Upmann name and the gold-medal heritage, but the tobacco, blend, and character are entirely distinct from Havana's version.