H. Upmann Magnum 46 Tubo 2008

I am guessing 2008, because I can't find the carton, Might be later than that.  But what I KNOW about this cigar is it was great.  The Magnum 46 is easily the most popular H. Upmann cigar, created in the H. Upmann factory in Havana.  The entire production of the Upmann line is produced in this newly-updated factory.  You can wipe out more than a century of historic fixtures, but you can't change the sights, sounds and smells of the factory.  While Upmann is a major brand, it is still small enough to be quality controlled in such a way as to ensure that the cigars you smoke are the finest available anywhere.  This factory has helped bring the image of Havana cigar production up to world-wide standards and focuses on the needs of the torcedore to feel pride in his work and his surroundings.  

I opened the tubo and drank in the rich, dank, sweet smell of fresh cuban tobacco.  The cigar was moist and springy and clipped with a bit of crumbs, revealing a beautiful draw.  It lit evenly and slowly and  absolutely erupted with bright tea and tobacco flavor.  The burn was agonizingly slow, and produced a burn line that was straight and clean.

I paired the cigar with some good, lightly-sweet iced tea.  On a day that started out in the 50s, ran up to 80, and only late in the evening returned to 70, the cool evening breeze and songs of happy birds  were a great compliment to this wonderful cigar.  I smoked it a little fast, surely around 30 seconds per puff, but it remained cool and rich, with hints of brine, wine, and tea, with fleeting hints of dark chocolate.  The power of the cigar I would classify as full bodied, with medium flavor.  It managed to hold up well even after the Esencia 2008 I had smoked for lunch.  Both were bold and rich smokes.  As great as this cigar was, it was still no match for that Esencia.  I PREFERRED the Upmann, but the Esencia had more defined flavors and flavor changes through the smoke.  But this cigar served up my favorite, distinct tea flavor.  It won't score very high, it should have been allowed to dry a bit after years in the tube.  But it's a sure winner that anyone would be lucky to light up.  I rate it a 87.