HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Esenciales – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

HVC Cigars produced and sold the first cigar made in their own brand new factory last year, the HVC Selección No. 1. Earlier this year, the company released a follow-up to that blend, the HVC Selección No. 1 Natural. The HVC Seleccion No 1. Natural uses an Ecuadoria Habano 92 seed wrapper, and binders and fillers from the Esteli and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua. It comes packaged in old school bright yellow box a throwback to owner Reinier Lorenzo's Cuban roots.

The cigar comes in the same sizes as the original HVC Selección No. 1 (now called HVC Selección No. 1 Maduro): Esenciales 46 x 5 5/8 retail price $8.40, Short robusto 52 x 4 ½ retail price $9.30, and Poderosos 54 x 6 retail price $10.40. They all are packaged in boxes of 20 and are produced at Frabrica de tabacos HVC S.A de Reinier Lorenzo.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Corona Gorda
Length: 5 5/8″
Ring Gauge: 46
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. de Reinier Lorenzo
Blender: Reinier Lorenzo
Number of reviewers: 5 – Chad M. (Chad Tchad) Kevin J. (maninblack77) Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi) Lauren S. (Lauren S.) Bill C.(Bill)
Price: $8.40
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: July 2022
Contributed by: Blind Man's Puff

Initial Impressions – HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Esenciales

Appearance: 94

“The cigar sports a reddish-brown wrapper that has a visible tooth to it. The vein structure is flat and runs the length of the cigar. The filler is tightly bunched and the rolling of the wrapper leaves nearly invisible seams. It is finished with an elegant triple cap.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

Aroma: 93

“Hay and earth on the nose. Dry – smells like a hayride.” –Bill C. (Bill)

First Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Upon lighting I am greeted by a rich wet coffee ground characteristic. It is gritty and covers the whole palate. After awhile I retrohale and the smoke is hot through the sinuses. So hot in fact that it is hard to pickup any defined flavor profile. By the end of the third the profile settles into a rich, flavorful, cacao on the palate and a bit of baking spice on the retrohale. The finish is relatively long with a course mouthfeel.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

“Wow!! This thing led off with a big hit of white pepper that settled down and then the flavors really opened up. Tons of decadent caramel, leather, baking spices and a creamy smoke texture. This thing started off with a bang that I hope carries over into the rest of the cigar.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)

Second Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Flavors continue in much the same vein. The earthiness takes the lead now with the tobacco flavor (it almost reminds me a little of burley – but without as pungent a room note as I get from my burley pipe tobaccos) in second, and pepperiness in the background. The whole profile is pretty light and bright. Fairly dry smoke.” –Bill C. (Bill)

“The strong musky earth flavor continues to be the forefront of the blend but a spiciness has moved in especially lingering on the tongue. It leans more toward a paprika or wasabi-style spice.
I am having to fight this cigar due to the hole that has spread into a larger split, the leaking is causing draw issues and the cigar going out repeatedly.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

Final Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“Going into the last part of the cigar the strength has calmed some from the midpoint of the cigar but still fairly strong. There is a nice mixture of musty mineral flavor mixed with a rich earthy coffee flavor. Not much sweetness to this cigar. A lot of smoke output from this one. The texture of this smoke is very thick. Retrohale is strong black pepper.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

“The earth deepens and takes on a much darker quality. The background flavors remain the same. Without any sweetness the darker earth flavor feels a little out of balance for me. Strength up a tick but nothing that would overwhelm a regular cigar smoker.” –Bill C. (Bill)

Overall Impressions – HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Esenciales

Draw: 88

“The draw was a little tight during pre light but opened up once lit. It offered just the right amount of resistance so that each puff provided plenty of cold flavorful smoke.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

Burn: 94

“Solid even burn to this cigar. Ash would stay on about 1 cm at a time. A ton of smoke output from this cigar. No touch ups needed.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

Construction: 90

“The bunch and roll was very well done on this cigar. The ash was dark in color with some slight flowering but held on for an inch at a time before I rolled it into the ashtray.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 89

“Overall it had good flavors through and through. The strength of this cigar was more then I was expecting. The smoke output was a lot. The smoke texture was thick and really stuck to the palate. Musty mineral and rich earthy coffee notes. No sweetness to this smoke. Retrohale was very strong musty black pepper.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)

“From beginning to end this cigar was a winner. Tons of flavors ranging from caramel, vanilla, leather, baking spices and some brown sugar just worked so well together. I'm curious to see what this cigar is so I can pick more up. Highly recommended to old and new cigar smokers.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)

“The first two thirds of this cigar had me thinking that it might need some rest time. It felt like a one dimensional cigar till the start of the last third. This reaffirmed my thoughts of it needing a little more rest time. In the end the cigar performed as it should and should benefit for some additional aging. I will revisit it once I know what it is.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)

“I feel like I would like this cigar if I got a better shot at it. Sadly the small hole near the band ruined the entire stick. The musky earth and paprika-style spice hit my palate perfectly but was just ruined by the loading up from relights and the lack of quality draw due to air and smoke leakage.” –Lauren S. (Lauren S.)

“In the end this cigar was fine. It smoked fine. Tasted fine. Performed fine. I'd be lying if I said I was excited to smoke more, but it's definitely something that I'd gladly smoke if gifted to me.” –Bill C. (Bill)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 82

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Esenciales – Blind Cigar Review