Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 50 Robusto
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $8.50
Today we take a look at the HVC Cerro Maduro.
Bought a couple at my local B&M 2-3 months ago.
DESCRIPTION:
Slightly rustic in appearance with dots of roller’s cigar glue glistening in the light. The cigar is very hard. Hopefully it doesn’t become an issue.
The triple cap is expertly applied. Veins are abundant. Seams are nicely hidden.
The oily wrapper is the hue of black coffee.
SIZES AND PRICING:
4.5 x 46 $7.80
5 x 50 $8.50
6 x 54 $8.80
5.5 x 58 $9.60
AROMAS AND COLD DRAW POINTS:
From the shaft, I can smell floral notes, chocolate, coffee, molasses, malts, cedar, dried apricots, and a touch of pepper.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I can smell strong black pepper, savory notes, chocolate, malt, dried fruit, cedar, and banana.
The cold draw presents flavors of bitter espresso, malts, dark chocolate, black pepper, and charred wood.
FIRST THIRD:
First puffs knock it out of the park. This is what I’m talkin’ ‘bout.
Flavors cause serious immersions of malts, chocolate, espresso, cream, black pepper, cedar, glazed doughnut, an array of raw nuts, and a nice list of flavors too early to differentiate…they will come.
There is a plug right under the cigar band. Out comes my PerfecDraw cigar poker and make short business of the issue. But I don’t mind being a shill as I am a huge fan of this tool as well as the cigar glue. The initial cost of the poker pays for itself in just a few plugged cigars. And the glue is priceless.
My last review was of the L’Atelier Surrogates 7th Sam and it was a big disappointment…For me it was just an inconsistent blend tasting of Man O War. A good cigar will knock the pins out from under you at the start of the cigar. A light should go on above your head immediately…and the HVC Cerro Maduro does just that.
Strength is a solid medium.
The draw is now excellent and the char line is spot on with a pretty light gray ash.
I’ve reviewed 5 different blends from HVC over the last 2 years and each one shined like a cop using his flashlight on high school kids making out in their car on Signal Hill. Few boutique brands are consistent but HVC is right on with each new release.
The HVC Cerro Maduro is richly complex at this early point. Transitions are swimming like speckled trout upstream. The finish is amazingly long and satisfying…like me.
I smoked my first of two Cerro Maduros two weeks after receipt and I basically wasted a good cigar. So I did something I’m not capable of at this point of my life; show discipline and let the little bugger get its beauty rest. I seem to have been rewarded with extreme prejudice.
So far: Malts, so creamy, black and red peppers, molasses and caramel, Asian spices, all types of dried fruit, golden raisins tops the list, loads of chocolate and a touch of espresso.
Man, this baby is good. The finish is the killer part of the experience. It lasts and lasts and keeps going til it’s time for another puff.
I cannot wait for the sweet spot to kick in later.
Strength takes a ride to medium/full. A touch of nicotine enters. Oy.
SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 35 minutes. A slow roll.
Sweet spot 1.0 hits my palate and my cat starts wailing The Beatles “White Album” tune “Number 9.”
I would like to see a little more spiciness as I am a total spice junkie. The combo of both black and red peppers helps as it allows for the spiciness to coat not just the back of my throat but my tongue and sinuses as well. I like it when my tear ducts explode into confetti and I sit here like a high school prom queen without a date.
The HVC Cerro Maduro will definitely make my top 25 cigar list for 2017. Beautifully blended cigar.
This is one of the maltiest blends I’ve smoked in quite a while. The chocolate coating makes me get into the Way Back Machine, Mr. Peabody…and take a ride to my days my mother would drop us off at the movies and a big box of malted milk balls was my first purchase.
Old man memory: In the 1950’s and 1960’s, there were no multi-plex theaters. Long Beach was a community of around 350,000 back then and had only three theaters all built in the 1930’s and ornate as hell. You paid 25 cents to sit in the balcony and 35 cents to sit on the lower floor. My mom gave me $2 for the excursion which paid for my ticket and all the horrifyingly tasty treats that would eventually make me very ill later in the day. A box of Jujubes was my last pick of the movie and was only 5 cents. And stuck to every tooth in my mouth.
Halfway point at one hour. The blend is killer my lovelies.
So complex that it should be spanked while wearing a red ball in its mouth. Transitions are Bozo crazy. The finish keeps on truckin’.
No single flavor really stands out higher than the others due to such intense complexity.
One moment, there is chocolate malt…the next is sweetness from the imaginary dried fruits and caramel. Then a blast of peppers that opens my sinuses.
I would definitely buy a box of these babies.
The creaminess morphs into a crème brûlée…with that decadent caramelized custard top.
Notes of licorice, creamy honey, chocolate covered marzipan, a hint of lime citrus, and some buttered French bread permeate the under belly of the beast. Wonderful.
Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” is playing. After the song was released, I learned how to play that iconic bass line. It wasn’t til years later that I discovered they used 2 basses to play that part. I did it right with just one bass. If you want to learn that part, write me and I will tell you how.
The HVC Cerro Maduro has been on an upward trajectory from its inception this morning.
For today’s standards, $8.50 is nothing for a great smoke. It can be had for a little less if you do your homework. It just shows that greed is not the only motivation for good blenders. It is all about passion. This HVC blend just drips with passion and love.
Sweet spot 2.0.
Like my time in the Peace Corps, I feel like I’m witness to a sea of swarming simbas.
Strength remains at a nice medium/full but I do believe any moment that will transmogrify (transform, especially in a surprising or magical manner) and my diaper will need changing.
Robustos and Corona Largas are my favorite sizes. The Toro…depending on girth is my second choice.
This robusto is so beautifully packed that it smokes like a Toro in terms of time spent with a pleasure stick hanging from my mouth…get your minds out of the gutter…that’s my job.
The HVC Cerro Maduro is a perfect cigar for my palate. It has its own identity and I’m at a loss to compare it to another blend.
LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour 25 minutes.
Can a good cigar give you a boner? This one has…I think. One thing no one tells you as you reach your golden years is that those pup tents you wake up with each morning…disappear forever.
How it’s possible, I don’t know…but the Cerro Maduro is even richer than earlier. My palate is assaulted by so many influences that it becomes sheer bliss.
We hit full tilt-blow-me-out-of-my-seat strength. Nicotine begins its journey of blinding me where I sit.
Not a hint of harshness. Smooth as my new grandson’s bottom.
I spent my musical career pretty much as a side man. I watched a great new rockumentary on Netflix called “Hired Gun.” All about the role of the side man with lots of great examples of some of the finest players on the planet. Watch it…especially if you are a musician.
One of the telltale signs of a great blend is the lack of needing something to sip on. I normally drink water when I review and I haven’t taken a swig yet. I’m either a camel or built like one.
Important note: Be patient. Do not smoke this blend with less than 2 months of humi time…without cello of course.
Raving about a good cigar far outweighs destroying it.
I get lots of emails from readers telling me their palates are very similar to mine. So to those that trust me, buy some of these HVC Cerro Maduros. You will be eternally grateful to your Uncle Katman.
The end of the experience is smooth and I’m totally sated for the morning.
Final smoke time is one hour 45 minutes.
RATING: 95
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
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