Upmann Magnum 54 - Cuba (rrp £37.70)

The story of Hermann Upmann is quite unusual for Cuba. Hermann was of German descent, with his family linked to European banks. He arrived in Cuba in the early 1840s to help arrange the affairs of the import and export company Gravenhorst & Co., based in Bremen, Germany and instantly fell in love with the place. Whilst living in Havana, he first discovered his passion for fine cigars some of which he would send back to Europe to family and friends. These amazing cigars proved to be an instant hit with those who tried them.

In 1840 he volunteered to open a bank based in Havana, which ensured his stay in Cuba. With the cigars that he had sent home proving so popular he decided to invest in a cigar factory. The company, known as H. Upmann, started trading in 1844 and was extremely successful until around 1922 when first the bank and then the cigar business failed. A British firm J. Frankau & Co saved the brand and ran the factory until being sold to the newly founded Menendez y Garcia company in 1935.
 
The Upmann cigars are typically light-flavoured, very smooth and creamy in style. Although delicate, they make for a great daytime smoke when you don't want anything too heavy - they are easy enough to smoke on their own and are exceptionally good after a meal. The 54's offers up the bigger ring gauge format for a great hour-long smoke. 

Brick House Mighty Mighty Maduro - Nicaragua (rrp £24.95)

Made in Nicaragua by one of the biggest cigar producers in the world J C Newman. The Mighty Mighty is a big cigar that utilises 100% Nicaraguan tobacco for the filler and the binder which is then draped in a wonderful Brazilian Araperique wrapper. Darker and spicier than the original Brick House, Brick House Maduro offers a full-bodied flavour balanced with rich hints of sweetness. You are looking at around an hour and fifteen smoke time on this - ideal for a late afternoon chill out!

A J Fernandez New World Dorado Toro - Nicaragua (rrp £29.55)

Made by one of the most enigmatic characters in the cigar industry, A J Fernandez may shun the limelight, but he makes stunning, award-winning cigars. 
The New World Dorado Toro is one of the more recent additions to his portfolio. The blend consists primarily of tobacco from the Fernandez Dorado farm in Esteli, according to AJ Fernandez, the soil on the farm has a golden hue which is unusual as most of the earth in Esteli tends to be an ashen shade of dark grey.

This golden appearance inspired the name as the word dorado means ‘golden’ in Spanish. The Dorado farm is only five years old and the New World Dorado brand uses tobacco from its first harvest. New World Dorado’s are an all-Nicaraguan blend which is made up of a Sun Grown Habano wrapper and Criollo 98 binder both from the Dorado farm and while there’s some tobacco in the filler from two other tobacco fields - one in Condega and a different farm in Esteli - the rest of the filler blend incorporates leaf from the Dorado plantation.

The New World Dorado Toro's are medium-full in style with a cedary-spicy edge to them. There is a little sweetness creeping through after the first third which develops into a soft spiciness on the next third. The final third displays a more nutty character along with the spiciness.