At the 2014 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show in July, HVC Cigar Co. released its first blend produced in Honduras, the HVC Vieja Cosecha No.1. The limited edition cigar is a 6 x 52 toro that is rolled at Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L. in Danlí, composed entirely of five-year-old AGANORSA tobacco wrapped in a criollo 98 leaf. Only 200 boxes of 20 were produced, and each cigar retails for $9.60.

HVC Vieja Cosecha No 1 Box 1

HVC Vieja Cosecha No 1 Box 2

HVC Vieja Cosecha No 1 Box 3

It’s the third line from HVC’s Reinier Lorenzo following the regular production Cerro and The City lines.

HVC Vieja Cosecha No 1 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: HVC Vieja Cosecha No.1
  • Country of Origin: Honduras
  • Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L.
  • Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo 98
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Size: 6 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 52
  • Vitola: Toro
  • MSRP: $9.60 (Boxes of 20, $192)
  • Release Date: Aug. 5, 2014
  • Number of Cigars Released: 200 Boxes of 20 Cigars (4,000 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3

The HVC Vieja Cosecha No.1 is covered in a dark espresso brown wrapper that is fairly smooth to the touch, although there are some bumps up and down the length. There is a bit of oil noticeable as well and the cigar has some nice give when it is squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is strong sweet raisin, oak, leather and earth while the cold draw brings flavors of generic sweetness, cedar, earth, leather and pepper.

After lighting the foot, the Vieja Cosecha No.1 starts off with a nice combination of roasted coffee beans, creamy nuts, cedar and earth, along with just the right amount of black pepper on the retrohale. There is no spice on the palate at all so far, but I do taste a fairly persistent maple sweetness on the finish that really sets off the other flavors in the profile. Both the burn and draw are excellent for the entire first third, and smoke production is quite high as well. The overall strength hits a point just below medium by the end of the first third, but does not seem to be going anywhere very fast.

HVC Vieja Cosecha No 1 2

The sweetness on the finish of the HVC shifts during the second third to more of a floral note, interspersed with a dominant creamy almond note, along with other flavors of tobacco, leather, espresso, dark cocoa and cedar. There is slightly less black pepper on the retrohale than was present in the first third, and sans any sort of spice at all, although the smoke production remains high. As expected, the strength increases only slightly, but does break through to the medium mark, where it seems to stall out a bit, and the construction is still top-notch until the end of the second third.

HVC Vieja Cosecha No 1 3

The final third of the HVC Vieja Cosecha No.1 sees the sweetness in the profile morph again, this time to more of a vanilla bean note, while other flavors of creamy leather, coffee, dark chocolate, cedar and nuts flit in and out. The black pepper on the retrohale remains constant, which is a good thing, as does the smoke production. Construction-wise, the HVC continues to impress, while the strength hits a point just above medium by the time I put the cool to the touch nub down with a little less than an inch to go.

HVC Vieja Cosecha No 1 4

Final Notes

  • HVC is an abbreviation for Havana City, which is where the company’s owner Reinier Lorenzo grew up.
  • The HVC Vieja Cosecha No.1 is the first cigar for the company that is not produced at the AGANORSA-affiliated TABSA factory in Nicaragua.
  • Vieja cosecha translates into old crop.
  • HVC released two other cigars at the 2013 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, the First Selection (The City) and Cerro, which translates to hill from Spanish, and is named for the Havana neighborhood Lorenzo is from.
  • Lorenzo’s mother works for Casa Fernández. He works for Eduardo Fernández, owner of Casa Fernández, in another business.
  • You can see our coverage of the HVC booth at the 2014 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show here.
  • The overall construction was excellent on all three samples, and the smoke production was well above average as well.
  • The samples smoke for this review were provided to halfwheel by HVC cigars.
90 Overall Score

Having never tried one of HVC's cigars before, I was unsure what I would end up with. In the end, the Vieja Cosecha No.1 is a very enjoyable cigar with a decently complex profile and a sweetness on the finish that not only changes with each third, but also remains strong enough to actually effect the other flavors in the profile. Both the burn and draw were excellent on each sample, and the large amount of smoke was a plus as well. Overall, a great limited release from a new company, and one that is easy to recommend.

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.