Upmann Depositing Banker in Humidors This Month

Cigars

Upmann Depositing Banker in Humidors This Month

Apr 7, 2014 | By G. Clay Whittaker

The newest H. Upmann line from Altadis U.S.A. Inc. is heading to humidors, and it pays a unique tribute to the man behind the brand, a banker named Herman Upmann.

Upmann created for his best friends and customers a unique Cuban tobacco blend more than 170 years ago. The Banker by H. Upmann tips its visor to the original blend with Cuban-seed tobaccos that are meant to replicate the style of the cigars of old.

Altadis wove a yarn for the blend centering on the Upmann family's banker origins: how in 1844 Herman Upmann traveled to Cuba to found a new branch for the family bank, where he incidentally "created an exceptionally unique cigar, and securely locked it away in their vaults to be gifted only to their most important clients." The bank may have burnt out in 1922, but the cigar brand has become known the world over, with versions produced inside and outside of Cuba.

Now Altadis has created a blend hearkening to the original with all Cuban-seed tobaccos. Wrapped with an Ecuador Habano wrapper, each size of the Banker is blended with Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers and a Nicaraguan binder.

Banker comes in three sizes: Annuity at 8 inches by 52 ring gauge, Arbitage at 7 by 56, and Currency at 5 1/2 by 48. Each cigar comes wrapped in an oversized band meant to resemble the American dollar, with regal, green and gold bands at either end.

Prices will range between $7 and $8.40 per cigar. The line is expected to ship this month. Look for more information and a rating in an upcoming issue of Cigar Insider.

H. Upmann (Non-Cuban)

archived comments

"Dear everyone, Cuba may be Communist,or It can be anything else, It will ALWAY have the best Tobacco in the world and there's nothing anyone can do about THAT, Not even an N.C. saying what they want. Amicalement, Guy, Calvisson,France " —April 24, 2014 16:48 PM

""Exceptionally unique?" Who writes their copy? " —April 10, 2014 15:46 PM

"For clarification, (just because it drives me crazy every time I see it),"Cubanesque" translates as; "Has a name or band similar to, but tastes nothing like, an actual Cuban cigar". Though the Dominican Upman's do make an serious effort to recreate the originals they still fail. Wrong soil. " —April 9, 2014 00:22 AM

"Try some Cuban Upmans and you will never buy the gimmick cigars again. Just my honest opinion. " —April 8, 2014 21:41 PM

"Forget the mud-slinging. If the tobacco wasn't grown in Cuba the cigar won't taste like a Cuban cigar. " —April 8, 2014 18:21 PM

"Correct me if I'm wrong but Altadis is owned by Imperial Tobacco which owns 50% of Habanos S.A. so technically they didn't steal anything." —April 8, 2014 16:59 PM

"Did Altadis steal the brand or buy it from a Cuban expat who was dispossessed of his business during the revolution and re-established in the USA? All three countries from which this blend are sourced produce some fine tobacco. Does the packaging matter?" —April 7, 2014 23:24 PM

"Throwing out the term "stealing the brand" is a vast simplification of what transpired in the cigar business that resulted in the creation of non-Cuban versions of many of Cuba's brands. H. Upmann is one of many cigar brands that were nationalized by the Cuban government in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution. The original cigar brand owners, in many cases, left Cuba and founded new cigar companies, often using the brand names they once owned in Cuba. A court decided on the ownership and established the precedent of the two versions. For much more on this interesting part of cigar history, read the story "The Exodus" from our 10th anniversary issue in 2002." —April 7, 2014 21:34 PM

"These Cuban rip-offs by Altadis always have to have some gimmick don't they? Either some stupid packaging or some dumb story. What does the history of a fine Cuban brand like H.Upmann have anything to do with these scam artists who simply stole the brand?" —April 7, 2014 19:15 PM