"Cigars are no longer just for the seasoned smoker.      They have become a staple in society for rookies and veterans alike,        representing an air of character, class and pleasure. Whether it's a          satisfying smoke after dinner, during a round of golf, or out at the          bar for drinks, cigars are the perfect complement to your lifestyle        because that is exactly what defines cigar smoking:      -- your lifestyle. Welcome to the good life!"
CURRENT H. UPMANN CIGARS
SPECIAL REALEASED CIGARS
DISCONTINUED CIGARS
H. UPMANN CIGARS
H.UPMANN CIGARS

Year of Foundation: 1844

Tobacco Country: Cuba

Tobacco Procedence: Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Rio)

Cigar Factory: H. Upmann (Jose Marti)

General cigar strenght: Mild to medium strength cigars


The H. Upmann cigar brand traces its history back to 1844 and several rival versions of the story of its origin exist. It is known for sure that two brothers, August and Hermann Upmann founded this Cuban cigar brand in that year. An alternate claim is that their surname was, in fact, Hupmann, but the "H" was dropped from the name of the brand because "H. Upmann" was more aesthetically appealing than H. Hupmann.

Both claims are likely because both Hupmann and Upmann are German surnames. Alternately, there is a claim that the "H" in H. Upmann stands for either "Hermann" or the Spanish word Hermanos, meaning "brothers," since it was Hermann and August who founded the brand.

In one version of the story they were German textile manufacturers who moved their family-owned operation to Havana, Cuba. Supposedly, they were avid cigar smokers and used cigars as a promotion tool for their customers. They are sometimes even credited with the invention of packaging their Cuban cigars in cedar boxes to give to their customers.

These original cigar boxes were labelled with the H. Upmann name and contained other manufacturers' cigars, most likely as an advertisement for the operation, until the Upmanns bought their own Cuban cigar factory in 1844: the famous H. Upmann Factory, now known as the José Martí Factory, in Havana.

In another version of the story, it was the Upmann brothers' nephews, German and Alberto, who founded the cigar factory and the Cuban cigars simply became associated with it.

Through the late 1800s, the H. Upmann cigar brand gained international recognition at various exhibitions and won seven gold medals which still adorn the lithographed art on today's H. Upmann cigar boxes, along with Hermann Upmann's original signature.

In 1922 (some claim 1932), both the bank and the Cuban cigar business went bankrupt. A British firm, J. Frankau & Co. bought the brand and continued production until 1935, when the cigar brand was sold to Menéndez, García y Cía, who continued production until the nationalization of the Cuban tobacco industry after the revolution.

During this time period, Menéndez and García created their own special Cuban cigars within the Upmann brand, known as the H. Upmann Montecristo Selection, which would become the famous Montecristo brand.

A popular legend holds that the favorite Cuban cigar of US President John F. Kennedy was the H. Upmann Petit Upmann, and that the night before the embargo was signed, he had aide Pierre Salinger procure every box he could gather from a Washington, DC tobacconists, for a total of 1,200 of his favorite Cbuan cigars.

Others have claimed this folk tale is untrue and that Kennedy's favorite cigars were actually those made in the Philippines. However Pierre Salinger himself has recounted that night and confirmed it was 1,200 cigars and that he recalls the Presidents favorite was the H. Upmann Petit.

After the revolution, Menéndez and García moved the brand first to the Canary Islands, then the Dominican Republic, where production of this cigar brand still continues for the American market under the ownership of Altadis SA.

The Cuban-made cigar brand still remains a popular cigar in the world market, where it is made in a variety of fully handmade, hand-finished, and machine-made vitolas.

In 2002, when Altadis SA bought a controlling share in Habanos SA, numerous changes were made to brand lineups. The overall scope of the reforms was stated as to eventually make all the lines either totally handmade or totally machine-made, cut out redundancies (many Cuban brands have multiple cigars of the exact same size packaged with different tobacco blends and names), and eliminate low-selling cigar sizes.

As of 2006, according to Habanos SA's website, H. Upmann has been whittled down to only seven handmade sizes and five machine-made sizes. Misinformation abounds when it comes to cigar production, and Habanos has been known to regularly make exceptions for various importers and tobacconists, so this might not be completely true.

Popular among cigar aficionados are the Upmann No. 2, the Upmann Magnum 46, and the churchill-sized Upmann Sir Winston (named in honor of Winston Churchill).

In 2005, Habanos SA made an uncharacteristic move by releasing a new H. Upmann size as part of their annual Edición Limitada release. This is odd because the rule of the past has been that only the five globally-distributed cigar brands (Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Partagás, and Hoyo de Monterrey) have been used for Edición Limitada releases, whereas H. Upmann is a multi-locally distributed brand. This limited edition size was the large Magnum 50, thought to be an enticement to smokers with whom the Magnum 46 is very popular.

H. Upmann also produces two machine-made cigarillos (the Mini and the Purito) and a brand of cigarettes.