H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Toro

To some degree, I imagine that all of the AJ Fernandez-made Altadis U.S.A. products are chasing the legacy of the H. Upmann by AJ Fernandez, one of the first releases in the Altadis U.S.A.-AJ Fernandez partnership.

Nearly a decade ago, Altadis U.S.A. turned to Abdel Fernández to make a Nicaraguan H. Upmann. While I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that many other AJF-made Altadis U.S.A. products have sold better, that particular cigar was notable because it was a major success for a brand that had been struggling in the U.S.

Looking back over the stories we’ve written about the non-Cuban H. Upmann brand since then, I’m unsure if Altadis U.S.A. has really figured out what it wants this brand to be. About half the cigars seem to be directly tied to Hermann Dietrich Upmann’s role as a banker, which coincided with him creating the H. Upmann brand more than 180 years ago, and the other half are like this release: completely unrelated.

Sunrise is a new Connecticut cigar for the non-Cuban H. Upmann portfolio. Blend-wise, the wrapper is grown in Ecuador, while the rest of the tobaccos come from Nicaragua.

It debuted in four vitolas:

• H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Robusto (5 x 52) — $12.99 (Box of 20, $259.80)
• H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Toro (6 x 54) — $13.75 (Box of 20, $275)
• H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Magnum (6 x 60) — $14.50 (Box of 20, $290)
• H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Churchill (7 x 50) — $14.25 (Box of 20, $285)

“The Sunrise is our take on a Connecticut done right,” said Gabe Diaz, brand manager for Altadis U.S.A., in a press release when the cigar was announced in March. “It’s smooth and easy to enjoy, but it still has flavor and character. To kick off 2026, we wanted to give H. Upmann fans something balanced, high quality and priced right.”

• Cigar Reviewed: H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Toro
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Connecticut-seed)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $13.75 (Box of 20, $275)
• Release Date: April 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The front section of the third cigar would be a candidate for having the cleanest wrapper of any cigar I’ve smoked this year. Looking directly at that H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Toro, there are almost no noticeable veins outside of the most minor varietal, and the seam lines are so tight that it looks like the cigar almost went through Photoshop’s smudge tool. However, turning the cigar or looking at the other two reveals what is often the case with lighter wrappers: there’s nowhere for imperfections to hide. As such, I see veins, darker spots of tobacco where the wrapper has minor nicks, and even some signs of the wrapper stretching. All of this is pretty normal, just exacerbated by the lighter mustard color. The aromas are pretty consistent: medium-full with moss, barnyard and stone. The feet tend to smell of a singular scent that is a bit sweet and a bit chemical, though the second cigar has some roasted elements. They are medium-full to full. Cold draws are inconsistent. The first cigar starts with me coughing to a sharp bit of spiciness before sweet woods, creaminess, red apple and barnyard emerge; around medium-full. The second and third cigars are smoother, with sweet grains dominating the second and a sweetened coffee with chocolate and caramel on the third.

The list of flavors from the first puffs sort of functions like a three-headed Venn diagram: most of the flavors are present in two of the cigars, but rarely all three. That list includes woodiness, the signature AJF earthy terroir, creaminess, brown rice, woods and varying degrees of a spicy harshness. From about the 10th puff until the first inch of ash has emerged, all three cigars have a very dry, bitter flavor. Fortunately, it exits pretty quickly, leaving behind a mixture of dry nuttiness, earthiness and creaminess. The combinations themselves are different—I find the first cigar to be sharper, the second cigar more balanced, and the third cigar to offer the most contrast—but I can identify a shared core profile. Secondary flavors include toastiness, baker’s spices, and pound cake. The finish is thicker and tends to be sharper with flavors of burnt toast, dry herbs, black pepper, wood and a hint of mango. Retrohales in the first third have me confused. In the notes of my first cigar, I write that it feels like the profile is heading in 25 different directions. It’s probably not 25, but I do think it’s trying to go in multiple opposite paths at the same time. There’s a sensible mixture of nuttiness, woodiness and pepper, but also some tartness that seems out of place, a dark sauce flavor, lime and varying degrees of toastiness. Unlike the flavors in the mouth, which tend to come and go with a flavor or two getting replaced by another flavor, the retrohales have all the flavors more or less at once, but spatially layered. Flavor is medium-full or full, while body and strength are both medium. Outside of the first cigar making various noises for the first 20 minutes or so, construction is very good. No issues, just some sporadic crackling noises from one cigar.

By the time I need to remove the secondary band, the H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Toro is hitting its stride, or at least seems like it’s about to. Nuttiness has taken a leading role, slightly edging out creaminess, saltiness, woodiness, toastiness and some black pepper. In short, it’s a lot of the flavors I’d expect from a cigar with this name and wrapper selection, and unlike before, the flavors are positioned together in a way that makes a lot of sense to me. During the finish, the toastiness picks up, making things bitter. There’s an ever-present mild harshness that is present in the first third, but is much more noticeable in the second third because the flavors dissipate more quickly. While the flavor profile in the mouth could be celebrated for its methodical smoothness, the retrohales deliver an intense and sharp profile, though with a lot of the same flavors: woods, nuts, toastiness, salt and black pepper. Again, there’s more layering and, at times, some fruity tart flavors emerge. Flavor is full, body is medium or medium-plus, and strength is medium. The third cigar needs some touch-ups to help with waning combustion, but otherwise, the construction is excellent.

While smoking the second cigar, it occurs to me that the flavor profile of the final third tastes more like how I would have expected the cigar to start. Both the second and third cigars are led by woodiness and creaminess with a list of secondary flavors that serve more as accents than standalone flavors: tartness, saltiness, meatiness and a fading pepper. The first cigar is much more bitter than the other two, with earth, buttery creaminess, leather and even some cooked, albeit generic mushrooms. That cigar tends to get toastier in the finish, while the other two cigars seem to taste sharper. Retrohaling brings out more of the leather and dry terroir, but not any changes outside of red pepper on the finish. Flavor is full, body is medium or medium-plus, and strength is medium. Construction is excellent, with no hints of any issues.

Final Notes

• If Altadis U.S.A. were forced to pick a singular identity for H. Upmann, my suggestion would be to lean into the banking theme, even if that shifts the brand away from Cuba. I think what Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) has done with Punch is a great example of how that could be done.
• Nelson Alfonso Egüed, the founder of Selected Tobacco S.A. and someone with decades of experience making packaging for Habanos S.A., told me that the Cuban Montecristo was once positioned as the value version of H. Upmann.
• Looking at Diaz’s quote, it really highlights the contrast between Altadis U.S.A. and STG’s General/Forged divisions, long considered direct rivals. Diaz mentions, “high quality and priced right” for a line that is $13-14.50. At STG, value pricing probably means $10 and under. I’ve mentioned before that I think this contrast is going to get even wider.
• Given how often I find myself complaining about construction these days, I should point out that this was a cigar that had excellent construction. The lone exception was the middle part of the third cigar, which required two touch-ups. That is well-above the average cigar I have reviewed in 2026.

• If you look at the pictures of the cigar with both bands attached, you’ll notice that the “SUNRISE” part of the secondary band is off-center. This is not due to a design or printing error; instead, a result of how many factories handle packaging. Rather than creating different-sized bands for each ring gauge, many factories will use the same bands for different vitolas. In this case, whoever applied the bands made sure that the line on the back of the bands, where the top side of the band is affixed to the lower part of the band, was aligned. So the overlap of the primary band and the overlap of the secondary band were perfect. Doing that, at least for this vitola, meant that the secondary band was not centered with the main band.
• I enjoy bringing up some of these pedantic things because it highlights all of the minute details that go into making a cigar, especially something like packaging, which I regularly take for granted.
• I would not recommend trying to slide the bands off. While doing so didn’t unravel the cigar, the two times I did it each took at least one piece of wrapper with it.
• It is interesting that “AJ Fernandez” is part of this line’s name. While many Atladis U.S.A. lines have “AJ Fernandez” in their names, it’s pretty rare for a company to use another company’s name on products it is selling. It’s not as if Ashton brands its products as “Ashton VSG by Arturo Fuente” or “San Cristobal by My Father Revelation.” I think the more interesting part is that this seems to be an Altadis U.S.A. attribute. Searching through our Review List reveals just one non-Altadis U.S.A. example of another cigar with “AJ Fernandez” in its name that was sold by a company other than AJ Fernandez.
• JR Cigar, a sister company to Altadis U.S.A., advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel

• Altadis U.S.A. lists the H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Toro as a 6 x 54 toro. Above are the dimensions I found for the three cigars smoked for this review.
• Final smoking time was right around two hours.
• Site sponsor Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Corona Cigar Co., JR Cigar and Small Batch Cigar carry the H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Toro.

H. Upmann (non-Cuban)
H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise
H. Upmann Nicaragua by AJ Fernandez Sunrise Toro
Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
Toro