HVC 10th Anniversary – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

Reinier Lorenzo showed off a new cigar at the PCA trade show in 2021: HVC 10th Anniversary. As the name suggests this cigar celebrates the 10th year of the HVC brand being in business.

The blend for HVC 10th Anniversary uses a new tobacco in the filler, corojo 2012. Along with that the blend uses a corojo 99 wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan corojo 99 and criollo 98 in the fiiller. The cigar is rolled at the Aganorsa Leaf Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) factory like the rest of the line in the HVC lineup.

The HVC 10th Anniversary comes in just one size, a 6 1/2 x 50 toro. Production is limited to 2,000 boxes of 10. Each cigar carries an MSRP of $15.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Toro
Length: 6 1/2
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua Jalapa Corojo 99
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua Corojo 99, Corojo 2012 & Criollo 98
Factory: Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA)
Blender: Reinier Lorenzo
Number of reviewers: 4 – Isaac M. (The Nothing) Kevin A. (Kevin A.) Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi) Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Price: $15.00
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: September 2021
Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff

Initial Impressions – HVC 10th Anniversary

Appearance: 93

“Milk chocolate-colored wrapper with a very oil sheen. The seams are almost invisible, while there are small raised veins running throughout from the foot to the triple cap. There is quite a bit of mottling to the wrapper and it has a fair amount of tooth to it. ” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

Aroma: 90

“The smell is sweet, floral, with some barnyard aromas. There is a rainforest-like quality at the foot. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)

First Third

Flavor: 91
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Right off the start the cigar brought a variety of woods and I could definitely pick out oak, mesquite, and lumber. There was a sweet graham cracker riding along in the background. The initial blast calmed down quickly and left the cigar with barnyard flavors that are blended together. I noticed a white pepper finish that lingered on the palate, even long after puffing. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)

“Wow does this cigar start off flavorful! Fresh ground black pepper, charred meat, and stone fruit all stand out to me, with a campfire and pepper note to the retrohale. The smoke from the cigar also has a slight hint of charred meat and campfire putting the cigar immediately into the medium-full category in body and complexity almost to the point of being harsh and dry. The strength itself seems to be in the lower medium range. Burn has a slight wobble to it, and the draw is almost perfect. Getting a little farther in a creaminess develops on the finish and really smooths out the body” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

Second Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“I was finally able to get the wrapper issue under control and focus more on the flavors. While they didn’t change up a whole lot, the leather definitely came to the forefront. Very creamy smoke but not a lot of smoke output. Not a huge deal but there were times I thought it had extinguished itself. Still getting lots of kitchen spice flavors especially heading towards the end of the second third. Enjoyable smoke especially now that the burn has been corrected. ” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)

“Leather came in on the second third, but there was now a soapy texture reminding me too much of my childhood. The body really declined at this part of the cigar and the burn really suffered if I didn’t hurry my pace. A green bell pepper flavor came in from time to time bringing a touch of sweetness, which was nice.
” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)

Final Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Final third developed some pepper notes, along with walnut shells, raisin, and damp earth. The campfire, charred meat, and chocolate all faded into the background. The creaminess was maintained throughout, as did the sweetness that developed to go along with it. The draw remained excellent throughout, but the burn needed several touch-ups to get to the finish line” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

“The final third starts off with anise joining the fray. The retrohale is still that distinct wintergreen mint. There are notes that come and go throughout with black coffee being the most recognizable. Overall this third is much darker than the other two. I’m not sure if this is because of the blend or the burn issue I encounter at about the midway point of the third. Either way, the body, and finish have ramped up substantially. ” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

Overall Impressions – HVC 10th Anniversary

Draw: 93

“The draw was great from the moment I cut the cigar through my last puff. ” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

Burn: 86

“Once I got past the first inch because of the wrapper cracking in the colder winter air, it burned pretty consistently. ” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)

Construction: 88

“As I smoked I felt like this cigar might have been underfilled and then in the final third there seemed to be a leaf was twisted. Even with all of that the cigar performed above average. ” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 88

“This cigar has too much going against it. The burn issues, especially through the second third, the flavors just not working, and too many memories of my mom catching my cursing in my childhood. I would have to give this cigar a hard pass as it’s just not leaving a good taste in my mouth.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)

“All in all, this was a good smoking experience. Flavors were definitely within what I prefer and were very prominent all the way through. The touch-ups needed, in my opinion, caused the cigar to heat up in the final third, altering what would have been an outstanding finish to a very flavorful cigar. I would like to revisit just to see if I got one that had some construction issues that are not typical of this cigar.” –Kevin A. (Kevin A.)

“This cigar was a tale of two halves. The first half had complexity while the second half was on the darker side with little change. I’m not sure if it was me or the blend but by the end, I was left with more questions about how good this cigar could really be. I will definitely revisit this cigar once I know what it is.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

“This was definitely an enjoyable smoking experience from start to finish. The flavors really shined throughout and there were enough transitions to keep my interest. Curious to see what this cigar is because I want to try some more. Definitely box-worthy.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 114

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

HVC 10th Anniversary – Blind Cigar Review