H Upmann #2 BRE MAR 18 (OYMRW2)*

[TobaccoRoad]

Today I'm reviewing one of my favorite Sunday afternoon smokes the HU #2. This is not the first time I have reviewed this cigar and with good reason. This is an easy cigar for me to review because I consistently enjoy smoking them. But it's interesting that I've gotten some slightly different flavors this time through. 

The cigar is very firmly packed with a little sheen to the wrapper. Went with my customary straight cut but put a slight angle on the cut just because I think it looks cool. This box has tended towards a tight draw but this one is perfect for me. Open but with enough resistance to let you know it's not going to be a wind tunnel. The first puffs are delicious. Great tobacco flavor and gingerbread on the retrohale. This is in contrast to my last review where the first puffs were "oily" and the first inch "soapy". The burn on this one has started out much better than the last one reviewed in March which had a "flaky" ash. This smoke has a tight ash and very even burn. As the cigar progresses the differences even out. In the last review I described the flavors towards the midlle as a core of "leather and good tobacco" with a hint of "baking spices. That's exactly where this cigar headed. The ginger flavor on the retrohale in the first third morphed into a more subtle spice, but still a very flavorful smoke as I neared the halfway point. Just like my last review the flavors intensified and took on a bitter coffee and leather flavor towards the end. Overall I cannot think of a bad thing to say about this cigar. Is it a spectacular life changing once in a lifetime smoke? Absolutely not. It was not meant to be. It was meant to be a casual smoke and for a lazy Sunday afternoon, it filled the bill perfectly. My rating is 90/100 and the smoke time was 1 hour and 55 minutes. I could've gone and found my nubbing tool to get a little more out of it. But that seemed like too much effort at the time. 

It's interesting to me how the same cigar smoked a few months apart can give different results. This one wasn't drastically different from the cigar I smoked for my last review but it was far from a carbon copy. This one was better and much more consistent from start to finish. I have no idea why. Could be the well documented variations in Cuban cigars, a few extra months of age, could be the cut, the light, the puff frequency, the weather, my body chemistry, what I had for lunch, my state of mind... It boggles the mind sometimes. But the variations and vagaries of smoking Cuban cigars is the major part of the enjoyment for me.

[SCgarman]

Upmann 2's are a great stick. I have an LUB14 box which I enjoy sparingly as the price of these has skyrocketed in the past few years. They have the legs to age for many years.