When the H. Upmann Reserva No. 2 was released, there was a lot of comparison to the Montecristo No. 2 Gran Reserva, and the Romeo Y Julieta Churchill Reserva. “Which one is better?” was often asked. All three of those special cigars are unique in their own way, and all have a story to tell. The H. Upmann Reserva No. 2 is perhaps the most underrated in that group, however, the first few I tried were simply exceptional cigars. I decided to spark another and see how it has evolved since I first tried these 2010 Cosecha cigars.
ABOUT THE CIGAR
Brand: H. Upmann
Cigar: No. 2 Reserva Cosecha 2010
BOX CODE: LUB JUN 15
SIZE: 52 X 6.1 inches.
FACTORY NAME: Piramides
Duration time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
This cigars from the 2010 harvest with tobacco aged minimum three years. I decided to go for a straight cut on this one and the pairing is a simple sparkling water because I want to get as many of the flavors from the cigar as possible. The other times that I’ve tried this car were in Havana and we all know how great the cigars taste there so I wanted to see how it compared on a regular summer night here in Montreal.
1st Part
The first few puffs showed a very well constructed cigar, as one would hope and expect from a Reserva edition. I’m getting some mild, typical H. Upmann flavors, which for me are earthy, kind of woody type flavor. The strength profile is mild to begin.
Still within the first third. This cigar is really tasty and delicious, however, still very mild. Odd thing to say, but some notes of olive oil are starting to appear, which is really interesting.
2nd Part
Onto the second part of the cigar. The intensity level I would say is still on the mild end, a little milder than a typical H. Upmann. The flavour is enjoyable however it hasn’t evolved that much since the beginning, except for one time when the olive oil flavours showed up (I am aware that is not common and may seem strange, but well…).
The construction on the cigar is incredible! The ashes are holding up solid as we can see from the little pyramid on top; this is a well-constructed cigar.
In terms of flavour, believe it or not I’m getting kind of queen green olive on this. It’s the first time I can remember having this kind of taste on a cigar. I didn’t get this the first couple times I smoked the same cigar, which was in fact as very different experience.
H. Upmann Reserva No. 2 video 2
3rd Part
I’m at the final stretch the last third so the flavour profile hasn’t changed that much at all, which for a Reserva cigar can be a little disappointing. However the flavour that is there is very enjoyable. None of the earth tones you would expect from a typical H. Upmann.
Summary
This cigar was very good, on its’ own. My only kind of set back to it was that it tasted very different from the other 2 H. Upmann Reserva No. 2 I had already enjoyed. There can be many reasons for that, including the different cities in which the cigars were smoked. Nonetheless, I couldn’t help feel a little let down by the lack of evolution on the cigar. The construction, and flavours present however were quite enjoyable, which balanced my overall score of the cigar.
Construction: 10 on 10
Flavor: 8 on 10
Evolution: 5 on 10
Overall: 7.5 on 10
Pairing suggestions.
Champagne or sparkling wine.
A single malt whiskey aged and Sherry cask for example. Tomatin 12 which is aged in Sherry and bourbon casks.
Overall definitely something on the milder side, and nothing too strong, as it would overpower this tasty but mild cigar.
During the last third of the cigar I paired it with a Glenlivet 21. The smoothness, richness, but mild and delicious taste of the single malt paired beautifully. Kudos to the Glenlivet 21 for that!
Thank you for Reading!
