H Upmann Petit Corona

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Product Specifications

I stood on a rooftop bar in Madrid, one of those whose wind grabs the underside of your jacket and makes city lights effervesce into spreads like spilled diamonds across dark velvet. It was late — both well past 2 a.m., by now — and the air had that bite, so crisp and clean but also unsentimental, ofwhen traffic has at last thinned. I’d just finished a project that was my lunchfor six months. You know that feeling? You know how good you feel when it’s finally lifted off your shoulder and you can breathe? I felt proud. Not pride in the cocky sense or anything, just that inwardly beaming pride of having accomplished the thing and done it right.

So I sighed, pressed myself against the rail of its sandstone balustrade, lookedout at the Gran Vía and fished my little leather travel humidor frommy pocket. In the mood for a double corona, I replied. I didn’t want to smoke something that would punchback at me for the next two hours, and need my taxed, undivided mind on a labyrinthine transition every three puffs. I wanted something steady. It did have that feel of catching up with an old friend, who sometimes needs to chatter and other times just sit quietly beside us. I grabbed for a joy stick that’s been in my rotation since I learned how to light them.

That smoke? The H. Upmann Petit Corona. There’s a reason it’s a classic, and under the Spanish stars that evening, it was exactly what I needed to end an evening.

The Specs

Construction: The Banker’s Precision

I have always been partial to H. Upmann’s History.

You have Hermann Dietrich Upmann, a German banker who came to Havanasome few decades before, in the 1840s. He didn’t just want to break into the tobacco business; he wanted a meansofshippingthe finest cigars back to Europe for hisclients. “Banker’s logic” there is to this Petit Corona. It’s not flashy. It lacks a heavy, oily wrapper that commands notice. It’s a plain stick, Colorado-Claro in hue — you’ve seen this color plenty of times on that well-worn leather satchel.

The number Ihad on that rooftop was a little bit of abox-press. It is not a harsh, aggressive press — just that soft squaring off of the corners that slides perfectly into the fingers. The wrapper was silky to the touch with very little texture felt and few veins. Thesausage wasnice and firm — no soft spots, no lumps — when I picked it up, but I could give it a gentle squeeze. Just a solid, consistent roll. The cap was applied with one of those classic Cuban triple seams, maybe a little rougher – slightly more overtly agricultural-looking – than had been the case on the higher-end Cohibas. But honestly? I prefer it that way. It feels like something that has a hand on it and not dug out of a machine.

I pruned it with my deepV-cutter. The pre-light wasperfect. This was free and open as the air, dry as a rasher (when it had dried seven days), hay-scented after a week in tobacco house, with a slight mixture of sumach or some other sweet scented herb – perhaps coltsfoot. I toasted the foot slowly to watch the Vuelta Abajo tobacco ignite. The foot smelled > of straightcedar. Solid start.

The Opening Third: AGentle Stirring

First few puffs are always the “getting-to-know-you” phase. It does not jump out and slap you across the face with pepper in the H.Upmann Petit Corona. Really, it’s just a friendly handshake of an opening number. I get so much cedar right out of the gate — really clean, woodyaromatics just sitting meaty on my palate. It was all very soft, spicy especially — not a black pepper burn but more of an echo of white pepper that lingered long after the bite.

Sitting on the side of the roadlooking at the smokein driftedoff into the Madrid night,lifting it up wasso very light. It’sa modest-to-mild smoke now. It’s accessible. You don’t actually have to be a veteran of: a thousand cigars to know that this is taking place. Good draw, lots of smoke, thin in body but big in flavour. Ten minutes in, the first hotness did us a solid by chilling out and leaving with a touch of soft floral sweetness. It reminded me of a walk in the gardenafter rain, earthy and fresh.

The Second Third: TheSweet Spot

And this is where the H. Upmann starts to show some of that pedigree. It wasn’t until I was halfway through the secondthird that the flavors began to blend. The warmth of nutty aromas began to creep in — roasted almonds or hazelnuts, say. It’s a…very “brown” flavor profile, ifthat makes sense. Everything is warm and toasted.

Next wasawning moment I had been waiting for: The coffeeand cream. It’s not an espresso punch; it is more like a well-made café con leche. There’s a little bit of creamy-ness to the smoke here that I didn’t have in the first inch. It coats the palate. I can say you, of a 42rg cigar, Iam really amazed at complexity that little body is able to house. I was no longer thinking about my job. I haven’t even been thinking about when thenext deadline would be. I wanted all of that nutty, creamycenter.”

The burn was exceptionally even. I didn’t have to even do one touch-up, and that says a lot about the construction. The ash was a nice medium gray, holding on to an inch until I gave it a flick into the crystal ashtray. It’s a clean smoke. No bitterness, no harshness. No booming fireworks at all, just a placid, rhythmic rhythm of flavor.

The Third End:Marzipan Finish

As the cherry made it’s way into the band,strength kicked up a level to medium in body. The cedar was still the linchpin, but the sweetness hadswiveled. It veered from that lightfloral angle and more toward something deeper — brown sugar and baking spices. Like, cinnamon and MAYBE a teenth of nutmeg.

But the real Beastmode on thisstick in the last act — and why Ikeep a box of these suckers layingaround in my humidor — is its marzipanfinish. There’s something about that weird contrast of sweet almond and biting, bitter herbal flavorthat makes sweet, smoky almonds just WORK. It’s sophisticated. Some notes of the darker were creeping in, too — hints of cocoa and another bit moreof that coffee character — but never did it not maintain balance.

I smoked that thing down to the nub, till my fingers startedgetting too much heat. It didn’t actual ever get “muddy” even at the very end. The flavors stayed distinct. I’d say I hada good 40 minutes. OK, yes, some people may hurtle through it in 25, but if you take the thing at a leisurely pace, it all but snaps back around and gifts you that full 40-minute period of rumination.

Pairing: Keeping it Classic

With that I was on a rooftop in Spain — so was drinking an aged-rum, small (and not sweet) with enough oak to go toe-to-toe with the cigar’s cedar. But honestly? This is the “morning” or “mid-day” smoke for anyone. A flat white or a regular black coffee is going to be stellar alongside this! The richness of the cigar would play nicely against the bitterness of the coffee.

If you’re going booze free but want something naughtier, trywhetting your whistle with a little Sherry (am Amontilladowould be divine).

The Aging Factor

I have to include this because it’s relevant: H. Upmann Petit Coronas are notorious for needing a rest.

Theone I smoked on the roof was about four years old. And if yougo buy a fresh box and then immediately light one, you might find it slightly … “bright” or grassy: not entirely unpleasant, but lacking some of the complexity and nuance of tobacco that has been held for months in your sock drawer. But give them time.

Turns out, five years is the sweet spot. That’s when that little bite of nicotine evaporates and that note of nuttiness reallybegins to emerge. If you can wait, and let a box sit in the rear of your humidor for a few years,you’ll get back a rougher cut cigarthan to what I may review here. It’s the culinary equivalent of a good wine; its edges soften and its core flavors meld more completely as it ages.

The Verdict

The H.Upmann Petit Corona isn’t pretending to exchange punches with the biggest smoke in town, and that’s a good thing – they’re appealing due to this modesty. It’s not ashow-off “statement” cigar that you smoke to impress. It’s a connoisseur’s cigar. For the guy who enjoys history of the Mareva vitola, and wants an effortless but flavorful medium-bodied smoke that plays within a 40-minute timeframe.

Is this the most complicatedCuban to ever be sold? No. But is it consistent? Absolutely. It’s all that and moreWhat I blew through.180 years of history baked into any puff. It’s a puro that takes that premiumVuelta Abajo tobacco and does exactly what it should — give us a balanced, nuanced smoke that doesn’t have to scream.

Sitting on that roof, admiring an excellent performance was the perfect thing for me. It demanded nothing of me; it simply asked me to think and be present. For newbs, a great way to be introduced into the world of Cuban H. Upmann. It’s the old friend who won’t let you down, if you’ve been there before.

Solid. Truly solid.

Final Thoughts: If you come across a box with some dust on it at your local LCDH … buy, buy and more purchase. You canthank your future self.

Summary of the Experience

• Body: Light to Medium
• Strength: Medium
• FlavoursCedar, Toasted Almonds, Coffee,Marzipan<\/li>
• Smoking Time: 40 Minutes
• Best for: Late night musings—or a polite morning breather…..