HVC 500 Years Anniversary Salomon

In October 2019, HVC Cigars commemorated the 500th anniversary of the founding of the city of Havana, Cuba by debuting a new limited production line. Named the HVC 500 Years Anniversary, the line was made up of a singular 5 7/8 x 52 robusto extra, the same size and vitola that is used for the Cohiba Siglo VI.

The next year, HVC added two more sizes—the 5 5/8 x 46 Selectos vitola and the 4 1/2 x 52 Shorts, the latter of which was an exclusive for Privada Cigar Club—before announcing later in 2020 that the 500 Years Anniversary would become a regular production line going forward.

During the 2022 PCA Convention & Tradeshow, HVC showed off the fourth vitola, a 6 3/4 x 56 Salomon priced at $13.50 per cigar that is packaged in 15-count boxes. The Salomon is rolled at Fábrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. de Reinier Lorenzo, which is HVC’s factory that is located in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Blend-wise, the HVC 500 Years Anniversary is a Nicaraguan puro composed of Nicaraguan tobacco from AGANORSA including a corojo 99 wrapper from Jalapa covering a binder that is also grown in the Jalapa region as well as Nicaraguan criollo 98 and corojo 99 filler tobaccos.

There are currently four different vitolas:

• HVC 500 Years Anniversary Tesoros (5 7/8 x 52) — 2019
• HVC 500 Years Anniversary Selectos (5 5/8 x 46) — 2020
• HVC 500 Years Anniversary Shorts (4 1/2 x 52) — 2020
• HVC 500 Years Anniversary Salomon (6 3/4 x 56) — 2022

The HVC 500 Years Anniversary Salomon was sold exclusively to retailers who placed orders during the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show and boxes began shipping to stores in September last year.

Here is what I wrote in my original review back in November 2022:

After smoking my first HVC 500 Years Anniversary Salomon, I was more than a little surprised at the amount of strength that this vitola exhibits, especially when compared with the other size I have smoked in the line. Having said that, the first two thirds are full of distinct and complex flavors, including creamy cashews, cocoa nibs and cedar along with a wonderful cotton candy sweetness on the retrohale. Yes, the strength becomes overwhelming in the final third—which in turn throws off the balance—but even with that being the case, the first two-thirds makes this one of the best blends I have smoked from HVC that I think will only get better with age.

• Cigar Reviewed: HVC 500 Years Anniversary Salomon
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. de Reinier Lorenzo
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Corojo 99 Jalapa)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Jalapa)
• Filler: Nicaragua (Criollo 98 & Corojo 99)
• Length: 6 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 56
• Vitola: Salomon
• MSRP: $13.50 (Box of 15, $202.50)
• Release Date: September 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

As was the case with the cigars from the original review, it is hard not to notice the HVC 500 Years Anniversary Salomon with its combination of length, vitola, tapered foot and torpedo cap. In fact, it is only after I take all of that in that I notice the smooth as-silk medium-brown colored wrapper with a reddish hue that features plenty of veins but only trace amounts of oil. Aromas emanating from the wrapper include strong woodiness and earthiness, along with creamy nuttiness, fruity sweetness, leather and barnyard. Scents from the tapered foot are quite a bit more distinct, with a salted peanut note leading cedar, cocoa nibs, gritty earth and a sweetness that reminds me of grapes. Finally, after a Dickman cut, the cold draw brings flavors of creamy cashews, dry straw, more earth, brewed coffee, leather tack and dark fruity sweetness.

After I light the foot of the HVC, the draw is a bit tight—not unusual at all for a perfecto vitola, due to the smaller foot opening—but after about 15 puffs, the air starts flowing more consistently, and I am inundated with a main flavor combination of creamy earth and cocoa nibs. Secondary flavors of salted nuts, cedar, sweet hay, leather tack, baker’s spices and black coffee flit in and out at various points, while the retrohale features plenty of black pepper and raisin sweetness. Flavor and body both end the first half at a solid medium, while the strength is just a tad bit higher at a point just over medium. When it comes to construction, there are no issues whatsoever that I can discern: the draw is excellent, there is a copious amount of smoke that does not seem to be letting up anytime soon, and while the burn line is a bit wavy, it does not come close to needing attention from my lighter.

While most aspects of the HVC’s second half are extremely similar to what I found in the first half, there are two major changes. First, the main flavors morphs into a combination of salted peanuts and creamy cedar which continues to top the profile until I put the nub down after two hours and 17 minutes of smoking time. Second, the strength in the blend increases noticeably—especially during the final third—to land at medium-full. Additional flavors in the profile include earth, creamy leather, hay, black coffee, and dark chocolate, and while the amount of black pepper on the retrohale has decreased, so has the amount of raisin sweetness. Flavor tops out at medium-full, but the body barely makes it to medium-plus by the end of the cigar. Finally, there are no changes to the construction, as the burn, draw and smoke production work together in harmony until I put the nub down with about an inch remaining.