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This small Petit Corona is the modern reincarnation of Partagás Half a Corona which was developed by Melbourne Hart & Company and popular during early 20th century. As soon as I light it up, I can taste dominant coffee, leather, grass and wood notes followed by cedar, citrus, cream, spice, tobacco, nut, cocoa, slight hints of chocolate and honey flavours. I am astonished that its blend is quite complex and delicate despite of the size. Such a great cigar for fast paced modern lifestyle! -Mr. Knight Brand: H. Upmann Size: 44 x 90 (Petit Corona) Country: Cuba Box Code: N/A Price: N/A Score: 94

This cigar is the Habanos Specialist Exclusive Release which is only sold in Habanos Specialist and La Casa del Habano retailers. As soon as I light it up, I can taste the cedar, cream, nut, toast and wood notes at the beginning, followed by butter, chocolate, coffee, hay, leather, shortbread, spice, tobacco and vanilla flavours as well as Cuban twang from middle to end of the cigar. The flavour notes are blended so well without any harshness or aggressive spice kick that makes me feel as if I am in the cigar nirvana. This cigar definitely lives up to its name, "Connoisseur" and I proudly recommend it to both intermediate and experienced cigar aficionados. -Mr. Knight Brand: H. Upmann Size: 52 x 140 (Robusto Extra) Country: Cuba Box Code: REG MAR 18 Price: $84 Score: 97

This cigar is one of the Añejados cigars that are aged for five to eight years before release. It delivers strong and dominant almond, hay, nut, pepper, tobacco notes at first. Then, it pronounces subtle cedar, cream, leather, milk chocolate, toast, vanilla and wood flavours without much change till the end. I am surprised that this cigar has both smoothness and sharpness of young and aged cigars, but failed to evolve further. Because of this, I highly recommend that the beginners and seasoned cigar aficionados going for aged regular production cigars for perfect aged cigar experiences, rather than puffing this and other Añejados cigars! -Mr. Knight Brand: H. Upmann Size: 50 x 124 (Robusto) Country: Cuba Box Code: N/A Price: N/A Score: 86

This cigar has medium to full bodied strength and some strong kicks due to its youthfulness but there are plenty of cedary, leathery, woody, spicy, peppery, strong coffee and nuttiness notes with complexity within this cigar that make me have blissful mood. What an excellent powerful and complex classic Grand Corona and I would definitely recommend this cigar to every cigar aficionados that are becoming more familiar with cigars or seeking for great medium sized cigars. -Mr. Knight Brand: H. Upmann Size: 46 x 143 (Grand Corona) Country: Cuba Box Code: N/A Price: RM 92.00 per stick Score: 95

I had a bit of a dilemna in terms of what to review for this competition. I had a handful of great cigars in June, but nothing that stood out as a clear winner. I chose the Upmann No. 2 basically because I wanted to smoke an Upmann No. 2 more than I wanted to smoke a Larranaga Picadores, Illusione Ultra No. 8, or LFD Double Ligero Oscuro Especiales. I bought this box of Upmanns from our host, and I believe it was actually my first 24:24 purchase last October. Stats: H. Upmann No. 2 Piramides 6 1/8" x 52 MEG May 17 PSP/HQ This cigar looks great. It's oily, streaky, well-tapered, and feels perfect in the hand. Aside from one fairly prominent Frankenstein stitch, the seams and veins are basically invisible. I'd call it a straight Colorado, though some in the box have been Colorado-Maduro. I use a Colibri deep V-cutter, which takes a nice wedge out of the tapered head. The cigar takes a light well, and the draw is OK, but just a bit stiffer than I like. Certainly not that bad, but I still run the Perfect Draw through a couple of times anyway. Right off the bat, the cigar is medium-full bodied. At this stage in their development, I find these cigars to be at varying degrees of fruitines. The one I had a couple of weeks ago that prompted me t review the Upmann was very forward with those dark, stone fruit flavors. So far, this one is more savory, with nuts, leather, a touch of saltiness, but it also has a bit of dried fig flavor on the finish. The burn is not great, but hasn't become an issue. Getting past the first inch, and the cigar has a nice, long finish, which adds to its richness. Boy, what a shame that Habanos has killed off the H. Upmann Petit Corona. I'd had a number of 2s before I tried my first PC, but I'd heard that the two cigars share a flavor profile and I have to agree. The PCs that I've sampled have been a tough lighter in body, but I don't believe that's always the case and that late PCs could be pretty full-bodied. Into the second third, and I'm now getting some sweeter, floral notes, which are quite nice. I haven't generally found the cigars from this box to be particularly complex, but this one has a lot going on. Just had a couple of puffs that had a meaty/wine flavor. All the cigars I've had from this box have been very well-constructed, so credit to the factory. Heading into the final third, and the cigar has picked up in strength. Getting some black pepper, and leather, and virtually no sweetness at this point. A little bit of peanut. The cigar really has a very substantive, oily mouthfeel which I like. Not much else to report, so I'm going to close this out. Overall, this was a very nice, summer evening cigar. Great example of a Cuban pyramid, and a solid value,.I didn't thunk it was quite as good as the last one, as I do prefer those sweeter, fruit flavors that really came through in that one. CA Rating: 91

Today I went back into the humidor and pulled a Mag 46 (MEL DIC 15) for the stopwatch review. This came into my possession from FOH via a box split with another great Florida BOTL. Conditions today were a little better than yesterday in terms of humidity, albeit still very humid near 80%, with brief periods of rain. This Mag 46 is not the most handsome specimen, the wrapper is a bit rough near the cap, but it has a nice milk chocolate brown wrapper. Draw was just the way I like it with minor resistance. I was looking forward to a good cigar today following the rough ride I had yesterday with the humidity seriously spoiling the aged Punch RS11 I had. For pairing I chose a Guinness Rye Pale Ale from a sampler case, which I found at my local Costco. I am quite impressed with this sampler case and have enjoyed about 4 cases in the past 3 or 4 of months. The Rye Pale Ale is not quite as hoppy or bold as a typical India Pale Ale, but it has a solid slightly bitter and flowery hop profile. Very pleasant ale. Burn started out great and it burned pretty much straight throughout the cigar, with a minor touch-up about halfway. I didn't spend much time taking notes for this review as I was doing some reading, however I was quite pleased with the aroma and flavor profile of the Mag 46. I got some twang and some roasted chestnut aroma, and the flavor started out somewhat mild and built slightly to a mild/medium. I must say, this was a very good smoking session, this cigar is not a powerhouse by any stretch, nor very complex, but it very easy and pleasing on the palate. Very enjoyable. As the last third of the cigar commenced, I was expecting the burn to go awry due to the humidity, but to my welcome surprise it continued to burn evenly and produce luscious voluminous smoke. As the end approached, I was a bit surprised it had ended so soon and with no fuss or any issues. Unfortunately, I was a bit absorbed in my reading material and I forgot to stop the stopwatch right away. I believe the accurate time was about 20 minutes before I stopped it, so call it 1 hour and 45 or 46 minutes. That's about a half hour faster than the RS11 I smoked yesterday, yet I didn't feel like I was smoking fast at all.

Despite my best efforts to resist the Siren’s song, I feel victim to Rob’s sweet narrative about this cigar on September 5, 2016. Why did it take this long to try, only God knows; but, I am glad I took the dive before the executioner sharpened his blade. The Cigar: HUPC – MEG MAR16 (PE, I believe), will note that I have a box of the LUB ABR14 but have not dug into them yet. It will be interesting to compare the two boxes in the coming months. Days of Acclimation: 121 days since receipt. Stored the last few weeks in the mid 50s, so there is a nice crinkle when rolled in between the fingers. Construction: Nice looking cigar with a colorado claro color to the wrapper; a few small veins and a subtle oiliness to the sheen. Cigar is about right on fill with no apparent hard or soft spots. Smoking Conditions: Pretty good despite the fact it has been like Noah’s flood here for the past week; temperature 76 DF and humidity 48%. However, lots of damn bugs because the rains. Pre-Ignition: The pleasant smell of sweet tobacco, not as sweet as a Conni 1, but a subtle sweetness to the aroma. If I could bottle it up and spray it around the house, I would. A similar sweetness is found on the draw when cold; just love that H. Upmann goodness. Method of Incineration: The FOH lighter. First use of this handy device and it did an excellent job of lighting but not burning the cigar. Highly recommend you get one if you don’t have one. Flavors: Predominantly coffee and bread. More specifically, I would say expresso, Starbuck’s Iced Coffee and King Cake. Strength: Medium Burn: Nice and even for a young cigar, with only one correction required near the end. Smoking Time: About 75 minutes Smoking Experience: It started out as Rob would describe as mongrel with expresso out of the gate. This lasted about the first inch and then the cigar settled into a smooth and delightful combination of the King Cake with Iced Coffee backbone. The King Cake flavor is like a sweet brioche absent the sugary icing or filing which can hammer your palate to dust. The Starbuck’s Iced Coffee is a medium roast, which lacks acidity and allows the aromatic coffee flavor to be enjoyed unobstructed….As the cigar winds down the coffee flavors intensify, and I find I enjoy this intensity right down to the nub. I crave every last attempt to draw more smoke but give up before risking a mouth full of ash. Closing Thoughts: “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” Unfortunately, it seems every PC I like gets the axe. First it was the Punch Petit Coronas Del Punch, and now the HUPC and DuPrince. Look out Monte 4 and PLPC, may God have mercury on your souls, HSA is coming for ya. In Memoriam:

What are the two best H. Upmann cigars among No. 2, Sir Winston, Magnum 46? I'm just want to know the two best cigars of H. Upmann .

As this box creeps closer to it's first year, I'm excited to see how it continues to mature. I came upon this box through our host, and it was rated PE. Though the wrappers may be a few shaded lighter than most would want, they are absolutely silky smooth and have a light sheen of oil. Upon opening the box, you are greeted with an amazingly beautiful bouquet, which is one of my favorite aspects of this box. To me this cigar in it's current state slowly changes around the final third mark. The first two-thirds are creamy with flavors of toasted bread, delicate hints of baking spices, and the occasional retrohale of citrus rind which is somewhat reminisant of HdM. Then, around the final third mark, the cigar increases in body into the medium range and brings forth bolder, rounded tobacco flavors to add to the profile. I really appreciate the slow evolution in the smoking experience of this cigar. I hope with a few more months to years that the unique flavors will be even more pronounced and some addiotional complexity develops.

I just got a wonderful shipment in, (5) H. Upmann Mag 48s, and the Asia Pacifico Regional Release sampler(the contents and box codes are below). 1X BSB – TEB JUL 08 1 X SLR PAC – OSB AGO 09 1 X PL BEL – EMA NOV 08 1 X ERDM ANN – LAR FEB 13 1 X PL ENCANTOS – URG FEB 11 1 X RA ESP – TEB OCT 07 1 X PUNCH SAB – MCO OCT 11 1 X JL 4 – PRA JUN 10 Like the title asks, when will these cigars be hitting their peak? I know regional releases are especially known to get better with some age, but I'm not very well versed in these releases so your help would be appreciated! Also, I've heard that the Mag 48's are good to go now, but do you think there is any aging potential left in them? Thank you all in advance!

I was wondering if any of you have seen anything similar to what I recently encountered. The cigar boxes came from an estate, there were various sealed boxes of H. Upmann cigars, some with the glassine wrappers and all in pristine condition. Just when you thought you have seen it all, I see this box of H. Upmann No. 4's and I am struck that there are a couple of vital things missing. For starters I don't see the green warranty stamp that I am accustomed to seeing on every Cuban box exported from Cuba, then I turn the box over and there is absolutely nothing on the bottom, what the heck? Any thoughts?