H Upmann Conn. No. 1 (JUL04)

[cigardawg]

The second cigar that I smoked at our regular Thursday night gathering...this H Upmann surprised me. Here are my thoughts:

H Upmann Conn. No. 1 (JUL04)

This was a good looking robusto (actually an hermoso no. 4) with a light-to-medium brown wrapper. There were no veins to speak of and the seams were very smooth and almost invisible. The triple-cap was very neat, making this a very attractive looking cigar. The pre-light nose was mild, but had some faint sweet earth and wood with maybe some sweet spice as an undertone. I clipped it and tested the draw...wow, it was wide open...wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

The cigar lit up easily and the draw stayed very open and easy. This stick practically smoked itself. The smoke production, however, was out of this world. Each light draw produced billowing clouds of aromatic smoke that swirled about my head. Fantastic! The cigar burned evenly for the most part, going a little wonky only once. No touch-up needed, however, as it self-corrected. The ash was a light gray color and medium-firm (surprising given the open draw). The cigar started to heat up at the end, but a bit of mellow smoking made everything just fine.

Now, it was the taste that surprised me. I have had young Conn. No. 1s before and, while good, they were just a little flat. This cigar was anything but. It absolutely exploded with flavor right from the first puff. Tons of that great intangible Upmann flavor (to qualify, I'd have to suggest maybe some sweet earth mixed with toasted wood and a bit of nuttiness????). The tastes did not change much thoughout the smoke and did not need to. This was an excellent tasting cigar.

So, I got surprised by a young H Upmann Conn. No. 1. I expected good, but muted flavors...got anything but that. The heat from the open draw was a bit of a detractor, but I don't have much else to complain about. I'll call this one an A- (90-92).

[shrink]

Excellent review Dawg. I pay close attention to your evaluations here, because I have found them to be quite accurate (or at least consistent with my findings!)

Your write-up inspired me to fire up an AUG04 example, which I had presumed was too young. It was everything you described, and had that "musty" Upmann quality that is so beguiling. Certainly these would benefit from more humi time, but are quite "approachable" now. Sure to please those who enjoy the classic Upmann profile. ;-)

[mulberry]

Great review, and agree on the flavor of these, they are very surprising

[Van55]

Vastly underrated or underreviewed cigar, the Conn #1.

Oh wait! I'm wrong. These are rarely discussed because they are awful. Don't buy them no matter what! Bad, cigars. Really bad.

[El Presidente]

This period produced some underfilled cigars which proved bothersome. Thankfully the practice almost disappeared in late 04/05.

Excellent review. I have walked into the humidor and selected a Connie 1 to accompany me for my meeting with Ken later today.