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H Upmann by AJ Fernandez Edited

Smoked: H Upmann by AJ Fernandez

H Upmann by AJ Fernandez features Nicaraguan-Dominican filler and Nicaraguan binder and a not too oily, not too toothy chocolate brown Ecuador Sumatra wrapper with veins to spare. Not too oily or toothy doesn’t make it a Goldilocks wrapper but the cigar band is striking – light blue and gold. That gets the cigar’s appearance closer to “just right.”

I don’t think this stick was rolled and packed properly. There is a soft spot and a serious plug in this thing. Very tight draw, needed Perfect Draw to get anything going. And then when the draw did open up… Well, to paraphrase a 1980s Wendy’s TV commercial campaign: Where’s The Smoke? A thin wisp of smoke is all the output this stick could produce. Wrapper issues ensued plus a seriously wavy burn line that required numerous touchups. All of this impeded tasting the flavors. I expect better from the names Upmann and AJ Fernandez.

Here’s what I could taste: Cedar, walnuts, some pepper, coffee, chocolate, and a dollop of cream – something with creamy vanilla sweetness like candy. Despite the lack of smoke, the retrohale is hot peppery. Did someone stuff a jalapeno in the filler? Man. This will open up your sinuses. The cigar is medium bodied with medium strength – from what I could experience given the lack of smoke on most puffs.

In summation, I was disappointed. I may have stumbled into a bad stick that doesn’t represent the true experience of this cigar. I’m not opposed to giving the Upmann-Fernandez another go. I may do just that in a few months. In the meantime, I give the Heritage version by far the higher score.

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H Upmann by AJ Fernandez
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    100 shortstackz

    (3 months ago)

    Yeah, you definitely got a bad stick. Because that AJ normally pours smoke. It’s actually my favorite Upmann. Now, the spice does kick and I like it that way. I tend to smoke the heavy, spicy cigars in the winter and fall. Drawback of being an outside puffer in the S.C heat and humidity😓.Perhaps, I need to install an AC unit in my shed???

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    100 chipc73

    (3 months ago)

    Interesting. My experience with them is more favorable – except that I must have overly retrohaled the first one I smoked; my sinuses dearly paid the price for two weeks afterward. I honestly thought I had a sinus infection. You’re not kidding about jalapeno in the filler.