H Upmann Propios

[Jonboy4074]

So this cigar is listed as a 46 RG and I'm sorry, but it's nowhere near that. 44 at the most. Here it is next to a BCJ:

1st half: holy ligero Batman! Blast of strength. Can't detect any flavors yet but maybe a little twinge of shortbread? 
After the first 3/4 inch the strength has settled a bit. There's more ligero, but the profile I'm getting is more in line with a VR than an HU. I'm getting some dried prune/raisin, or maybe it's that licorice that's present in Mag 46. 
2nd half:
Strength hasn't diminished at all. The flavor has definitely transitioned to the Mag 46 licorice. Ligero and licorice is pretty much all I'm getting. Not bad, but not complex. I would say it's rich. I think a larger RG for this blend would have rounded it a bit. Possibly the strongest HU I've ever had. The strength will turn a lot of people off to this cigar. It's very intense and isn't letting up at all after the first slight drop.
Getting into the final inch the richness is still there. The licorice is kind of transitioning back to more of the prune/raisin flavor. Maybe a little earthiness in there? Kind of like a ligero-infused BCJ. There's no harshness--not what I'd call rough edges. It's just strong. Punchy. Definitely what I'd call a firecracker cigar. Right to the nub, not much if any harshness or hotness. In fact the dried fruitiness keeps building.
The verdict: I actually like this cigar very much. If you don't like very strong and punchy cigars this will not be for you. If you like HU, this is an outlier cigar. 
I would score it a 92-93 with the caveat that many people won't like this cigar. It's like Islay Scotch. If you can handle it you'll appreciate it. This is not a Half Coronas or Connie. 

Damn, not being an Upmann fan, I was gonna completely skip on these. Now you've totally ruined that for me.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Hammer Smokin']

yep.

when I reviewed one of these a month ago, I mentioned I had to sit down for the final 1/3rd.

It is stronger than the Siglo I or the Secretos.

I enjoyed the one I smoked, but there is no screwing around with these.

They pack a real punch!

Cost here in Canada was almost $40 CAD.

[bbguardsp]

13 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

So this cigar is listed as a 46 RG and I'm sorry, but it's nowhere near that. 44 at the most. Here it is next to a BCJ:

1st half: holy ligero Batman! Blast of strength. Can't detect any flavors yet but maybe a little twinge of shortbread? 

After the first 3/4 inch the strength has settled a bit. There's more ligero, but the profile I'm getting is more in line with a VR than an HU. I'm getting some dried prune/raisin, or maybe it's that licorice that's present in Mag 46. 

2nd half:

Strength hasn't diminished at all. The flavor has definitely transitioned to the Mag 46 licorice. Ligero and licorice is pretty much all I'm getting. Not bad, but not complex. I would say it's rich. I think a larger RG for this blend would have rounded it a bit. Possibly the strongest HU I've ever had. The strength will turn a lot of people off to this cigar. It's very intense and isn't letting up at all after the first slight drop.

Getting into the final inch the richness is still there. The licorice is kind of transitioning back to more of the prune/raisin flavor. Maybe a little earthiness in there? Kind of like a ligero-infused BCJ. There's no harshness--not what I'd call rough edges. It's just strong. Punchy. Definitely what I'd call a firecracker cigar. Right to the nub, not much if any harshness or hotness. In fact the dried fruitiness keeps building.

The verdict: I actually like this cigar very much. If you don't like very strong and punchy cigars this will not be for you. If you like HU, this is an outlier cigar. 

I would score it a 92-93 with the caveat that many people won't like this cigar. It's like Islay Scotch. If you can handle it you'll appreciate it. This is not a Half Coronas or Connie. 

Thanks a bunch for the review!  IIRC the licorice side of Upmann was something you hadn't had much luck with in the past.  Glad to see this was different enough for you to recommend.

[NSXCIGAR]

10 hours ago, bbguardsp said:

Thanks a bunch for the review!  IIRC the licorice side of Upmann was something you hadn't had much luck with in the past.  Glad to see this was different enough for you to recommend.

No, I'm not a fan of the Mag 46. I never find any flavors as pronounced as the dried fruitiness in this. Mag 46s are always murky and muddled to me.

If this had been a Coronas Gordas I would have needed a full prep and a heavy meal beforehand, although I would have liked to have a little more time with it and smoked it slower. The strength was remarkably linear through the cigar. No dead spots or bland spots at all. I gave it points just for consistency. 

I would definitely have guessed this as a VR or Boli, not a HU. The dried fruitiness was very close to the classic BCJ flavor. As this is possibly the strongest CC in quite a while anyone who enjoys that should try one of these.

Long term, I have no idea what these will do. I didn't really detect youth. If the fruitiness could come out more and another flavor comes in adding some complexity these could be quite good, definitely mid-high 90s. Could take 10+ years for that with these. But that's just hoping. 

[Habana Mike]

3 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

No, I'm not a fan of the Mag 46. I never find any flavors as pronounced as the dried fruitiness in this. Mag 46s are always murky and muddled to me.

If this had been a Coronas Gordas I would have needed a full prep and a heavy meal beforehand, although I would have liked to have a little more time with it and smoked it slower. The strength was remarkably linear through the cigar. No dead spots or bland spots at all. I gave it points just for consistency. 

I would definitely have guessed this as a VR or Boli, not a HU. The dried fruitiness was very close to the classic BCJ flavor. As this is possibly the strongest CC in quite a while anyone who enjoys that should try one of these.

Long term, I have no idea what these will do. I didn't really detect youth. If the fruitiness could come out more and another flavor comes in adding some complexity these could be quite good, definitely mid-high 90s. Could take 10+ years for that with these. But that's just hoping. 

Sounds like a cigar I'd enjoy quite much as I am always looking for some strength and punch in my cigars.

Haven't found many do that in the past couple of decades. 

VR and Boli definitely packed a punch back in the day.

[Bazinga]

Any idea how much the box is going for In Cuba? 

[Isaac]

The pics I’ve seen are interesting. While the wrappers are dark, they look pretty dry and a bit rough. 

[cookj1]

Smoked a Propios on Saturday.  The wrapper was so mottled and the draw was very tight.  Nobody likes to fight to get any smoke; it's a miserable experience.  Paid $35 + taxes at local brick & mortar here in Vancouver.  I wasn't blown away.  This won't go down as a classic Limitada.  There was definitely some strength to this cigar.

[saintsmokealot]

Punchy smoke with underlying Upmann flavors that should come out more with time

[SignalJoe]

On 11/25/2019 at 1:24 PM, Azharalsabbagh said:

Any idea how much the box is going for In Cuba? 

Right at $230 a box.  Supply was not plentiful during Partagas week.  I bought two boxes at Havana Libre and saw a single box at store on Obispo street.  

[Derboesekoenig]

10 hours ago, cookj1 said:

Smoked a Propios on Saturday.  The wrapper was so mottled and the draw was very tight.  Nobody likes to fight to get any smoke; it's a miserable experience.  Paid $35 + taxes at local brick & mortar here in Vancouver.  I wasn't blown away.  This won't go down as a classic Limitada.  There was definitely some strength to this cigar.

This is surprising. An H.Upmann EL that won't go down as awesome?? Wow

[NSXCIGAR]

The price point is totally out of whack for these. Not a great vitola and very strong. I don't expect people to be chasing these down after the initial new release shine wears off in a few months. It's got unpopular written all over it--ugly, strong, small, overpriced. If they had done this cigar with a tad less ligero and a tad more seco and made it a Hermosos No. 2 or 3 and kept the price the same it would be a different story.

The one I had was good but I like strong cigars, and it wasn't great to where I feel it's something special. Never would I pay $15 for it. My goodness. I probably wouldn't even pay 9 CUC for it. 

I suspect these will be floating around for many years with most vendors as some unfortunate ELs do. They'll slowly liquidate and the price will slowly rise after 5 years. 

[NSXCIGAR]

2 hours ago, Derboesekoenig said:

This is surprising. An H.Upmann EL that won't go down as awesome?? Wow

Well, it is a good cigar (not great). It just has too much baggage. See above--ugly, strong, small and pricey. 

There's nothing to justify the price of the Propios. Nothing. And it's a shame because it is a good cigar that might get to 94-95 points in 3 or 5 years. But it's not there now. But I might buy them if they were priced around PSD5 or Hoyo Petit Robustos levels. 

[Notsocleaver]

There was a window where the Mag 48 was a great bargain, going for less than aged Mag 46s from the same vintage. If the Propios ever fit into that window I'm buying. I'd pay current Havana prices for an extra strong Upmann. But the EL prices anywhere else make it a hard pass for me right now.

[Tstew75]

Ok to complain about the size (as it's super weird), but RE: smoking them super young...I doubt too many ELs smoke great out of the gate. Calm down boys, give these some time ?

US secondary pricing seems to have settled in at $400.

[ElJavi76]

I smoked several in Havana and really enjoyed them. I picked up two boxes in Havana. I get that pricing outside of Cuba might be sticky for some, but then again not many things are priced great outside of Cuba. That's why you go there and load up when you can tho. The wrappers are a little toothy but I'm an Upmann groupie... Wrapper this. If it tastes good I don't care what they look like.

Sometimes a 5 performs just as good or better than a 9.