Habanos Upmann Magnum 56 jar in Italy. The Habanos distributor for Italy, Diadema s.p.a. is starting to distribute the new and exclusive H. Upmann Magnum 56 jar. Last year, Habanos introduced the jar at the International Duty-Free & Travel Retail Global Summit in Cannes, France. The organizer of the trade show, TFWA, hosts duty-free shows in different parts of the world. Yet the one in Cannes is the show where Habanos always introduces new items.

H. Upmann Magnum 56

Lovers of Cuban cigars might think that the Magnum 56 vitola sounds familiar. Even though it is not a regular production vitola. But the 5⅞x56 double robusto is a re-release. It is the exact same size as the 2015 Edicion Limitada by the same brand. The size is unique to these two releases though. No other cigar in the Habanos portfolio, both regular production or special release, uses these dimensions. All the tobacco for the H. Upmann Magnum 56 comes from the Vuelta Abajo valley in the Pinar del Rio region of Cuba. 

The hand-rolled cigars are packed in beautiful ceramic jars. These jars are also made by hand. The jars are meant for duty-free and retail markets yet Diadema S.p.a. is now releasing them to the Italian market. The covid-19 pandemic crushed the travel retail and duty-free market as international travel is almost at a standstill for most of the year now.

The history of H. Upmann

 H. Upmann is among the oldest cigar brands in existence. In 1843, banker Hermann Dietrich Upmann (16 May 1816 – 1894) arrived in Havana, Cuba. He was there to arrange business affairs for the firm he worked for. That was Gravenhorst & Co, an importing/exporting firm located in Bremen, Germany. Upmann saw potential. Along with establishing a banking business catering to tobacco dealers and manufacturers, Upmann bought a local cigar factory and the first H. Upmann cigar brand was born in 1844. Hermann worked until 1890. His nephew, Heinrich succeeds him. The nephew, and his partners, run the business operations until he dies in 1914. By that time, the cigar-making has moved into a larger facility at the turn of the century. Hermann and Alberto, Hermann’s nephews, are his successors.

In 1922, after the First World War, the Upmann family had to sell due to their involvement in a spy ring. The British distributor Frankau acquired the brand. Frankau starts producing cigars under the H. Upmann name again and keeps producing until 1935. In that year, Frankau is purchased and the new owners find dealing with Cuba too troublesome. The brand is bought by Menendez, Garcia y Cia. Menendez is the founder of Montecristo. After the revolution, the Castro regime stole the rights, and ever since Cubatabaco is producing cigars under the H. Upmann name. The Menendez family fled to Spain, and then to Brazil and the Dominican Republic. The Brazilian Alonso Menendez comes from them, and with the Amero family, they created Menendez Amero. That’s the biggest player when it comes to Brazilian tobacco.

Benji Menendez became a legend of his own for working with the New World Partagas and other brands for General Cigars.