Vitola: Robusto- 5” x 50 ring gauge
- ~$9
- Small Batch Cigar
Background
I can’t remember the first time I heard about the Powstanie (pronounced “poh-shan-yah” apparently…it’s Polish…deal with it) brand. Might have heard of it tangentially back in 2015 when it debuted, but I think it was a year or two after that. Seems like for the past couple years, though, I’ve kept my head down, just plowing through everything I need to do…work, work, blog, more work, maybe a little play from time to time, more work, work, work. So I can’t remember specifically when I heard of it…but after I heard some people at the shop where I work talking about it I decided I needed to give it a try. Rather than reaching out to the owners of the company, I just went ahead and ordered a sampler from Leaf Enthusiast sponsor, Small Batch Cigar.
I went back to the 2015 story that halfwheel posted on the initial releases from Powstanie to find this information…
The brand was created by brothers, Mike and Greg Szczepankewicz, also owners of Cigar Hustler in Deltona, Florida. The brand name is Polish for “uprising” and the logo is inspired by symbols used by the Polish resistance during World War II. Mike and Greg each created their own blend with some help from Esteban Disla (chief blender and part-owner at Nica Sueño) and Skip Martin (the other part-owner of the factory). I’m going to start with Mike’s Habano blend, which uses Dominican Criollo, Estelí Ligero, and other Nicaraguan leaf from Condega and Jalapa for the filler; an Indonesian binder; and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. I’ll be coming back to the Broadleaf version soon.
The sampler I purchased had 3 Habano-wrapped sticks included, one each of Perfecto, Belicoso and Robusto (along with the same 3 sizes of Broadleaf). I smoked the Perfecto and Belicoso previously and kept the Robusto for this review.
Prelight
So right from the beginning it’s fairly obvious to me this cigar isn’t really destined for mass sales worldwide. The logo is cool and meaningful, but the large use of it on the box and band isn’t something that is going to demand the attention of most cigar buyers in medium to large brick-and-mortars. The red, white, silver and black bands are nice, but not the most eye-catching thing and not something that says, “You must try me!” Bottom line, this is a cigar that will need to be hand-sold by people who know their products to people who are most likely to be interested in them. There’s nothing wrong with that…but just be aware that this is going to mean a lot of your local stores don’t carry it, so you may have to call around.
The Habano wrapper was a shade of brown between milk and dark chocolate, smooth with a nice oiliness left on my fingers after handling it. It smelled of earth and cedar, with just the smallest leathery note, while the foot had notes of bread, cocoa powder, and rich earth.
After clipping the head, I got a very good cold draw that had flavors of graham cracker, earth, and espresso bean, while leaving a mild red pepper burn on my lips.
Flavor
Applying fire to leaf, the Powstanie Habano gave up a complex mix of grassy, earthy and leathery notes at the beginning. There was a touch of sweetness and a bit of pepper spice on the palate, but they were at the back of the flavor profile, while the retrohale was nutty and solidly peppery without giving a searing burn to the nose. I would call it medium-to-full bodied at the outset.
As I got into the second third, there was a medium-roast coffee flavor backed up by earth and bread notes, while pepper had virtually disappeared on the palate. There was a little roasted nuttiness on the finish. The retrohale continued to be nutty, but pepper had dropped out of the equation there, too, with some oak woodiness taking its place.
Everything really came together in the last third, with citrus and cinnamon arising in the blend seemingly from nowhere. Earth and coffee became supporting notes and graham cracker was a finishing bready sweetness.
Construction
I had a great draw, solid ash and a burn line that was fairly even, requiring just a few minor touch-ups.
Value
Excellent cigar with a very average price tag, even though production is relatively small in a true boutique factory.
Conclusions
The Powstanie Habano shows the creative mind of Esteban Disla in full Nikola Tesla-mode. The blend is complex and interesting from the beginning to the end, seeming almost like a different cigar in the final third than the one I started off with. It was a fantastic marriage of Dominican and Nicaraguan leaf, along with the Indonesian binder and Ecuadorian wrapper, to create a beautiful four-country blend that is accessible and should appeal to a wide range of cigar enthusiasts.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
