H. Upmann Magnum 50 EMA May 08

[El Presidente]

H. Upmann Magnum 50 EMA May 08

I have sampled five Upmann Magnum 50 from EMA May 08, LSO May 08, OBE April 08. Each were almost identical in terms of construction and flavour profile.

I first sampled the Upmann Magnum 50 in Havana in February at the Festival de Habanos gala opening. My recollections were a good cigar but nothing overtly special. Then again, we were smoking it with 1500 others and between the myriad of conversations and the entertainment the cigar in hand tends to get lost in everything else that is going on. I still have an original cigar which was gifted from that dinner and I will review it over the next couple of weeks. Ken reminded me Saturday night that he didn’t like the February Magnum 50 at the time. I did have a giggle at the comment as I can’t recall him leaving the buffet all night.

We received this shipment last week late Thursday afternoon and decided to fire one up Friday afternoon with master humidor maker Alain and Smithy on the deck accompanied by some decent red wine. We were progressively joined by Nara, Shagga, Meggsa, Artie, Sal, Roland, Greg, Matty and Sharon. Life as a cigar pirate never ceases and all but Sharon fired up the Magnum 50 and some of us went back for seconds and in my case thirds.

Let me start out by saying that the new Magnum 50 that we tried is a sensational cigar. Alain, Smithy, Simon and I initially started out on the HDM Epicure Especiales which was disappointing in that it needs another 3 years laid down as it was unapproachable. When we reached for the Upmann Magnum 50 our hopes were not high. It is nice to be blown away.

We should probably start with the Habanos sa blurb:

HABANOS S.A. PRESENTS H.UPMANN MAGNUM 50

The second launching of the year is the H.Upmann Mágnum 50, which achieved a great success in 2005 as a Limited Edition. This Habano will become the benchmark size of the brand, thanks to its elegant proportions (50 x 161) and its extraordinary blend, giving it a unique aroma and flavor.

The careful presentation of Magnum 50 will cope with the standards of excellence of the product. It will not only bear the brand’s ring, but also a red second ring with the commercial name printed on it. This size will be launched also in a new image top standard tube, along with the rest of the tubes of the brand.

The new Magnum Line, which includes the Mágnum 50 and the legendary Mágnum 46, will include all the attributes of the H. Upmann brand, placing it high among the preferences of the most demanding Habanos lovers.

Well, forget about the tubes for now. As normal the HSA blurb really tells us nothing outside of the size. They like it this way although our men within are trying very hard to change this practice to describe new cigars in terms which are somewhat meaningful.

So, what we have is a big H. Upmann, a marque which is notorious for requiring some serious age to show its unique personality.

The cigar looks impressive. Fantastic dark and malevolent aroma at cold …all leather, tobacco and barnyard. The wrapper looks great in its Colorado /Colorado Maduro shade with a slick felt feel to the touch. Construction appears top notch and while I have sampled some which had a firm feel in the hand, they all drew perfectly.

Upon firing up the foot the most striking feature is its sheer smoothness. Immediate comparisons to the Upmann Sir Winston come to mind. Medium bodied with a core of coffee and shortbread. Smithy throws in some dry fruits …figs. Alain proclaims it to be a stunning. I am loathe to wax lyrical on a cigar at its opening….we have an hour for the Magnum 50 to turn feral. I shouldn’t have worried….. It doesn’t.

This cigar simply got better and better. The Magnum 50 has perfect balance. Medium bodied. Rich. Complex. There is volumes of smoke which has the aroma of quality tobacco and fresh baked scones. The tongue is ensconced in cream, shortbread, milk coffee and toasted almonds. There are some dried fruits playing on the outskirts. Not an ounce of youth or aggression. Through the nose it is as disciplined and refined as an 03 Winston. All in all quite a remarkable achievement for a cigar boxed May 08.

Through the halfway point and we all know we are smoking something special. The cigar is a little fuller now but remains in total balance and control. We comment on the ash which is not the flaky young ash one comes to expect but rather tight and well formed. The flavours are rich and deep, the finish clean. Some serious thought has gone into the blending of this cigar. It has all the hallmarks of great Upmanns and yet to achieve it now is a masterful effort.

Could it get any better? Personally yes as Alain decides to purchase a new model ORIS TT2 Chronograph as we sit on the deck….Smithy fits it….all over a great cigar and a bottle of wine. Life can’t get any better.

The cigar finishes in a state of near perfection. We simply could not fault it. Whether this is a case of first release greatness I do not know but what I do know is that a few boxes went into my personal side of the humidor and during the course of the afternoon a few more boxes were reserved by others. No small feat as I have not worked out the pricing.

No cigar could be this good so young so I backed up for a second and a third. All exceptional. Last thing I did Friday was open a second box to take to Kens place Saturday night for a few drinks to celebrate Alains impending marriage next Saturday.

I arrived at Kens 4pm Saturday afternoon …an hour early…in fear of catching him unawares in his underpants riding his exercise bike. Don’t laugh it has happened before.

Thankfully Ken was fully dressed as he opened the big wooden double doors which lead on to the carport …..”Your early”.

“ I bring a selection of cheeses, dips, chips, salamis, marinated capsicum and eggplant, cigars?”

“Come in then….I have cabbage”.

Ken laid down the law.

1. You are not allowed to go to the rum cupboard or cigar humidor unescorted.

2. No photographs of the house.

3. No photographs of the fridge.

I agreed to the conditions of entry not having any real intention of complying.

Beautiful Saturday afternoon in Brisbane. Clean blue sky with a slight chill in the air. I passed Ken an Upmann Magnum 50 as he graciously pulled a fine bottle of wine. Checked to see if possum has returned….no luck. We were out on the deck enjoying the Upmann 50’s while watching highlights of Aussie pole vaulter, Steve Hooker, winning Olympic Gold. Our first men’s Gold medal in track for 40 years.

Ken thoroughly enjoyed his Magnum 50. “These are completely different to what we tried in Havana” was his comment. I can’t disagree.

Not really wanting another glass of wine (I was driving) I asked if Ken would mind visiting the rum stores. “Appleton 21” was his suggestion and so with a Magnum 50 and a glass of fine rum I had pretty much died and gone to heaven.

Alain and good mate Warren joined us an hour later and Alain brought some sensational Partagas P2’s which we hoed into post Magnum 50.

We were just waiting on Smithy who I texted.

“Where are you?”

Reply “How ******* far is this place?”

Smithy duly arrived an hour late dressed as if he had robbed ¾ of the houses on Kens street and duly settled into a Partagas P2.

Ken is dressed...well...like Ken. "Hobo Chique"

8 pm now and it is getting cold. We checked the temp with Warrens laser thermometer and it reads 4.2 degrees Celsius (39 farenheiht). Ken is prepared and has dressed for the conditions although he restrained himself from bringing out the bunny eared slippers.

I handed out the last of the Magnum 50’s I had brought and they all went down to unanimous acclaim…..sensational.

I may have snuck off this photo of Kens living room. Nothing much has changed. The possum has made the right decision to move out and live in the wild.

This is a classic. Apologies for the bad photo but I had a millisecond to fire off the photo before Ken pulled the “press pass” away. I assume it dates back to early 80’s. I swear it was a photo of “Lurch” from the Addams family.

It is not every day that out of a group of five four people have an ORIS. Ken holds out with his Limited Edition “Goofey” Mickey Mouse.

All in all a great night and thanks to Ken for putting it on. I will post some photo’s from Alain’s wedding next week

In summary what can we say about the Magnum 50’s which we had tried over two days”

If I were to rate them now they would be a 92/100 and 5/6 Smokerings.

I will have pricing set down late today/tomorrow.

Finally...the only rupture on the night was when Ken was questioning the disappearance of some silver cutlery.