Thoughts on the Connossieur No.2?

[El Presidente]

First of all.....who has smoked one?  Let us know your tasting thoughts on the freshies. 

 

Connie 2 . 

 

Connie 1   48 X 127

Connie 2    51 x 134 

Connie A   52 x 140 

Connie B   54 x 150 

Does how the connie 2 fits in to the Upmann stable make sense to anybody?  What would a connie 3 look like?....

I might be missing something but it looks as confusing as all buggery. It may well turn out to be a home run winner but as a positioning package, I am clueless. 

 

 

[Kaptain Karl]

100% agree. 4 robusto sized cigars from a single marca is ridiculous. It’s one they didn’t really ever need to release IMO. Ideally they’d release a laguito no 1 and no 2 in the Connoisseur line, but a man can only dream, right?  
 

Or this is the shorter vitola HUSW we were just talking about, which would also explain why we havnt seen any HUSW boxes yet? 

[HDGSN]

I’ll stick to buying the great HUC1. I wish Upmann had a PLMC sized offering.

[99call]

Much like the 54,  this is a cigar I will avoid on principle.......I don't want to buy it, because I don't want to encourage HSA.  It's simply not needed. 

Look at the R&J portfolio, it's sooooo bloody flabby and full or rubbish.    Oddly Upmann was one of the few brands that didn't really need expanding.

Like I always say.  Have a;

- Hermoso no 4

- Petit Corona

- Coronas Gordas

- Lonsdale

- Churchill

- Laguito no 1 

in every brand..........nothing else needed.........simples!!

[Tstew75]

Does it make sense within the context of the existing HUP group? Probably not.

But assuming the pricing is somewhere b/w the Connie 1 & A, I know I'd reach for a Connie 2 more than an A...and the Connie B is a joke price/size wise, so there's that. A long winded way to say I'd rather smoke a 51rg than a 52, 54, or any other sized jaw breaker.

All that said I wish they woulda launched either a Coronas Grandes/Gordas, Lonsdale or Skinny. Why the hell doesn't Upmann have a skinny???

[99call]

Connie 2,   Connie B   Mag 54.....all in the bin...........easy ......tinkering/improvement not needed in the Upmann catalogue!!

[MrBirdman]

1 hour ago, El Presidente said:

Connie 1   48 X 127

Connie 2    51 x 134 

Connie A   52 x 140 

Connie B   54 x 150 

And they won’t make a Trinidad lonsdale because it’d be “too similar to the Fundadores”....

[99call]

33 minutes ago, MrBirdman said:

And they won’t make a Trinidad lonsdale because it’d be “too similar to the Fundadores”....

Yes..........yes.......yes....................................yes!

A mix box of 25 including

5x LGC Lonsdale

5x Rafael Gonzales Lonsdale

5x Sancho Panza Lonsdale

5x Trinidad Lonsdale

5x QDO Lonsdale

would break the internet.....and rightly so!

 

[JohnS]

2 hours ago, 99call said:

Much like the 54,  this is a cigar I will avoid on principle.......I don't want to buy it, because I don't want to encourage HSA.  It's simply not needed. 

Look at the R&J portfolio, it's sooooo bloody flabby and full or rubbish.    Oddly Upmann was one of the few brands that didn't really need expanding.

Like I always say.  Have a;

- Hermoso no 4

- Petit Corona

- Coronas Gordas

- Lonsdale

- Churchill

- Laguito no 1 

in every brand..........nothing else needed.........simples!!

Right on...well said! ?

[NSXCIGAR]

I find the hate for the Bohemios vitola ironic since no one ever complained about 4 Punch Corona Gordas, 4 RyJ Julieta 2s or the fact that there existed Cervantes and Dalias simultaneously in Partagas and Bolivar.

I can't believe I'm hearing resistance to any additional vitola under 52--particularly a never before used 51 RG.

Personally, I would love a slightly larger Connie 1--at least as an option. In fact, if the Connie 2 is able to combine the 1 and the A I actually might prefer it to both. As much as I love the Connie A, I'd prefer it have a bit more bite to it. And the Connie 1 could be a bit smoother and classier like the A. If blended correctly the 2 could be brilliant.

5 hours ago, MrBirdman said:

And they won’t make a Trinidad lonsdale because it’d be “too similar to the Fundadores”....

They won't make a Lonsdale for any brand.  They have been done with Lonsdales and Coronas for a long time. As far as Trini, they cut a seemingly successful Robustos after only 3 years for goodness sake. Who knows what they're up to and why.

6 hours ago, 99call said:

Much like the 54,  this is a cigar I will avoid on principle.......I don't want to buy it, because I don't want to encourage HSA.  It's simply not needed.

Like I always say.  Have a;

- Hermoso no 4

- Petit Corona

- Coronas Gordas

- Lonsdale

- Churchill

- Laguito no 1 

in every brand..........nothing else needed.........simples!!

Used to be this way. But HU is one of the only brands that has almost all of those. Upmann never had a skinny outside of the Upmann No. 1, and that's been gone for ages and ain't coming back. 

Now, I agree about the 54. What I don't want are more 52+ RG cigars in any marca. 51 or less, bring them on. 

6 hours ago, Kaptain Karl said:

100% agree. 4 robusto sized cigars from a single marca is ridiculous.

Again, I have to disagree on this. No one ever complained about the 4 Corona Gordas of Punch. Each one brought something unique for the lovers of that vitola. I have zero issues with duplicating vitolas within marcas. Maybe I'm just old school like that. 

6 hours ago, Tstew75 said:

But assuming the pricing is somewhere b/w the Connie 1 & A, I know I'd reach for a Connie 2 more than an A...and the Connie B is a joke price/size wise, so there's that. A long winded way to say I'd rather smoke a 51rg than a 52, 54, or any other sized jaw breaker.

I feel the same way. Would I like a bigger 1? Sure. Would I like a smaller A? Sure. And if they can combine the best of both, they've got my money.

[NSXCIGAR]

Anyway, has anyone smoked one of these yet? I haven't seen any available anywhere. I would have thought Rob would be getting some as soon as anyone else. 

They did launch in Germany so maybe 5th Ave will get them first? Haven't seen them pop up at any of the LCDHs yet although LCDH Tijuana took some pre-orders this week.

[WalterG]

48 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

Anyway, has anyone smoked one of these yet? I haven't seen any available anywhere. I would have thought Rob would be getting some as soon as anyone else. 

They did launch in Germany so maybe 5th Ave will get them first? Haven't seen them pop up at any of the LCDHs yet although LCDH Tijuana took some pre-orders this week.

Lugano received them already. 

[NSXCIGAR]

27 minutes ago, Big Al said:

Lugano received them already. 

335 CHF...youch. These really need to be priced below the Connie A. I'm thinking this is just the new product markup effect...I hope. 

I'd like to see these settle around $275. 

[WalterG]

1 hour ago, NSXCIGAR said:

335 CHF...youch. These really need to be priced below the Connie A. I'm thinking this is just the new product markup effect...I hope. 

I'd like to see these settle around $275. 

Yeah..... all places abroad I've seen so far have awful pricing. That's why I love 2424. One day we should see them pop up ?

[Fugu]

- Makes no sense

- Unneeded format

- And for that they killed the PC?!?

 

What the line did - and that’s the only merit I see - they brought the attention back to the Connie 1.

But that tight stacking of formats (plus, let’s not forget, we got the Royal Rob at 52 x 135 - by the above “logic” make that the new regular Connie 3) is comical. No, it’s trying to shamelessly cash in on the fad-smokers.

 

5 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

I find the hate for the Bohemios vitola ironic since no one ever complained about 4 Punch Corona Gordas, 4 RyJ Julieta 2s or the fact that there existed Cervantes and Dalias simultaneously in Partagas and Bolivar.

Apples and oranges. Unfair comparison at least. Those were from a time when portfolios were much more diverse anyway. But today, having six fatties and no decent quality-offering in the lower rg-region is (and that’s how I feel as a long-time HU amateur) nothing less than offensive.

[Bijan]

8 hours ago, Fugu said:

Apples and oranges. Unfair comparison at least. Those were from a time when portfolios were much more diverse anyway. But today, having six fatties and no decent quality-offering in the lower rg-region is (and that’s how I feel as a long-time HU amateur) nothing less than offensive.

This offensiveness is not Upmann specific but typical of HSA regular production releases for the past 25 years.

Except for the Coloniales (and I guess linea retro, but overpriced 5-packs aren't my thing) there have been no lower-RG releases (that are still around) except for shorter ones (sub-marevas) since the year 1997.

The shorter ones being Secretos, Reyes, Half Corona, Media Coronas, Petit Royales, RG Perlas.

Meanwhile I think 28 release 50-52 RG, and 19 releases 53+ RG in that time period.

So to your point yes too many fatties.

At the same time if people like Connie As and Edmundos both at 52RG and other fatties (even PSE2 54RG and Rio Seco 56RG being popular now), hard to think why they'd object to another one that is slightly less fat (51RG).

Again aside from the linea retro, no PCs, Coronas, Lonsdales since the Siglo series... No skinnies since the fundadores. I'd love to see them. I'm just not holding my breath.

[joeypots]

I'm not so sure the Conni B is  well classified as a robusto. At 54 X 5 7/8th its huge compared to a D4. Any way, all of these vitolas that are an eighth of an inch different than the next closest one seems like shameless marketing to me. I suppose making 10 vitolas in each marca and making every cigar a great one would be bad marketing. I know I could get by with  4 vitolas. That would be a good survey. What 4, or 5, or whatever reasonable # of, vitolas could you live with for ever? 

[Bijan]

15 minutes ago, joeypots said:

I'm not so sure the Conni B is  well classified as a robusto. At 54 X 5 7/8th its huge compared to a D4. Any way, all of these vitolas that are an eighth of an inch different than the next closest one seems like shameless marketing to me. I suppose making 10 vitolas in each marca and making every cigar a great one would be bad marketing. I know I could get by with  4 vitolas. That would be a good survey. What 4, or 5, or whatever reasonable # of, vitolas could you live with for ever? 

Honestly I tend to like smaller RG cigars myself. I wouldn't complain at all if they had a boatload of such slightly different vitolas in each marca like they did in the past.

Carlotas (PSDC3, Charlottes), Franciscanos (Lunch Club, Tres Petit Coronas/Lonsdales), Almuerzos (du Prince), Franciscos (Bolivar Coronas Extra), etc.

Wouldn't bother me at all.

As @NSXCIGAR says they used to have multiples of several identical vitolas in many marcas.

[NSXCIGAR]

21 hours ago, Fugu said:

Apples and oranges.

Well, adding cigars over 52 RG and cutting cigars under 52 RG are two different discussions. I am generally against adding more 52+ RG cigars. I am also totally against cutting any sub-52 RG cigars. Adding a 51 RG cigar doesn't touch on either of these discussions. 

Adding an "unnecessary" vitola is HSA's marketing problem. I'll take diversity of choice any day. And again, what's more unnecessary than 4 Corona Gordas in one marca, yet I never heard anyone intimate that it was until literally this thread right here. And the Connie 2 isn't even an identical vitola. The RR and Connie A are much closer in size than the Connie 2 and the A, B and 1. Never heard anyone bring it up as a problem.  

By the way, I think many of us would love to see the Punch BP, SS2 and RS11 back in production and not just because of the vitola.

 

13 hours ago, joeypots said:

I'm not so sure the Conni B is  well classified as a robusto

The "common names" haven't kept up with the new wave of large RGs. You've got either Robusto Extra or Double Robusto. The largest cigar I can think of--the Cohiba 50 Aniversario (60 x 178) is classified as a Double Robusto. 

I think we need to have a common name competition for a new super jumbo common name. Super Robusto? Hyper Robusto? Ultra Robusto? 

[havanaclub]

Well one this is for sure, they still spelt connoisseur wrong.
 

Connie 6 up next. 60 by 6!! In boxes of 8.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NSXCIGAR]

2 hours ago, havanaclub said:

Well one this is for sure, they still spelt connoisseur wrong

It's spelled correctly for "their purposes." 

What's hilarious is that the pre-production version seen at the Festival had it spelled "Connoisseur"! 

 

[JohnS]

7 hours ago, havanaclub said:

Well one this is for sure, they still spelt connoisseur wrong.

 

4 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

It's spelled correctly for "their purposes." 

What's hilarious is that the pre-production version seen at the Festival had it spelled "Connoisseur"! 

 

Just to be clear as I had to check this myself...

 

The Connie 1 is spelt thus...

H.Upmann Connoisseur No.1

The Connie 2 is spelt thus...

H.Upmann Connossieur No.2

 

Yes, another example of Cuba being Cuba!

[DanWil84]

Allthough this is cuban cigars and im a big noob, the A and B would be considered a Toro in NC's and not a Robusto. I also think 2 of the about same cigars is a bit iffy in one brand or line, especially when they are not distinguished by another wrapper(s) and fillers. Then why on earth would you make another one? But maybe I just dont understand CC's well enough to get it.

[NSXCIGAR]

28 minutes ago, DanWil84 said:

Then why on earth would you make another one? But maybe I just dont understand CC's well enough to get it.

CCs have traditionally had several identical vitolas in the same brands with totally different blends. In fact prior to 2002 the same models with different packaging formats often also had different blends. For example RyJ Exhibicion No. 4 in 50 cabs were quite a bit stronger than Ex 4 in dress boxes. 

NCs have endless lines, brands and versions. Cuba never did that. Only in the last decade or so have they started creating various lines like Maduros, Montecristo 1935 and RyJ Linea de Oro. 

[NSXCIGAR]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

The Connie 1 is spelt thus...

H.Upmann Connoisseur No.1

Not always...