H. Upmann
More than a century and a half of special realeses and innovation in packaging!
H.Upmann is one of the oldest brands of Habanos. It was founded in 1844 by two brothers, Hermann and August Hupmann, who had arrived from England. There exist two theories explaining the origins of the brand’s name. The first states that the H comes from "Hermanos", brothers in English, and the other, that the H comes from Hermann.
Meanwhile, the nephews of the Hupmann brothers founded a bank in Havana. Since then, H.Upmann cigars are usually associated with this enterprise.
At the end of the 19th century, H. Upmann cigars had already a great success thanks to their excellent quality. Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the brand gained many gold medals for participation in various international exhibitions. These medals still appear today on the decorated boxes of the brand. Following the brand’s growing success, the Hupmann brothers built a factory allowing to house 200 rollers.
However, unlike the cigar factory, the bank H. Upmann had great financial difficulties which resulted in the factory’s bankruptcy in 1922. The latter was sold and then bought several times before it was taken over by the Menédez family in 1937. This family, expert in cigars, already owned the Montecristo brand and thus integrated it into the H. Upmann factory. This allowed to stabilize the factory’s financial health.
The H. Upmann factory is renowned for being innovative in terms of cigar packaging. Indeed, H. Upmann is at the origin of customized cedar boxes, created to promote the eponymous bank. This packaging was revolutionary at the time because it allowed to keep the cigars fresh and in good condition during transportation. The brand is also at the origin of the very popular "Office Glass Jar" or "Cristales Jar" that became very popular among other manufacturers of the time. Introduced in the early 1900s, these jars allowed to keep cigars rich and fresh as "if they were smoked in Havana". They used to be often found in bars and tobacco shops at the time as it was a relatively easy and correct way to store cigars.
In the 1940s, H. Upmann also produced "Books", book-style cigar cases containing Coronas or Panatelas. These books could be customized by inscribing, for example, a message of thanks inside. They have been taken over by Habanos S.A since 2001 to create the Colección Habanos with H. Upmann’s 2007 Magnum Especial as a part of it.
At the same time, before the revolution, H. Upmann cigars were distributed in the United States by Alfred Dunhill. Following its strategy of packaging innovation, H. Upmann had created a special cabinet that can be seen in the photo. Its shape reminds that of typical New York buildings. On the interior part of the door you can find the address of the Alfred Dunhill’s boutique in New York, located on 5th Avenue! The cigars sold in this cabinet were covered with a wrapper of a light colour to suit best the American consumer habits of that time. The cabinet is also stamped with the inscription "Dunhill Double Claro Seleción Suprema".
To learn more about H. Upmann cigars and the history of the brand, we are delighted to invite you to the Art and Culture area, where you will find exclusive pieces - the original Cristales jars as well as ancient cigar cabinets. You will also discover original Books from the 1940s and collection humidors from H. Upmann's special productions.
(Pieces from our private collection)
For more information, contact us on +41 22 552 2799