H. Upmann 1844 Belicoso (6 1/8 x 52)

Video review HERE.

The Altadis site describes the H. Upmann 1844 cigars like this:

This superb, fuller-bodied smoke, expertly crafted in the Dominican Republic, features a robust Ecuadorian Cubano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican filler tobaccos. Whether you are already a regular H. Upmann smoker or not, make sure not to miss this excellent cigar.

This is a superbly made cigar that is flawless in construction. It is very weighty feeling and quite dense.

The test draw was very good.  The initial flavors were sweet, oak-like, toasty notes initially. The Nicaraguan influence quickly came into play with citrus notes and there were also toasted almond notes.

1/2 inch in the flavors settled down into sweet grapefruit citrus, vanilla, and roasted almonds. The pepper was very nice; not overbearing. The finish was a creamy vanilla with a tad of lingering pepper. The cigar burned very evenly. At this point the cigar feels medium bodied. The primary flavors of grapefruit citrus and vanilla are evenly detected with the vanilla rounding out the spice. The roasted almonds are still detectable. The vanilla really carries over to the finish.

Just a bit further the cigar developed a wonderful richness. That was a welcomed surprise. I urge you to smoke this cigar slowly and you'll find this richness for yourself. The pepper is coming out more now also. Even the vanilla is more prominent on the finish.

The ash was very tight and the cigar continued to burn very evenly. The citrus notes are bouncing back and forth between orange and grapefruit and they continue to be rich. The pepper lingers more on the finish at this point, which is about 1/3 through the cigar. The vanilla on the finish continues to be rich. The main flavors of citrus and roasted almonds make for a nice flavor. The cigar continues to be medium bodied. I am not sure if the cigar will achieve medium to full bodied status.

Just past the midpoint there were some cinnamon notes that popped up. The almond notes have decreased. The main mix now is citrus and cinnamon. The pepper seems to have improved and there are faint vanilla notes. The finish is still one of vanilla with lingering pepper with slight notes of raw almond.

At the end the cigar changed somewhat. The citrus notes and richness have decreased but the cinnamon remains strong. The pepper is still good and the finish is still one of sweet vanilla. The cigar is still very good but not as good as it was with the richness.

Score: 89