General Cigar Co. / Altadis
H. Upmann Half Corona
Mild-Medium
You have 40 minutes. Maybe less. Here is what you should be smoking — the H. Upmann Half Corona reviewed.
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H. Upmann Half Corona
at Gotham Cigars
Rating Breakdown
Flavor Profile
Tasting Journey
Aroma
Cream, cedar, light coffee — clean and inviting
Flavor
Cedar, cream, toasted almonds, gentle pepper in the second half
Finish
Length: 40 minutesShort, clean cedar and cream — no bitterness, satisfying close
H. Upmann Half Corona
$12.00
Specs
Price / Value
MSRP: $12.00
Your Rating
Click to rate
Our Score: 89/100
Pairings
Food
- Morning pastries
- mild cheeses
- espresso
- fresh fruit
Beverage Pairings
- Buffalo Trace
- light brandy
- Champagne
- espresso
Our Verdict
The perfect short cigar. When 40 minutes is all you have and you want something genuinely good — not just passable — the H. Upmann Half Corona is the move.
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How We Score
We smoke multiple sticks from the same box under controlled conditions, evaluating each across five dimensions on a 100-point weighted scale. Notes are taken throughout each session to capture transitions from first light through the final third.
Rating Criteria
Pre-light and burn aroma complexity
Flavor depth, transitions, and balance
Retrohale, aftertaste, and evolution
Quality relative to price point
Layered character and uniqueness
Why Trust This Review
Boozemakers is an independent spirits and cigar publication built by passionate enthusiasts. Every stick is purchased at full retail — never gifted, never sponsored. We smoke multiple samples from the same box under controlled conditions, scoring across five dimensions before comparing notes. We maintain complete editorial independence: no manufacturer has ever paid for coverage, and affiliate links never influence our scores.
Editorial independence notice: Boozemakers maintains full editorial independence. We purchase all products at retail and are never compensated for our reviews. Affiliate links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have 40 minutes. Maybe less. The question is whether that is enough time for a cigar worth smoking, or whether you should just skip it entirely and wait for a longer window. The H. Upmann Half Corona answers that question definitively: you have enough time.
The Half Corona is a 3.5×44 petit corona — one of the smallest vitolas that H. Upmann produces — and it is made with the same Dominican and Dominican-grown tobaccos used across the Upmann line. The wrapper is a Connecticut Shade, golden brown, silky, and applied with the precision you expect from a heritage brand that has been rolling cigars since 1844.
What makes the Half Corona interesting beyond its size is the density of flavor it manages to deliver in a short smoke. Small ring gauges tend to concentrate the heat and blend tobacco, which can mean more character per inch than you get from a larger vitola of the same blend. The Half Corona uses this to its advantage.
First third — which is really just the first inch of a 3.5-inch cigar — opens with cream and cedar. Classic Connecticut character, appropriately mild, with a light nuttiness that develops quickly. The burn is impeccable. The draw requires almost no effort.
The "second third" of a cigar this small is where most of the interesting smoking happens. The cream deepens. A light pepper develops from behind the cedar and lasts through to the end. For a mild-to-medium cigar, this pepper addition is subtle but genuinely welcome — it adds dimension without changing the cigar's fundamental character.
The final inch delivers the close: clean cedar and cream with the pepper holding lightly. No bitterness. The smoke temperature stays manageable throughout because the small ring gauge, paradoxically, cools the draw rather than heating it. This is a short cigar that smokes longer than it looks.
At around $12 for a pack, the H. Upmann Half Corona is the answer to "I want to smoke something good but I don't have two hours." Keep a few in a travel case. Smoke one with your morning espresso. Or at the end of a meal. This format exists because real life does not always accommodate a Churchill, and the Half Corona is the right solution to that problem.
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