H Upmann is one of the oldest cuban marcas going all the way back to its creation in the 1840s by a German banker of the same name. It is also famous for its association with JFK.
A year after the failed CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion, which attempted to topple the post-dictatorial cuban revolution of Fidel, Che et al., the U.S. declared the start of the now 50 year-old embargo on Cuba.
But first, JFK put a little order in for something special, as his press aide Pierre Salinger tells us.
JFK, he said, called him into his office and said he needed 'some help' to find 'a lot of cigars'. He wanted '1,000 Petit Upmanns' and needed them by 'tomorrow morning'.
'The next morning, I walked into my White House office at about 8am, and the direct line from the President's office was already ringing. He asked me to come in immediately.'How did you do Pierre?' he asked, as I walked through the door. 'Very well,' I answered. In fact, I'd gotten 1,200 cigars. Kennedy smiled, and opened up his desk.
'He took out a long paper which he immediately signed. It was the decree banning all Cuban products from the United States. Cuban cigars were now illegal in our country.'
My guess is that he didn't live long enough to smoke all of those cigars. There could be a morale here about storing up riches but i'll stick to cigars - smoke'em while you still can.
Another footnote is that every time you smoke a habano, you are supposedly taking part in the "subversive offensive of Sino-Soviet communism with which the government of Cuba is publicly aligned" - the 1962 justification of this ongoing embargo.
Anyway, for the record these Petit Upmanns were 108mm*31rg - very civilised - similar to the little Arturo Fuentes in this batch... We have the more opulent H Upmann Magnum 46, a corona gorda that has consistently performed for the marca over the past few years. It delivers all of the medium-bodied woody richness that characterises the brand...
Ye batch (minus a variable cigar or 2):
- Arturo Fuente Cubanitos: like the exquisitos but slightly bigger and with a cameroon wrapper not a maduro one. Does the trick for a short coffee break.
- San Cristobal El Principe: cedary with a touch of fruit ... drink accordingly (port, sherry etc... not Coruba rum - well at least not until you've ashed your cigar into it and it comes into its own - eh Matt!!)
- Cuaba Exclusivos: distinctly tapered figurado shape, mild after lunch habano from a 2008 box. Start it off with a relatively clean palate for full enjoyment.
- H Upmann Magnum 46: from memory the rich variety of woods will compliment all sorts. This is a young box so might have an added creamy sweet touch.
- Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduro: as reviewed on Scott or Matt's iphone in front of Matt's house a few months ago ... huge, smooth, decadent, chocolatey (yes chocolate not just cocoa)... great all-nicaraguan dessert cigar. In fact probably the most enjoyable nicaraguan puro i've had. Or maybe it was just the company ;-)
