H. Upmann cigars are named after Herman Upmann, a successful banker turned cigar maker in La Habana, Cuba. Upmann had moved to Cuba with his brother Augustus to establish a branch of his family’s bank. In 1844 he opened his cigar factory. His cigars became one of the leading brands of Cuba’s cigar industry. Years later, the Upmanns were forced to sell the factory due to their financial problems after World War I.
In 1935, Alonzo Menendez, a tobacco leaf producer, and Pepe Garcia, former manager at Partagas, bought the H. Upmann factory. At that time Menendez y Garcia re-launched the H. Upmman brand along with another cigar that would later become the most popular in the world: Montecristo.
After the revolution, Pepe Garcia went to Spain, his native country. He bought Menendez’ shares in the company, and started his own tobacco company in the Canary Islands called Compañia Insular Tabacalera (CIT). He started making Montecruz, Don Diego, Flamenco and Don Marcos in the Canary Islands. Montecruz was a copy of the famous Montecristo cigar. Consolidated Cigar Company bought CIT in 1972 and moved production from the Canary Islands to La Romana, Dominican Republic. Since that date H. Upmann has been hand crafted in the Tabacalera de Garcia factory for Altadis, the company who bought Consolidated in 1999.