H. Upmann Cigars

It is one of the most prestigious cigar's brands of all times. Its fame surpassed the expectations and dreams of its creators, the German brothers Hermann and August Hupmann, who established in Havana in 1843.

The first news of this brand, popular among strong cigars' smokers, appeared in October, 15th, 1844. The origin of the name H. Upmann is in the letter H, first one of the word hermanos, (brothers in English), and the last name Hupmann, in which was eliminated the H to avoid the repetition.

Through the late 1800s, the H. Upmann brand gained international recognition at various exhibitions and won seven gold medals which still adorn the lithographed art on today's H. Upmann boxes, along with Hermann Upmann's original signature.

The brand was registered in 1945. The factory was placed in 75 San Miguel Street, in Havana; afterwards, it was transferred to Carlos III Avenue, in 1891, in the Cuban capital. The brand became a property of the British company Frankau, S. A. Fortunately, this enterprise sold the factory to the Association Menéndez García & Co., which returned the splendour it had lost, and placed it in one of the top positions at international level. In 1944 the factory moved into 407 Amistad Street, its present location. At that time Menéndez García already owned Montecristo and Por Larrañaga. 

H. Upmann was an innovative brand. It was one of the first to use cedar boxes to store and transport cigars. This system permits the conservation of the cigars' freshness and humidity. Another of the new actions was the introduction of the aluminium tubes to preserve the cigars. 

A popular legend holds that the favorite cigar of US President John F. Kennedy was the H. Upmann Petit Upmann, and that the night before the embargo was signed, he had aide Pierre Salinger procure every box he could gather from Washington, DC tobacconists, for a total of 1,200 of his favorite cigars. Others have claimed this folk tale is untrue and that Kennedy's favorite cigars were actually those made in the Philippines. However Pierre Salinger himself has recounted that night and confirmed it was 1,200 cigars and that he recalls the Presidents favorite was the H. Upmann Petit.