HVC La Rosa 520 Rare of Rare LE 2022

When I saw the Mr. Lorenzo had created something at Titan De Bronze, that it was very limited, and that it was a high price cigar I got pretty excited. HVC puts out some fantastic and well priced cigars that I love: the 2015 edition especial, the 2018 corojo version of the same, Hot Cakes, Black Friday, and the list goes on. Knowing that I’ve rally enjoyed his reasonably priced cigars over the years I assumed that this higher priced offering would be absolutely stellar, and while it was an ok cigar, I definitely felt it did not warrant the price.

The first inch of the cigar was absolutely dominated by black pepper, it was the only note I could taste. After that inch the pepper died a little, and I was able to get a earthy/leathery flavor behind it. Somewhere around the halfway point it started to open up a little more, some sweetness started creeping in and so did cherrywood. The smoke it self is medium full, as is the body. Out of a ten I would say the nicotine strength here is around a 7. Into the final third of the cigar things look up, as some of that earth and leather have left and the sweeter and somewhat more floral aspects of the tobacco are allowed to come through. Still a bit overly peppery, but I found myself enjoying the last few inches, certainly much more than the first.

The construction was good. The draw was perfect, I cut the torpedo down to about a 44 ring gauge and it drew like a straw. The burn was fine, slightly wavy, though the thick mascara line had me thinking this could possibly have been helped by aging further. Strange, as this cigar was already delayed in its arrival at retailers, so it should have had plenty of time. I bought 4 of these, such was my excitement, so I will see if that is the case. Fingers crossed.

I hate to rate something from on of my favorite makers so poorly, and if this had been a 12 dollar cigar I wouldn’t have been so harsh, but at this price point it really needed to be a lot better to get a good score from me. I would love to hear what the rest of you think on this one.