25. H. Upmann Hispaniola by Jose Mendez Belicoso
Altadis U.S.A.
- Country of Origin: Honduras
- Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
- Factory: Tabacalera de Garcia
- Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
- Binder: Dominican Republic (Olor)
- Filler: Dominican Republic (Pilotico and Andullo) and Nicaragua
- Length: 6 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 50
- Vitola: Belicoso
- MSRP: $8.80 (Box of 20, $176)
- Release Date: July 2019
- Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
- Original Score: 91
The H. Upmann brand celebrated a milestone anniversary in 2019, turning 175 years old, which of course calls for some new cigars. One of those was the H. Upmann Hispaniola by Jose Mendez, which as the name indicates honors the island shared by the Haiti and the Dominican Republic as well as a man who is credited with being one of the first growers of Dominican tobacco for use in cigars.
Today, Jose Mendez & Co. SRL is one of the top tobacco growing and processing operations in the Dominican Republic, and supplies a significant amount of its production to Altadis U.S.A. For this cigar, Dominican pilotico and andullo in the filler came from the Mendez operation, as does the Dominican olor binder. Those tobaccos set the stage for a cigar that draws from a number of spots on the flavor wheel, bringing sweetness and creaminess together with earth, wood and pepper into a very enjoyable profile. — Patrick Lagreid.
