JohnS' Smoking Diary 2025

[JohnS]

H.Upmann Sir Winston Circa 1997

In case you aren't privy to such knowledge, apart from the fact that the H.Upmann Sir Winston is considered amongst Habanos enthusiasts as a premium, 'classy' cigar, the HU Sir Winston is a highly sought after vitola on account of its seasonal production regimen. It's made only when the ingredients (i.e the leaves) are ready and is only available for months at a time when released (usually), when thereafter the HU Sir Winston goes into a production hiatus until the next time it's produced.

Of late, I've had two sticks in 2020, one in 2021, one in late 2023 which came from an EOS Jul 2019 quarter box acquisition in January 2020 and one in early 2025 from a mid-2017 box.

Unlike more potent H.Upmann offerings such as the Magnum series, H.Upmann No.2 and Petit Corona, I've generally found the Sir Winston more approachable when young, but even more desirable with age. I am grateful for having sampled this H.Upmann Sir Winston from 1997, which was gifted to me by an anonymous benefactor during my travels to France recently.

Unlike the last time I smoked an H.Upmann Sir Winston, which had coffee and nut throughout, this aged HU Sir Winston was more H.Upmann shortbread, cedar, leather underlined by a sumptuous cream texture throughout. Whereas I've had HU Sir Winstons with notes of cinnamon spice, this even had notes of white pepper in the back half of the cigar. And even though the last H.Upmann Sir Winston I had from mid-2017 contained a combination of roasted almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts, I wouldn't say that this aged specimen was 'nutty'. Time has indeed settled this cigar, but its refinement remained.

Again, there was no doubt it was still a quality cigar, judging by its construction, burning and flavours. One could easily smoke these, even as they approach thirty years of age, and be quite satisfied.

[JohnS]

Partagás Serie du Connaisseur No.1 Circa 2007

The Partagás Serie du Connaisseur No.1 was a pre-Revolution cigar that was discontinued in 2010. It did not feature a band until 2006 and was part of the du Connaisseur Series together with the No.2 and No.3. In their youth they were noted for their strength, spiciness, perfect burning and heavy finish. The cigar was a 38 ring gauge x  192 mm (or 7½ inches) in length Delicados. Note that the Cohiba Lanceros and Montecristo Especiales both share these dimensions but are Laguito No.1s on account of the fact that they have pig-tails on their head, whereas the Partagas Serie du Connaisseur cigars did not.

I'd like to thank the anonymous benefactor from my recent trip to France for gifting me this cigar to review. He was quite pleased with my thoughts on it, and has assured me that there's another waiting (for me) when I get the chance to re-visit France in the future.

Note well that this cigar, and the 38 ring gauge x 166 mm (or 6½ inches) Parejos-sized Partagas Serie du Connaisseur No.2 served as the combined inspiration for the original DesNudos N1 Lancero in 2021.

The cigar opened with a gorgeous Partagas sourdough and leather aspect to it. In the first third I also got some light espresso coffee and a sweet twang. The last time I smoked a Partagas Serie du Connaisseur No.1 four years ago, I got a beautiful note of sour lemon citrus. This time, that was not present, but that sweet twang developed nicely towards the middle of the first third onwards.

In the middle third, that sweet twang became more akin to a honey sweetness, and trust me, I couldn't put the cigar down after that. It was simply stupendous all the way until the end, and no, I'm not exaggerating! There's simply no point repeating myself for how the cigar was in the last third as it was much like the middle third. In other words, glorious!

Although I got really pleasant flavours with this cigar there were two points that I would like to highlight about it, in much the same way I did four years ago when I last smoked a Partagas Serie du Connaisseur No.1. Firstly, the cigar was very light in its strength and so those flavours were quite subtle as a consequence. Secondly, the ash-length was consistently short. I find this quite common with longer 'skinnies' (such as the Montecristo Especial or Trinidad Fundadores, for example). This meant that the cigar was done after 60 or 65 minutes approximately. For a skinny cigar this was quite quick but the lightness of the cigar prevented any over-heating or bitter flavours developing.

Overall, there's no doubt that this was an exceptional cigar. You do wish that a Habanos distributor would re-release this cigar as a Regional Edition, or better still, Habanos S.A. could even re-release the cigar again. I know that's not likely to happen, but at least we have the Nudies Lancero to help us reminisce in the meantime.

[JohnS]

With these final entries, this now brings this series to a close. What a journey it has been over 7 years! Thank you for your loyalty and support over those years.

The question remains though...why bring this blog series to a close? Quite simply, I've come to the point where I feel I've done it all since the blog started in early 2019. And it all started innocently enough when a member (or two) requested that I move my Daily Smoking posts to another dedicated site on FoH. Hence, the beginning of a seven year-long ride.

I related a little anecdote to our dearly beloved long-time member here on FoH a few months ago, Trevor Leask, that the average peak period for creative artists in the late 20th century has been around five to seven years. Think about the musicians, filmmakers or writers you admire. Is this statement roughly true? For example, from the realm of pop music, off the top-of-my-head I can cite The Beatles (1963-1969/70). The Rolling Stones (1968-1972/73), The Kinks (1966-1971), The Beach Boys (1962-1966). You either innovate in your creative endeavours or end up recreating a variant of the same thing. For this reason, Keith Richards held back the song 'Start Me Up' for six years until 1981 because he felt it was a reworking of their 1971 song, 'Brown Sugar'.

In the same way, I need to bring this series to an end here because over the last few years I felt I was repeating myself, especially when it came to reviewing staples three of four times in a year (like the San Cristobal de La Habana Principe, Por Larranga Montecarlos or Montecristo No.5). How much development could you see in a cigar like that over three to six months? For this reason, I felt that the 2025 Smoking Blog was the best overall because it was limited to reviews on cigars that I had not really smoked before; either cigars that were aged and the box was opened in 2025 or other special releases that were gifted to me by dear friends (and by which extended the series well into December).

I am proud of the fact that I could bring you something that was somewhat unique towards the end. After all, how often does one get to read a detailed account of what a 10-to-15 year old cigar smokes like, what it smoked like in its first 5-to-10 years and what it will develop into thereafter? 

I leave you with the proverb, "all good things must come to an end". This saying first saw the light of day in the 1300s when Geoffrey Chaucer included it in his poem, Troilus and Criseyde. I'm especially proud of trying to bring you quality reviews, and more so as the series progressed. I hope that like one of my favourite bands of all time, The Beatles, I end up going out on a high (as the album Abbey Rd indeed proved to be).

I wish you all a prosperous and happy 2026!

John.

[Dlowil]

John, I thoroughly enjoyed hopping on and reading your reviews. It was not only a respectable resource as someone new to CC this year. It was a yardstick (or meter stick in metric terms) for how to thoughtfully think about and convey a cigar experience. Thank you! And I have to ask, what will you do with the extra time now?? 

[Mike Mecklenburg]

John, I have enjoyed your detailed reviews and will miss them as much as I miss your YouTube channel. You have a very good palate and are a good benchmark for all those who love to figure out flavors. I'm sure whatever you do next in the CC world you will succeed. Maybe it's time for a book? Thanks for sharing.

[JohnS]

5 hours ago, Dlowil said:

John, I thoroughly enjoyed hopping on and reading your reviews. It was not only a respectable resource as someone new to CC this year. It was a yardstick (or meter stick in metric terms) for how to thoughtfully think about and convey a cigar experience. Thank you! And I have to ask, what will you do with the extra time now?? 

I always figured that one day I would need to have a 'working' knowledge of Spanish to greater appreciate my love of Habanos culture and so now I am dedicating my time to learning Spanish.

3 hours ago, Mike Mecklenburg said:

John, I have enjoyed your detailed reviews and will miss them as much as I miss your YouTube channel. You have a very good palate and are a good benchmark for all those who love to figure out flavors. I'm sure whatever you do next in the CC world you will succeed. Maybe it's time for a book? Thanks for sharing.

Thank you, Mike. A book? Interesting as I have never thought of that. Food for thought, as they say?

[gormag38]

John, 

Congrats on the conclusion of your blog series! I for one have enjoyed reading your reviews off and on for the better part of three years. Your ability to take complex tasting notes and flavors and weave them into laymen terms is simply put, remarkable. 

Someone told me a longtime ago that being able to take complex ideas/thoughts and communicate them simply to the masses is one of the best indicators of one's intelligence. I have little doubt that this holds true to you. Bravo sir. Congrats on the conclusion once again. 

[Lucas Buck]

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Your reviewing style is something to which I aspire. Your reviews pop up often when I search FOH for specific cigars and I always enjoy reading them. Cheers!

[99call]

Massive congratulations John, 

Doing off the cuff reviews is pretty easy, but the amount of time, research and mental energy that goes into the type of in depth reviews/information you've given the community is pretty bloody unique, and hugely appreciated by us all. Thank you. 

It seemed written in the stars that one of your final smokes sounds like it was as close to a 100 pointer as you can get. Bravo. You deserve it. Hats off!

[JohnS]

20 hours ago, gormag38 said:

Someone told me a longtime ago that being able to take complex ideas/thoughts and communicate them simply to the masses is one of the best indicators of one's intelligence. I have little doubt that this holds true to you. Bravo sir. Congrats on the conclusion once again. 

Thank you!

17 hours ago, Lucas Buck said:

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Your reviewing style is something to which I aspire. Your reviews pop up often when I search FOH for specific cigars and I always enjoy reading them. Cheers!

I appreciate that! Thanks.

15 hours ago, 99call said:

Massive congratulations John, 

Doing off the cuff reviews is pretty easy, but the amount of time, research and mental energy that goes into the type of in depth reviews/information you've given the community is pretty bloody unique, and hugely appreciated by us all. Thank you. 

It seemed written in the stars that one of your final smokes sounds like it was as close to a 100 pointer as you can get. Bravo. You deserve it. Hats off!

You nailed it. The energy required, to realise these reviews to a desired outcome, becomes more challenging the more you do it. That final Partagas Serie du Connaisseur No.1 was a special cigar. I agree, it was a nice choice to 'round off' the series.

[griller]

To echo the thoughts of the FOH membership above, THANK YOU for sharing your cigar journey here. I have so enjoyed your enlightened take on all things Habanos. Your tasting palate is quite refined and has helped me develop an ability to pick up on flavor nuances that were out of reach in the past.

I hope you continue to nurture a passion for cigars and wish you a safe & prosperous 2026.

[JohnS]

On 1/4/2026 at 3:30 AM, griller said:

To echo the thoughts of the FOH membership above, THANK YOU for sharing your cigar journey here. I have so enjoyed your enlightened take on all things Habanos. Your tasting palate is quite refined and has helped me develop an ability to pick up on flavor nuances that were out of reach in the past.

I hope you continue to nurture a passion for cigars and wish you a safe & prosperous 2026.

Thank you @griller. I wish the same for you for 2026.

[joeypots]

Well done, John. Man, people sent you some great cigars to smoke along with those in your own collection. Your work has been one of the highlights of FOH, thanks!

[JohnS]

5 hours ago, joeypots said:

Well done, John. Man, people sent you some great cigars to smoke along with those in your own collection. Your work has been one of the highlights of FOH, thanks!

Thank you @joeypots. Yes, I am grateful too for those cigars.