HVC Black Friday 2023

In this review, we look at the 2023 edition of the HVC Black Friday. When we start approaching the month of November, one thing we can always count on is the release of the HVC Black Friday. In 2015, Reinier Lorenzo of HVC Cigars decided to release a cigar for what has become an unofficial holiday, particularly in the U.S., and that is Black Friday. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and has emerged as the biggest retail shopping day of the year. It’s the day when it is said that many retail stores move into the “black” (profitable) from the “red” (not profitable). This year, the HVC Black Friday 2023 marks the ninth consecutive year there has been an HVC Black Friday cigar – and the tenth release overall in the series. Today, we dive deeper into the Black Friday 2023 release.

Packaging of HVC Black Friday 2023

As mentioned, the HVC Black Friday Series has had ten installments. Each year’s installment has been a different size, and there have been various wrapper and blend options.

HVC Black Friday 2015: 6 1/2 x 48 (Nicaraguan Corojo ’99)
HVC Black Friday 2016: 6 3/4 x 48 (Nicaraguan Corojo ’99)
HVC Black Friday 2017: 4 x 48 (Nicaraguan Corojo ’99)
HVC Black Friday 2018: 5 x 50 (San Andres)
HVC Black Friday 2019: 4 1/2 x 52 (Habano Café)
HVC Black Friday 2020: 5 5/8 x 46 (Habano Café)
HVC Black Friday Firecracker 2020: 3 1/2 x 50 (Habano Café)
HVC Black Friday 2021: 4 3/8 x 54 (Connecticut Broadleaf)
HVC Black Friday 2022: 5 1/2 x50(Habano Café – Ecuador)
HVC Black Friday 2023: 4 1/2 x 56 (San Andres)

Without further ado, let’s turn our attention to the HVC Black Friday 2023 and see what this cigar offers.

HVC Black Friday 2023 – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The use of a Mexican wrapper on the Black Friday 2023 marks the first time since 2018 that HVC has used it on a Black Friday release. The remainder of the blend utilizes all Nicaraguan tobaccos. Production for Black Friday comes from HVC’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: San Andres Mexican
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos HVC, S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The HVC Black Friday 2023 comes in one size – a 4 1/2 x 56 petit gordo. A total of 600 50-count boxes were produced.

Appearance

The San Andres wrapper of Black Friday 2023 was a roasted espresso coffee bean color. It was on the oily side. Upon closer examination, a slight amount of mottling could be seen on the wrapper’s surface. In addition, the wrapper also had a slight amount of toothiness. There were visible veins and wrapper seams present on the surface as well.

Close-up of HVC Black Friday 2023

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap and commence the cigar experience of Black Friday 2023. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw ritual. The pre-light draw was satisfactory, delivering notes of coffee bean and toast. The next steps included removing the footer band, toasting up the cigar, and beginning the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Black Friday 2023 opened up with more notes of coffee and toast. Early on, these were the primary notes and were joined by black pepper and cedar notes. The black pepper and cedar were also prominent on the retro-hale. Toward the middle of the first third, some dark chocolate notes also surfaced in the background.

During the second third of the Black Friday 2023, the coffee and toast notes alternated as to which one had the edge. The pepper, cedar, and dark chocolate notes remained in the background. As the cigar progressed through the second third, pepper notes gradually increased.

By the final third, the coffee and toast notes were still alternating in intensity in the forefront. The black pepper notes were still present in the background, but they were the most dominant of the secondary notes. Meanwhile, the cedar and dark chocolate were also in the background and rounded out the flavor profile. This is the way the HVC Black Friday 2023 came to a close. The cigar finished with a cool and firm nub.

Burn

The burn to the Black Friday 2023 required more maintenance than I preferred. The burn path meandered many times and the burn line was jagged. This resulted in frequent touch-ups throughout the smoking experience. While the touch-ups did the trick, more than I preferred were needed. The resulting ash had a silver-gray color to it and was on the flaky side. As for the burn temperature, it was ideal. The cigar took about 80 minutes on average to smoke. Given this was a chunky ring gauge, I still will classify this as an ideal burn rate.

Burn of HVC Black Friday 2023

Draw

Overall, the Black Friday 2023 draw performed excellently. It had a touch of resistance, which was directly in my wheelhouse. At the same time, it was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

Black Friday 2023 was a bold cigar. It came out of the gate medium to full in strength and pretty much stayed at that level until the end of the cigar experience. The body of this cigar started out medium, but by the second third, it progressed into medium to full territory.

The strength had the edge early on in terms of strength versus body, but by the second half, both the strength and body balanced each other nicely.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

HVC does a very nice job with the packaging of the Black Friday 2023. The black, gold, and white color scheme of the primary band not only looks nice on its own but also contrasts nicely with the cigar’s wrapper. The red and gold footer band is also a nice touch. I really liked how it specifies both the size and the year.

While I am not the biggest fan of 50-count boxes, I like the Black Friday 2023 slide-top box design.

Packaging of HVC Black Friday 2023

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I found the Black Friday 2023 to be a cigar that delivers nicely in the flavor department. I wouldn’t say this is a flavor profile; it isn’t anything radically unique. While the burn wasn’t terrible, it did deduct a bit from the final score. My problem is there are other San Andres offerings I still would reach for in the HVC portfolio – namely Selección No. 1 and Hot Cake. In the end, I would say if you can try a sample of this cigar, you should do it and see what you think.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Toast, Dark Chocolate, Cedar, Pepper
Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium (1st Third), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good