H. Upmann The Banker Annuity

The H. Upmann Cigar Company has been around for over 180 years and is still one of the most popular and beloved cigar brands out there. It all started when brothers Herman and Carl Upmann, German bankers, traveled to Cuba in 1844. During their time there, they created several blends that were distributed as promotions for their bank, and eventually they evolved into one of the most popular Cuban cigar brands smoked in the world. Today, they are still manufactured in Cuba, but the brand has expanded to the Dominican Republic where most of them are produced today.

The Banker in your shipment today requires us to travel back to Cuba in 1844. One of the blends they made was so good, unique, and exceptional, they decided to lock that one away in their bank vault only to give out to their most important (wealthiest) clients. While that original blend is long gone, several attempts were made to recreate it, and finally this award winning blend is back for us to enjoy! Starting from the inside is a vintage blend of long-fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic that is hugged with a Nicaraguan binder and finished with a dark brown, oily Ecuadorian Habano wrapper leaf. Medium in strength but also robust, this spicy smoke features full flavored notes of earth, coffee, and leather that are creamy on the palate. Pair this 91 Cigar Aficionado-rated smoke with something sparkly, such as Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne.

Though tobacco is indigenous to Hispaniola, the tobacco industry in the Dominican Republic existed in the shadow of Cuba’s dominance through the 1960s. When the exodus of Cuban cigar makers began in the wake of the revolution, many decided the Dominican Republic would be ideal for the resumption of their livelihoods. Unrest in Nicaragua in the 1980s fueled the Dominican cigar industry further. The country now makes more than half of the premium cigars imported into the U.S.

The Cibao Valley and the nearby city of Santiago are the center of cigar production in the Dominican Republic. Three main varieties are grown here: the mild and native Olor Dominicano; the intense Piloto Cubano, brought from the Vuelta Abajo of Cuba; and San Vicente, a milder and more acidic Piloto hybrid. Dominican puros were once unheard of as it was widely thought impossible to grow quality wrapper leaf on the island, but new growing techniques are now allowing some exceptional puros to be produced.