While it’s been known that Altadis USA would be offering a TAA exclusive cigar this year, little was known about it prior to the meeting, other than that it would be part of the H. Upmann brand.

With the group’s annual meeting now completed, it has been announced that the cigar will be known as the H. Upmann Bank Note, a 5 1/2 x 48 corona that is expected to be on shelves by the end of April.

Altadis USA is limiting production of the H. Upmann Bank Vault to just 400 boxes of twelve cigars, for a total run of 4,800 sticks. The cigar uses an Ecuadoran Habano wrapper to deliver what the company calls a full-bodied profile.

The name is a nod to the brand’s history, which dates back to Cuba in 1844. Around 1840, German banker Herman Upmann opened a branch office in Havana, and in 1844 he invested in a cigar factory and launched the brand that bears his name to this day.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.