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H. Upmann

H. Upmann- This marque traces its history back to 1844 and several rival versions of the story of its origin exist. It is known for sure that two brothers, August and Hermann Upmann founded the brand in that year. An alternate claim is that their surname was, in fact, Hupmann, but the "H" was dropped from the name of the brand because "H. Upmann" was more aesthetically appealing than "H. Hupmann". Both claims are likely because both Hupmann and Upmann are German surnames. Alternately, there is a claim that the "H" in H. Upmann stands for either "Hermann" or the Spanish word Hermanos, meaning "brothers," since it was Hermann and August who founded the brand. In one version of the story they were German textile manufacturers who moved their family-owned operation to Havana, Cuba and in another they were bankers. Supposedly, they were avid cigar smokers and used cigars as a promotion tool for their customers. They are sometimes even credited with the invention of packaging cigars in cedar boxes to give to their customers. These original boxes were labelled with the H. Upmann name and contained other manufacturers' cigars, most likely as an advertisement for the operation, until the Upmanns bought their own cigar factory in 1844: the famous H. Upmann Factory, now known as the José Martí Factory, in Havana. In another version of the story, it was the Upmann brothers' nephews, German and Alberto, who founded the fabric and the cigars simply became associated with it. Through the late 1800s, the H. Upmann brand gained recognition at various exhibitions and won gold medals at eleven international exhibitions which still adorn the lithographed art on today's H. Upmann boxes, along with Herr Upmann's original signature. In 1922 (some claim 1932), both the bank and the cigar business went bankrupt. A British firm, J. Frankau & Co. bought the brand and continued production until 1935, when the brand was sold to Menéndez, García, y Cía, who continued production until the nationalization of the tobacco industry after the revolution. During this era, Menéndez and García created their own special cigars within the marque, known as the H. Upmann Montecristo Selection, which would become the famous Montecristo brand. A popular legend holds that the favorite cigar of US President John F. Kennedy was the H. Upmann Petit Upmann, and that the night before the embargo was signed, he had aide Pierre Salinger procure every box he could gather from Washington, DC tobacconists, for a total of 1,200 of his favorite cigars. Others have claimed this folk tale is untrue and that Kennedy's favorite cigars were actually those made in the Philippines. However Pierre Salinger himself has recounted that night and confirmed it was 1,200 cigars and that he recalls the Presidents favorite was the H. Upmann Petit.