H. Upmann Chairman's Reserve

[jazznut]

"Worthwhile"

H. Upmann Chairman’s Reserve Long Panetela

Place of fabrication: La Romana, Dominican Republic
Wrapper: U.S.A. Connecticut Shade
Binder and filler: Dominican
Presentation: Cellophane-wrapped and lying within its own cedar coffin
Dimensions of cigar: 7.5 inches by 38 ring gauge
Type of vitola: Equivalent to a Cuban Laguito No.1/Delicados
Date smoked: Tuesday September 20th, 2005

Setting:

Relaxing in the upstairs study on a breezy pre-autumn evening.

Accompanying drink:

Glen Elgin 12 Year Old Highland Scotch Whisky (43% alcohol by volume). Representing one of four single malts in the recently introduced United Distillers & Vintners ‘Hidden Malts’ collection, this Glen Elgin offered up a lively mélange of malt sweetness heavily endowed with honeyed fruit and counterbalanced by crisp, dryish, spicy oak. The whisky partnered very well with both the strength and flavours of the elegant Dominican cigar.

The cigar:

Texture and colour of capa: While strictly average in terms of its modest degree of smoothness and subdued sheen, the outer leaf of the panetela nonetheless possessed almost invisible seams, evidencing careful craftsmanship. The veins, apart from two prominent ones, appeared quite fine, and noticeable tooth was evenly distributed over the entire surface of the wrapper. The Colorado Claro hue of the capa melded light cocoa and terracotta, while some veins, particularly the principal ones, displayed a golden ochre tone. Additionally, a few deep cocoa splotches and tiny punctate areas marked isolated regions of the leaf.

Colour of tripa: The interior leaves varied from sandalwood through cocoa to Van Dyke brown, and exhibited a fairly dark tone overall.

Construction and draw: I noted a moderate box-press near the foot, though the remainder of the cigar seemed perfectly round. The triple-seam cap, deeply set at greater than ¼ inch, was symmetrically rendered and well applied. It culminated in a thin pigtail, which draped over the rounded contour of the head. The even, compact scroll pattern of the tripa, as well as the excellent roll density, resulted in a firm finger feel with very little superficial give. These characteristics led to a perfect draw tempo.

Combustion: The Chairman’s Reserve took instantaneously to the flame, sending pale grey smoke fumes streaked with light blue into the air. The solidly textured and smoothly surfaced ash, meanwhile, reached a length of between 1½ and 2 inches prior to disengaging, whereupon it left behind a nicely shaped embering cone. The colour of the ash ranged from bone grey exteriorally to a ruddy medium grey centrally, and the burn edge remained either minimally angled or perpendicular throughout. Not a single correction or relight was required. The session spanned close to 1½ hours in total.

Pre-light aroma: Nosing the unlit Dominican revealed a fragrant and enticing bouquet encompassing mild tobacco, clay earth strewn with mocha powder, a subtle cedar-tinged aspect leaning toward cinnamon sugar – perhaps even honeyed – sweetness, and a faint floral scent reminiscent of rose petals.

Pre-light draw: Here, a slightly less sweet and fuller tobacco presence amply imbued with cedar and dried herbs came accompanied by a demure piquancy hinting at bell peppers.

Post-light aroma: Warm, soothing and enveloping, the upwardly wafting post-light aroma was primarily composed of scents of gently smouldering cured tobacco leaves and Kenyan coffee.

Palate entry: The opening salvo was far more focused and forceful than the pre-light aroma and draw would have led me to expect. Bales of toasted tobacco landed on my tastebuds and that bell pepper piquancy positively sang, both arriving on the palate cradled within a healthy coating of cedar.

Early portion: Notions of walnut husks and medium-roasted coffee fused with the tobacco and cedar as the pepper receded a little. The powerful and breathtakingly expansive core of toasted tobacco tended to dryness, yet there was nary a trace of abrasive bitterness. The taste was, well, very Upmann-like! Then, seemingly out of the blue, a subtly conveyed baking-spices-in-cake-batter sweetness appeared as those dried herb and floral pre-light notes simultaneously deposited themselves delicately on my palate. The effect was airy and substantial all at once.

Mid point: The panetela lightened in tenor as the cedary herbaceousness assumed a more prominent role. Hints of nuts and earth persisted in the background, and these were followed by the emergence of citrus zest.

Latter portion: A teasing, tingling interplay of now lightly textured tobacco, cedar and citrus took center stage.

Finish: The flavours amalgamated and the Dominican regained a modicum of its plush richness and power, though not nearly enough to oust the overriding sensation of cedary herbaceousness and zestiness.

Summary: The faultless build, excellent technical performance and bravuro overture of this Chairman’s Reserve were everything I could have hoped for. Alas, from the middle of the session onward, the long panetela inexorably slipped into a less hearty mode showing compromised complexity. I still judged it to provide a reasonably worthwhile smoking experience for all that, the price factor notwithstanding.

Many thanks to Mark (Cigar Weekly's birdhunter02) for providing the ammunition for this review, and for sending a certain sample of treasured golden elixir my way!