H. Upmann

About

H. Upmann Cigars The founding of H. Upmann cigars was, from one perspective, a great fluke of luck. Hermann Upmann was a banker from Germany who, at the age of 23 in 1839, left his home and set out for the New World, intent on taking a job offer at an international trading company. By chance he became acquainted with a young Englishman on his ocean crossing who convinced him that the Cuban cigar business was flourishing, and that he would be better off staying in Havana. This is what Hermann chose to do, and in 1844 he founded a cigar brand and a bank which both bore his name. The bank failed in 1922 – though the Central Bank of Cuba today occupies its headquarters – but the marca of cigars lives on, and is today one of the biggest-selling in the world. Success came early on for both of Hermann Upmann’s ventures. His bank became a provider of services to the whole tobacco industry, as well as other sectors which traded between the Caribbean and Europe, and his cigars began to be commended for their flavour and quality. No fewer than 14 gold medals, won at the end of the 19 th century, still adorn the boxes of H. Upmann cigars, as well as the title of Provider to the Court of King Alfonso XII of Spain, awarded in 1855. These successes were particularly well-received in England. Since 1850 H. Upmann cigars have been distributed in Britain by Hunters & Frankau, like all Cuban cigars are today. This connection proved especially useful in the period following World War One: the Upmann Brothers’ use of their business network to conceal a German spy programme had led to their sanction by the United States, and ultimately the bankruptcy of both banking and cigar interests. In 1925 Hunters & Frankau bought the factory and brand and re-instated production, retaining control until 1937 when local, Havana-based ownership was restored. The distribution partnership remained, and endures as a lasting legacy today. Running a spy network was not H Upmann’s only connection to