Sometimes it seems like pretty much anyone can start a cigar company these days. But NOT anyone can make it ten years. To get to that milestone, you need to have some success. You need to use a good leaf. You need to make solid partnerships across international lines. You need retailers willing to stock your stogies.
And at the end of the day, you need to give a good smoke at a price that makes sense.
HVC 10th Anniversary cigars celebrate Renier Lorenzo’s ten years in business making cigars. He was born and raised in Cuba but wasn’t a tobacco man, to begin with. Instead, he was something of a scientist. When he emigrated to America, he worked in an animal genetics lab in Wisconsin. A connection to Eduardo Fernandez of Aganorsa Leaf was the key that unlocked the door to the wonderful world of cigars. No knock on the beauty of Wisconsin, but once you take a trip down to the sunny green fields of Nicaragua, it’s easy to fall in love.
Lorenzo started small as many do, but soon found success. Working two jobs at once, he would head out from his day shift to go network with cigar retailers in the Midwest. His on-the-road grind slowly helped him build a network of partners who would sell his HVC cigars. Like so many other cigar men before him, he followed the blueprint and it paid off.
His Hot Cake and Cerro blend both ultimately scored high marks with reviewers, and showed that he was using great leaf and knew what to do when it came to putting together good blends. HVC 10th Anniversary cigars are another step forward for Lorenzo.
The wrapper is a gorgeous penny brown Nicaraguan Corojo 99 from Jalapa. Inside, the filler blend is where things get a bit more interesting. Nicaraguan Corojo 99 and criollo 98 are joined by something of a newcomer leaf: Corojo 2012. It is quite rare to see, but we expect more and more blends will try to find a way to work with it. It will be the wrapper on the new Guardian of the Farm Cerberus line and should start to gain a reputation from there, offering strength and robust flavor.
The flavors of the blend as a whole are fascinating. There’s spicy pepper, warm dough, and fresh mint, all in a smoky swirl that will have you checking the band to remind yourself what you’re smoking. It’s a special cigar for a special occasion marked to celebrate “10 years of consistency, perseverance and hard work,” in the words of Mr. Lorenzo.
What’s next for HVC? “It is a big milestone that only motivates me for the next 10 years ahead.”
Sounds good! We’ll have our lighters ready for the next batch of blends from the HVC cigar team.
Please browse our selection of HVC 10th Anniversary cigars at your leisure.
An Evil Genius I’ll Have What She’s Having Imperial Stout or a Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. Pour into a pint glass and let two of em knock you on your butt!
