CRC: H.Upmann No.2 RAT SEP 20

[zacca]

H.Upmann No. 2 

RAT SEP 20

🔸 PRE-LIGHT

• Appearance: Medium brown, satin wrapper, minor veins and seams; no soft spots 
• Aroma: pleasant barnyard 
• Cold Draw Notes: earthy, milky cocoa, raisin

⸻

🔥 FIRST THIRD

• Flavors: bready, nutty, creamy - exceptionally smooth and pleasant; bakery like 
• Body: mild +
• Strength: mild +
• Draw: perfect 
• Retrohale: very smooth, similar flavors, zero spice or irritation 
• Construction: slightly wavy burn line at first, slowish burn rate, nondescript ash 

⸻

🔥 SECOND THIRD

• Flavor Transitions: no transitions, same smooth rich flavor 
• Body: medium 
• Strength: medium 
• Retrohale: no different notes, smooth 
• Balance: smooth and creamy 
• Construction: good overall; couple relights but I was doing work outside and not puffing enough to keep it lit 

⸻

🔥 FINAL THIRD

• Flavor Transitions: no transitions, a bit richer 
• Body: medium 
• Strength: medium 
• Retrohale: same 
• Harshness/Heat?: none 
• Nicotine Effect: medium
• Construction: same as second third; couple relights but not due to the cigar 

⸻

🧠 FINAL IMPRESSIONS

• Dominant Flavors: bready, nutty, creamy; very relaxing and smooth. 
• What I expected flavor wise, except maybe this one was more linear than I was hoping. Very enjoyable but should be reserved for a time of relaxation, not doing work in the garage

⸻

🧮 COMPOSITE SCORE (100-POINT SCALE)

1. Appearance (5 pts)

Score: 4/5

2. Burn & Draw (15 pts)

Score: 13/15

3. Flavor (Balance & Complexity) (25 pts)

Score: 20/25

4. Body & Strength Integration (10 pts)

Score: 9/10

5. Finish / Aftertaste (10 pts)

Score: 9/10

6. Enjoyment / X-Factor (15 pts)

Score: 13/15

7. Aroma (Pre-light & Retrohale) (5 pts)

Score: 4/5

8. Consistency Across Thirds (15 pts)

Score: 14/15

TOTAL: 86/100 (very good for my scale)

[pohlmad]

Your social style must be analytic with this scoring system!  Love it and love the HU#2!  Great description of the wonderful experience this cigar can bring!

[zacca]

8 hours ago, pohlmad said:

Your social style must be analytic with this scoring system!  Love it and love the HU#2!  Great description of the wonderful experience this cigar can bring!

Ha! Very much so. When I started taking cigars seriously, for my own sake to narrow in on what I like, I didn't want to score them subjectively so I came up with this. Admittedly it’s kind of harsh but it works for me. You don’t see it here, but I have descriptions for score ranges in each of the categories as a cheat sheet so its actually worse than it looks too! 

I don’t use it every time but mostly when I’m trying to get a baseline for something new or revisit something I haven’t had in a while. 

[Allroz]

Couldn't agree more about being reserved for a time of relaxation. I too have smoked this while doing stuff around the garage and there are so many nuances its easy to miss if not sitting down. Great write up and review!