Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the HVC Black Friday 2023 is medium brown with some darker freckles and some thick, but well pressed veins. The seams are smooth and the cap has some lifting edges to it. There are two bands, with the primary being the traditional black and gold design for the line that carries the line name and company. The foot band is red and gold and denotes the vitola and year. The aroma from the wrapper is dark earth with a bit of cocoa and wood, while the foot brings stewed fruit along with some cedar and earth. The pre-light draw brings stone fruit sweetness, dusty earth and a bit of spice along with a mild spiciness on my lips.
John: The HVC Black Friday 2023 comes in cellophane and does not have a UPC sticker. There is a primary Black Friday band along with a foot band that indicates ‘Petit Gordo 2023’. I weighed the cigar at 16.0 grams and the humidity, as measured by the HumidiMeter Pro, was 55.3%. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet, light raisin along with some tobacco. Out of the foot, I picked up similar aromas along with some hay.

HVC Black Friday 2023

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with a potent mix of black pepper, earth and some toasted cedar. At a half inch in, the profile settles down a bit, but the flavors are still pretty bold. The retrohale is toasted earth, zingy black pepper and a bit of toasted cedar. As the third comes to a close, the earth and black pepper are even up front, with he toasted cedar a bit behind. The strength was medium-full.
John: My initial flavor impressions are dry wood, with medium to medium-full strength pepper following and lingering into the post draw. On the post draw, that pepper evolves to become almost a chili pepper spice. As the first third settles in, some tobacco sweetness and creaminess comes into the retrohale with the pepper at medium-full strength. As the first third continues, the pepper fades down to light plus and some wet cardboard is present at the end of the draw. A heavy wood at medium-full comes into the post draw roughly a half of an inch in. By the bottom half of the first third, earth has joined the finish and the post draw.

HVC Black Friday 2023

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper mellows a bit. The retrohale is now an even mix of toasted earth, toasted cedar and black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the earth is up front, with the black pepper and toasted cedar a bit behind. The strength dropped down to slightly above medium.
John: Creamy earth leads the second third with creamy wood into the post draw. Tannic wood is present on the finish as the second third settles in. The profile remains stable until the cigar is approaching the halfway point, where heavy earth is lingering on the post draw.

HVC Black Friday 2023

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the pepper and toasted cedar both mellow a bit. The retrohale is now toasted earth and toasted cedar with light black pepper. At three quarters of an inch in, the toasted cedar moves up to right behind the earth and gains a slight wood bitterness. As the cigar wraps up, the earth is just ahead of the toasted cedar that has a light wood bitterness to in and the black pepper is in the back half of the profile. The strength remained at slightly above medium.
John: Creamy earth starts the last third with medium to medium-full earth into the post draw. The earth takes on a loamy quality through the post draw as it continues. That profile remains consistent for the remainder of the review.

HVC Black Friday 2023

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout and the ash held on to the midway point of the cigar and then again until the end.
John: The burn started very straight, with the ash holding on in one inch increments. The burn was relatively straight through the second and final thirds as well.

HVC Black Friday 2023

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
John: The draw had a fair amount of resistance to it, roughly 3 to 3-1/2 notches into the resistant spectrum.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with a potent mix of black pepper, earth and some toasted cedar. The profile mellowed a bit a half inch in. The second third saw the pepper mellow a bit. The final third saw the pepper and toasted cedar mellow a bit and then the toasted cedar ramped up and brought a light wood bitterness with it. Construction was absolutely perfect. The HVC Black Friday 2023 had an average flavor profile throughout, focused around the earth, black pepper and toasted cedar. Not a very exciting profile, and it was quite bold with a decent level of strength. Not really a cigar I’d see myself coming back to, but for those that like a bold profile, this smoked slow and gave a good smoking time, so there may be some value there.
John: The HVC Black Friday 2023 was a very full flavored cigar for the entire review, and as such, I didn’t find myself getting a lot of nuance or complexity out of the flavor combinations. I would describe the overall profile as being largely wood and heavily earth forward. The burn was excellent while the draw had a fair amount of resistance to it. HVC makes a lot of really great cigars I enjoy, and although the price point is really affordable on the Black Friday 2023, the profile isn’t something I’d see myself returning to. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 24 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.70

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.30

Cost/Point

$1.85

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: HVC Black Friday 2023