Review: H Upmann Magnum 50

Being a big fan of the Magnum 46, I had great expectations of this cigar, and it did not disappoint.

Appearance 10/10

The appearance of the Magnum 46  is very good, but the Magnum 50 is a perfect looking cigar. The wrapper has the same lovely light chocolate colour to it, and like the 46 only has a few small veins. It may sound odd but this cigar is a perfect size, you cant miss it, its large but not too ostentatious, and feels great in your hand.

Construction & Draw 10.0/10

The construction of this cigar is absolutely excellent, the cap unlike many cigars appears to be a seamless part of the stick, not something of an after thought.  The wrapper is just perfect, its slightly darker than the 46, and I think has a more oily texture. The draw on this cigar is spot on, because of the large ring gauge it has an easy draw, but it never feels to light or easy, so far I would say this cigar has the most perfect draw of any cigar I have smoked

The burn on this cigar is also amazingly clean, the burn line on the cigar was absolutely straight, as if it was begin cut by a laser! This cigar also produced masses of lovely grey smoke, to be honest I was glad I was smoking it outside (well sanding at the balcony doors), inside I would probably have not been able to see from one side of my lounge to the other.

Flavour 9.5/10

The cigar has a medium flavour, it started out quite spicy but quickly settled, and then I got distinct coffee and chocolate flavours coming through. What really impressed with this stick was that at different points I could taste when the flavour moved from coffee to chocolate, something I have not been able to do before (I just don’t think I have a sophisticated enough pallet). I would have given this cigar 10 if it had not started out with a little too much spice.

Value 9.0/10

This is not a cheap cigar, I paid 16 GBP for it, but compared to other cigars of its size and sophistication this does not seem bad value for money. At 4 GBP more than a Magnum 46, I think it offers pretty good value, and for me value is not just about cost its about how much pleasure I got for my money, and for that reason 9.0 is fair.

Summary 10/10

I have given this a 10,  when reading the review you might question why it got this score and not a 9.5 or 9.0. Well whilst everything about this stick is not perfect, the overall experience is. I really enjoyed smoking this cigar, it looked great, felt great, had perfect draw, wonderful distinct flavors, and masses of fragrant smoke.

So for me although on paper it does not look like a 10, for me it was, and I would smoke this cigar every hour of every day if I could afford it !

Review: Oliva Serie V Belicoso

I have been reading around to see if there are some other non Cuban cigars that I should have a look at, especially if they are Torpedo or Belicoso profile, as to me these seem to have the best draw.

A number of reviews on-line drew me to the Oliva Serie V Belicoso, and as this cigar has just made number 18 in the top 25 cigars of 2012 according to Cigar Aficiando then it looks like the reviews were correct.

Read on to see what I thought of this Cigar…

Appearance 9.5/10

The first thing that strikes you about this cigar is how pretty it is. There are almost no veins, and those it does have are very small, the wrapper is a lovely mid brown color and nice and oily, the band is probably one of the best I have seen. Overall this cigar is great to hold, and lovely to look at.

Construction & Draw 9.0/10

As mentioned earlier the construction of this cigar is fantastic, it feels great between your fingers. You really have to study this stick up close to appreciate just how well constructed it is, I am pretty sure I have not seen a more expertly constructed cigar. When I toasted the foot of this stick I was greeted with a fantastic aroma, and I found the draw on this cigar to be absolutely perfect.

Flavor 9.5/10

This is I believe supposed to be a medium to full cigar, I would suggest that this is a full flavour cigar, as it did kick me a little towards the end. I had expected this to be a 45  – 60 minute smoke, but in the end it took around 70 minutes to finish this stick, I think if I had tried to smoke it quicker it would have kicked me harder.

The flavours in this cigar are divine, yes it has that peppery kick that you would expect, but its quite subtle and adds a cleanness to the overall flavour. What was striking is the clarity of the other flavours, I could really pick up chocolate with a touch of liquorice in the first third, chocolate and leather in the second, and in the last third I picked up a smooth vanilla tone.

Value 9.5/10

I wish that cigars in the UK were closer to their US prices, as this would make this stick around 5 GBP which would be an obscene bargain (and as I did purchase this at US prices it was a bargain for me!). However in the UK this stick is still only around 10 GBP, to me in the context of UK cigar prices this still makes this cigar exceptional value for money. All those flavours, the construction, and 70 minutes of smoking bliss for 10 GBP, what more could you ask!

Summary 10/10

I could not work out if I should give this a 9.5 or a 10, but having thought about it I think this is a solid 10. This stick ticked all the boxes and gave me so much more than I was expecting. I really did spend 70 perfect minutes in this cigars company, the fact that this only cost 10 GBP, just made it all the more special.

Bottom line I loved this cigar, I cant wait to get some more in my humidor, I would like to get a box of 25 but I dont have room in my humidor. Although for this cigar I am tempted to get a second humidor, its that good!