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If you are
a smoker, it is very difficult that you have not ever heard of the well-known
H. Upman cigars. This is one of the most famous and appreciated brands in the
world, an obligatory reference in the world of tobacco for almost two
centuries. Even if you've never smoked one, the long history of this brand,
dating back to 1844, can be interesting. Therefore, we will tell you about it
here.
The
beginnings. Its
creator, Heinrich Dietrich Upmann, arrived in Cuba in 1839 from Bremen,
Germany, with the intention of settling on the island. Soon after, aware of the
boom that the tobacco trade with Europe was acquiring by then, he decided to
venture into the business, manufacturing his own cigars.
Thus was
born the name H. Upman (H for his name and Upman for his surname), a signature
that he placed in a yellow band on each of the cigars, to guarantee the
authenticity of those he exported. Its date of appearance goes back to 1844,
coinciding with the time when some of the most famous cigar brands in the world
were created. By the way, the bands that he used to identify the cigars are the
precursors of the rings, which began to be used some years later, and to this
day they identify the brand of the cigar.
Later
successes. From its
appearance on the market and until the beginning of the 20th century, H. Upman
obtained important recognitions that boosted his prestige worldwide: between
1862 and 1907 he received a dozen gold medals in different international
exhibitions. These medals became the identity of the brand because they began
to use them in the cedar boxes in which they sold their products.
It is
precisely to H. Upman that the innovation of storing cigars in cedar boxes is
owed as a way of preserving the quality, freshness and humidity suitable for
the transfer of tobacco to Europe and the United States, a custom that later
spread to other manufacturers.
The
prestige of the brand grew so much that it obtained the title of "Provider
of his Majesty Don Alfonso XII, King of Spain, with privilege of the use of Royal
Arms". In 1922, H. Upman was sold to the British firm J. Frankau and in
1935 to Menéndez, García & Cía.
There
are two versions: one Cuban and one non-Cuban. Like almost all tobacco producers, after the
arrival of Fidel Castro to power in Cuba, their manufacturers left the island
and began to produce their cigars without being able to use their brands, while
on the island, the regime that had confiscated the companies, continued to
produce and use the original brands. However, after several years of litigation,
which took place in the United States against an importer of Cuban Habanos
(Menéndez vs. Faber, Coe and Gregg), they obtained the right to commercialize
the brands that they used to manufacture in Cuba.
The Cuban
version of H. Upman is currently manufactured in what was one of the largest
factories of the late nineteenth century, known at the time as La Madama, and
renamed in 1960 as José Martí.
Altadis USA
produces the non-Cuban version in its factory in Honduras and markets it in the
United States, which, of course, maintains its excellence and quality as
always.
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