H. Upmann 175 Anniversary by A.J. Fernandez

04/22/2022
COVID-19 Day 760:
I was looking forward to sparking this H. Upmann 175 Anniversary by A.J. Fernandez for the second time today… Let’s see what she says!

Once lit, through a perfect draw, thick rich smoke delivers earthy cedar notes, cocoa, and black pepper tobacco flavors with a retrohale that echoes the black pepper with a little pepper zing.

I’m barely finished with the first third and I’m welcomed with an evolution of tobacco flavors… earthy notes of leather and cocoa are at the forefront. The retrohale remains the same with a complimentary pepper spice that pulls it all together. I am digging this second time with this cigar. The 6 months of time in the humidor did this cigar well. This flavor streak at the second third is something I could get used to!

Just approaching the final third after almost two hours the draw remains impeccable, but the tobacco flavors have boiled down to mostly earthy tobacco flavors and threatening to become bitter, so I’m slowing down a bit in case I’ve been chugging on this too much causing the off tobacco flavors.

These Churchill Vitolas are certainly long-burning cigars… this took nearly 2-1/2 hours.

Until next time…
Stay Smoky
Stay Chill

11/21/2021
COVID-19 Day 609:
This H. Upmann 175 Anniversary by A.J. Fernández is a thing of beauty! The Super-Smooth oily sheen of its wrapper just says Elegance. I purchased my first H. Upmann 175 Anniversary cigar in January of 2020 at the local Brick and Mortar… 82 Avenue Tobacco and Pipe from Cameron Dekany, and it has been resting all alone since.

I decided that I’d let that one rest and purchased a box for my birthday this year. So, today I’m sparking one of the new ones out of the box for the First-Time today!

Once lit, thru a perfect draw come volumes of smoky leather with a touch of chocolate on the finish. The retrohale has a decent black pepper spice.

Approaching the second third after about 40 minutes, I’m getting a mix of dry cocoa, leather, cedar, and strong coffee notes… The retrohale is ramping up on the spice too and it does not detract from the tobacco flavors.

At the last third, this cigar is performing very admirably… Thru a draw that offers the perfect amount of resistance that allows the natural tobacco flavors of cocoa, coffee, and leather that will keep me coming back for more… The retrohale still provides plenty of pepper spice with a coffee finish.

Overall, I was a little more than mildly impressed with this first-time experience. I think I may have set my expectations too high or maybe I should have smoked with the “Aged” specimen instead that I’ve had marinating in the TupperDor. Anyway, no second-guessing the next time I decide to smoke this again, I’ll let this rest for a few months before I spark it again.

Until next time…
Stay Smoky
Stay Chill

The Experience

The Cigar