Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf Coronas Gigantes

For a company themed around Havana City, you probably wouldn’t guess that pancakes would be the inspiration behind one of HVC’s longest-running / best-selling lines; yet, this is indeed the case.

The saga began in 2016 with the HVC Pan Caliente, named after the Spanish phrase se vende como pan caliente, which translates to sells like hotcakes. While this release offered a Nicaraguan puro blend, HVC has allowed themselves more tobacco variety through the subsequent Hot Cake line. This kicked off with the San Andrés-wrapped original blend in 2020, being followed by the Connecticut-wrapped Hot Cake Golden Line in 2023 and the Broadleaf-wrapped Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf in 2024.

The latter is the most limited of the four, being a small-batch project out of the company’s own factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. At launch, there were 500 boxes each of two formats: Torpedo and Toro Extra. In 2025, the cigars were switched to two new formats—Gran Torpedo and Coronas Gigantes—later being joined by the small-format Half Coronas addition. The new sizes were more limited than the debut, including 350 boxes apiece for the larger formats and 300 for the Half Coronas.

“To me these cigars are like nothing else with an unique sweetness from the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper well balance and clean on the palate.” —Reinier Lorenzo, founder of HVC Cigars

Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf Coronas Gigantes Breakdown

With HVC’s cigars long being rolled almost entirely out of the Aganorsa Leaf factory in Nicaragua, the company often differentiated themselves with Broadleaf-wrapped blends, an uncommon attribute compared to other brands that used the factory. The practice now extends to HVC’s own factory with the Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf, featuring a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, a binder from Nicaragua’s Jalapa Valley, and fillers from the Estelí and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua.

Appearance

The Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf Coronas Gigantes is a large specimen, commanding attention with its Churchill-like proportions, though it carries a lighter heft than one might expect from such a substantial size. The wrapper sports a muted chocolate hue that presents a lighter shade than typical Broadleaf, with a double cap finishing the construction. This isn’t the most aesthetically pristine example—the wrapper exhibits numerous veins, irregular splotches, and noticeable ripples throughout its surface. The overall roll has a somewhat lumpy character to it, further contributing to its rustic appearance. Running your fingers along the wrapper reveals a fuzzy texture. When gently squeezed, the cigar has a spongy give to it, suggesting a medium bunch density.

Aromatically, the wrapper leads with pronounced mineral notes reminiscent of rain-soaked concrete, backed by subtle cedar and an underlying barnyard muskiness. Moving to the foot, the profile deepens with chocolate nuances, distinct black pepper, and continuing mineral qualities. After cutting, the pre-light draw seems to hit the sweet spot of resistance. The cold draw flavors shift toward the vegetal spectrum with cabinet herbs (particularly basil) making an appearance, alongside more of those distinctive mineral characteristics that seem to define this cigar’s profile before lighting.

Smoking Experience

The Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf (which I may occasionally refer to as FOTOB moving forward) begins with toasted oak at the forefront, complemented by a semi-sweet chocolate character that’s remarkably subdued for a Broadleaf-style blend. Retrohales reveal a gentle spice initially, while a subtle sweetness lingers pleasantly on the tip of the tongue. As the profile develops, black pepper emerges through the nostrils, layering over a loam-like earthiness that grounds the experience. The chocolate notes become increasingly tangible on the palate as the first third progresses, with the texture gradually thickening—occasionally leaving gritty bits between the teeth (a texture I often liken to the small granules that crunch between your teeth when eating slices of aged Asiago cheese).

The burn produces a medium gray ash that tends toward flakiness, holding for about an inch before dropping with little warning—keep this one away from your favorite shirt. The burn line maintains a wavy pattern but remains largely problem-free, requiring just minor touchups when the ash falls to straighten things out (though one sample needed two more substantial corrections). Draw resistance sits just slightly on the firm side of ideal, delivering a medium-light smoke output. The smoke itself carries a somewhat chewy texture, making its presence felt primarily on the front tip and back sides of the tongue, while maintaining a pleasantly cool temperature. In terms of intensity, the cigar operates at medium-plus in flavor, medium in strength, and medium in body through the opening act.

Moving beyond the initial phase, the profile shifts toward hot chocolate and, somewhat unexpectedly, frozen Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts—a peculiar yet fitting comparison (if you haven’t tried frozen Pop-Tarts, you’re missing out). What’s particularly striking about this Hot Cake is its restraint; it’s not as in-your-face as one might expect from a Broadleaf blend. Instead, it presents itself as subdued (for the style) and somewhat nuanced, encouraging you to chew through the finish to uncover the complexities lurking beneath the surface. A hint of pine lingers in the background, adding an intriguing dimension to the more prominent baked flavors reminiscent of chocolate bread. As the halfway point approaches, the smoke begins warming in temperature, with the profile intensifying to medium-full in flavor and medium-plus in body while maintaining its medium strength.

The journey beyond the halfway mark brings minimal evolution to the flavor components, flattening out somewhat with a duller pepper note emerging. The tongue starts to tingle—a sign of increasing heat and potentially gathering strength. The finale abandons the cooler territory of earlier thirds, presenting a more robust combination of anise and pronounced mineral notes. Raw black pepper becomes more apparent, though interestingly, it’s felt more on the palate than through the retrohale, where one might expect a sharp spice. Closing notes include charred oak with slightly tarry undertones, chicory coffee, dark chocolate, and charcoal—creating a decidedly darker conclusion to what began as a relatively measured experience.

Would I Smoke This Cigar Again?

After first trying last year’s 5½” x 54 toro size of the FOTOB, I was ready to put the blend behind me, finding little from the experience that excited me. I was even preparing a clever line to sum up the experience, should I review the cigar—something along the lines of a Meghan Trainor-inspired ‘all bass, no treble’ tagline. This changed after experiencing the thinner Coronas Gigantes, which does, in fact, have the treble necessary to maintain interest throughout the cigar’s generous smoking time. However, with additional smoking samples, I did find some construction issues (lots of re-lights) and overall inconsistencies from one smoke to the next. Considering the higher price point, I’d advise picking a few of these up before you spring for larger purchases.

• Of the four blends in the Pan Caliente / Hot Cake series, I’d rank them as: Pan Caliente > Hot Cake > Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf > Hot Cake Golden Line (though, the middle two are basically a tie).
• The cigar’s name is a bit of a tongue-twister… perhaps it could’ve been something along the lines of Hot Cake Broadleaf: Fresh Out of the Oven, or maybe just Hot Cake Broadleaf (just my two cents).
• Currently, the Hot Cake Fresh Out of the Oven Broadleaf cigar ranks on Dojoverse as “98% Smokable,” placing in the top 20 percent of cigars on the all-time leaderboard.

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