Date Added: Friday 03 June, 2016
by Staff
£33.99
Reviewed by Van Vandermeer (October 2003)
Around Christmas time last year, I bought a sampler of fifty different single Cuban cigars from CGarsLtd along with a great bookshelf humidor.
The other night I pulled from the few remaining cigars of the sampler one that had the H. Upmann red band. At first look, I thought it was a Petit Corona. I took it out to the garage with a glass of Sam Adams Lager, turned on the DVD player ("Punch-Drunk Love" starring Adam Sandler -- give it a miss!) and sat down in my antique rocking chair.
I examined the cigar. It had excellent construction with almost no veins and no hard or soft spots. The triple cap was perfect. The wrapper was just a half shade lighter than they typical Cuban cigar. The cigar had that unmistakeable "barnyard aroma" pre-light.
I clipped the cigar cleanly with my Zino double-bladed cutter. The pre-light draw was ideal -- just firm enough and tasting of great things to come.
I torched the foot of the cigar with my Colibri Edge lighter (perfect for a pocket carry). It lit evenly. My first impression was that this was a very mild smoke with not much to offer. However, after a few tokes, the flavor developed incredibly. The smoke was smooth, creamy and spicy with hints of nutmeg. The volume of smoke was huge, and the aroma of the exhaled smoke was fabulous. Even non-smokers would probably not take too much offense at the second-hand smoke that billowed around my head and drifted softly in the hot, humid air of the night.
After smoking about half an inch of the cigar, I decided that I didn't want to leave its identification to guesswork. I measured both the length (just under 130 mm) and diameter (about 19 mm). It was too thick to be a Petite Corona. I would have to do a bit of research after I finished.
I continued enjoying the cigar. As with most Cuban's, each new puff carried a different nuance from the last. The sweetness and cream persisted, but the spices and undertones varied in subtle ways so that there wasn't a moment of boredom -- a bit of coffee here, perhaps some coriander there, a hint of chocolate a suspicion of rosemary?
The light-gray ash was firm, bespeaking a very well-rolled cigar. It dropped in my lap after just over 2 inches. The burn was razor sharp, and after the ash fell, there was no evidence of tunneling.
Despite the fact that the movie I was watching was terrible, I didn't want the cigar to disappear. When there was only a bit over an inch of it left, I skewered it with my Petroglyph Designs Cigar Poker and smoked it to the very last 3/4 inch. Even then the smoke was not unbearably hot.
After sadly dropping the remains into my ashtray, I went back inside the house and quickly looked up the website of my favorite vendor to find out for sure just what it was that I had smoked. The measurements that I had taken were a near-perfect match for the H. Upmann Connoisseur No. 1 (127 mm X 19.05mm).
I usually favor "stronger" cigars, such as RASS, PSD4 and BBF. This cigar wasn't powerful in the sense that those are. However, it was enormously flavorful and full of smoke. If I hadn't been smoking it, I would have turned off the stupid movie and gone to bed. As it was, even a bad movie couldn't spoil a great cigar experience. All it needed to be better was a good friend or two to share the experience with. Sharing this review will have to suffice for that.
There's a box of H.Upmann Connies in my future.
Now we're talking! Insightful, easy to read and to the point, I had to agree with both the cigar review AND the movie review. LOL! I love the Conn #1's and this nailed it to a tee. I especially liked the very last sentence. Kind of summed up how I felt when I finished reading this one.
Rating: 10/10
Reviewed by Pete G
Nice review with good details. Very descriptive notes throughout about how the cigar actually tasted, without going overboard, very well written and about the perfect amount of reading time. Explaining your 'normal smokes' helps out considerably (something I am not good at doing).
Rating: 8/10
Reviewed by Jody B
Now this is the kind of review that I like! This guy(?) truly enjoyed this smoke and even researched to find its make and size. We have all been there when a cigar peaked our interest enough to delve into its mysteries. He(?) didn't overwhelm me with nuances that I've never detected in a cigar, just a straight forward review that had me wanting to try one myself.
Rating: 10/10
Reviewed by Mike W
The H. Upmann Connoisseur No 1 reviewer is much closer to home and seems to enjoy new experiences. I can definitely relate to smoking an untried cigar for the first time and having an incredible experience. It is never the same after the first time.
Rating: 6/10
Reviewed by Barry V
OVERALL SCORE: 34/40
