The Spaniard Don Jaime Partagás Ravelo had worked in the Cuban tobacco business for years before establishing his own factory, Real Fábricas de Tabaco Partagás in 1845, on 60 Industria Street in Havana, one of the largest of its time. The name, which translates as “Partagás Royal Tobacco Factory,” was supposedly chosen because of Don Jaime’s status as cigar supplier to various European and Asian nobility. Don Jaime owned many of the best plantations in the Vuelta Abajo tobacco-growing region of Cuba and being able to choose from among the finest tobaccos on the island made the brand incredibly successful. Don Jaime is also believed to have experimented with various methods of fermenting and aging tobacco and is legendarily credited with hiring the first lector to read to and entertain the cigar rollers as they worked.

Don Jaime was murdered (supposedly by a jealous rival he’d been vying with in one of his love affairs) on one of his plantations in either 1864 or 1868 and his son José Partagás took over the business.After tobacco was nationalized following the Cuban Revolution, the family’s patriarch, Ramón, was initially offered the job of leading Cuba’s tobacco industry, but refused and the Cifuentes family fled the country and the newly-formed Cubatabaco arm of the government took over the factory and cigar production there.

Name of Cigar reviewed: Partagas Corona Senior Havana

Date smoked: 5/22/2010

Time: 8am

Location: Balcony

Accompanying drinks: Cuban Cafe

Color of wrapper: Medium Brown

Cut: Guillotine

Combustion: Torch lighter.

Pre-light Aroma: Herbs and Pepper

Initial Draw: Flavorful from the first lighting

The Smoke: Smooth and even burning, Nice Ash

Summary: This is a fine cigar, I truly enjoyed it. A smooth and even smoke, rich pepper flavor, left a nice taste and caused a mild euphoria (buzz) that lasted a good half hour. I would recommend it to any smoker that enjoys a light to medium flavor.

The cigar is medium to full in taste and flavor, it was given to me by a friend who had just visited Canada.

They were German textile manufacturers who moved their family-owned operation to Havana, Cuba. Supposedly, they were avid cigar smokers and used cigars as a promotion tool for their customers. They are sometimes even credited with the invention of packaging cigars in cedar boxes to give to their customers. These original box were labelled with the H. Upmann name and contained other manufacturers’ cigars, most likely as an advertisement for the operation, until the Upmanns bought their own cigar factory in 1844: the famous H. Upmann Factory, now known as the José Martí Factory, in Havana. In another version of the story, it was the Upmann brothers’ nephews, German and Alberto, who founded the fabric and the cigars simply became associated with it.

The H some say stands for Hermann, or Hermano’s, since the two borthers started the brand

Name of Cigar Reviewed : HUpmann Vintage Cameroon

Date smoked: 5/10/2010

Time: 4pm

Location: Condo Balcony

Accompanying drinks: Merlot Wine

Color of wrapper: Golden Brown

Cut: Guillotine

Combustion: Torch lighter.

Pre-light Aroma: Slight flavor

Initial Draw: Smooth and Mild

The Smoke: Uneventful, a nice buzz

Summary: A mild smooth flavored cigar

This is a reknown Cigar company, and makers of some great Cigars

The cigar is mild in taste and flavor, it was purchased at the Paiute Reservation smoke shop in Las Vegas

I prefer a stronger and tastier cigar, for those of you who are new to cigars and want a mild starter or like mildness, this may be a good cigar. I found it lacking in the attributes I prefer.

The La Gloria Cubana brand was created in 1885 by the Sociedad Cabañas y Castro, then bought twenty years later in 1905 by José F. Rocha, who manufactured the brand from his factory at 364 Miguel Street in Havana. After Rocha’s death in 1954, the Cifuentes family bought both La Gloria Cubana and Bolivar from Rocha’s former company. Production was moved to the Partagas Factory, where it’s still produced today, and became very popular as an export brand.

After the Cuban Revolution, it seems that production of La Gloria Cubana ceased for several years, until around 1965 when the brand was apparently resurrected at the Partagás Factory. It is produced in smaller quantities than other brands and maintains its popularity with connoisseurs, the Médaille d’Or No. 2 being a particularly prized vitola.

Name: La Gloria Cubana Wavell natural

Date smoked: Monday 5/3/2010

Time: 8:00am to 8:45am

Location: Outdoors.

Accompanying drinks: none.

Color of wrapper: Creamy brown wrapper. Appeared to be well constructed and soft,  slightly viened

Cut: Guillotine

Combustion: Torch lighter.

Pre-light Aroma: Coffee and Almonds.

Initial Draw: Rich and Creamy, Spicy

The Smoke: The Spicy flavor mellowed to a smooth draw, a slight acidic taste leads to a lot of saliva

Summary: One of my favorite cigars, at an affordable price. This cigar provides fine flavor and a rich experience.