Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-coop.com website)
At the 2018 IPCPR Trade Show, HVC Cigars showcased an offering known as the HVC First Selection Limited Edition Broadleaf. HVC is a smaller company founded by Reinier Lorenzo. Lorenzo works with Aganorsa Leaf to produce his blends – mostly out of the Tabacos de Valle Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) in Estelí, Nicaragua. Aganorsa Leaf is well known for producing cigars for many leading brands including: Illusione, Viaje, Foundation Cigar Company, Warped, Sindicato, and many others. Aganorsa Leaf is also known for working on blends featuring its signature Nicaraguan grown tobacco and in particular its Corojo and Criollo wrapper offerings. Aganorsa Leaf also works with San Andres tobacco for its Maduros, and to a lesser extent also works with Habano and Connecticut Shade offerings. One wrapper that hasn’t been seen out of that factory is the Broadleaf wrapper. That changed in 2018 when the HVC First Selection Limited Edition Broadleaf was revealed. As the name indicates it’s the first offering out of TABSA to showcase the Broadleaf wrapper. Today, we take a closer look at the HVC First Selection Limited Edition Broadleaf in the Toro size.
Lorenzo founded HVC in 2011. The name HVC stands for Havana City. It pays homage to Havana, Cuba where Lorenzo grew up in post-revolution Cuba. Since launching, the company has established several core and limited edition lines. All of these lines have featured the Criollo, Corojo, and San Andres wrapper. With the introduction of the First Selection Limited Edition Broadleaf, it gained a lot of attention because this is a wrapper that just hasn’t been seen out of TABSA.
Blend and Origin
The Broadleaf wrapper used for the HVC First Selection Limited Edition Broadleaf is a Connecticut Broadleaf. The remainder of the blend is all Nicaraguan tobaccos.
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacos de Valle Jalapa S.A. (TABSA)
Vitolas Offered
The HVC First Selection Limited Edition Broadleaf is available in two sizes. Currently, both sizes are packaged together in 20-count boxes consisting of ten Short Robusto and ten Toro size cigars.
Short Robusto: 4 1/2 x 50
Toro: 6 x 52
The cigar is very dark and oily. It has a nice feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were a very sweet dark chocolate, a lot of cedar notes with some citrus influence, quite a bit of nutmeg, brown sugar, and a lot of espresso. This is a very dark, sweet cigar. There was black pepper rated at 7 to 7 1/2. It can't be overstated, this is a very dark noted but very sweet cigar.
At the first third (27 minutes) the burn is very even. The flavor notes are just like initially described. The nutmeg is very oily and it has a pronounced vegetable flavor. I've had many Aganorsa Leaf made cigars that have this flavor. There are now some sweet caramel notes that bridge between the sweet cedar and nutmeg. The lead flavor is the sweet dark chocolate followed by the cedar with citrus influence. The espresso continues to hold a very strong base. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish is caramel, dark chocolate, and nutmeg with average lingering black pepper. The cigar is quite tasty. I rated the first third 94.
Moving through the second third (1 hour 2 minutes) there are no major changes. The nutmeg isn't quite as pronounced but other than that nothing has changed. The cigar continues to be medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. So far this is a very consistent cigar. I held the score of 94.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 32 minutes. In a nutshell this is one of the most consistent cigars I've every smoked. In the final third, just as in the second third the nutmeg was not quite as pronounced. And, the espresso was not quite as pronounced. Both are still there in abundance but they have slightly decreased. Neither of which affect the scoring of the cigar. The cigar is a high grade medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. I held the score of 94. If you like very sweet dark noted cigars give this one a try. It's quite tasty.
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