Stogie Press Havana Review
If you are a fan of the fine craft coming out of Skip Martin and his RoMa Craft Tobac Nica Sueno Factory factory in Nicaragua, then you may have heard of Powstanie Cigars. If you have not, you may want to familiarize yourself with this brand that is made in collaboration with Skip and RoMa Craft. The brand was the brain child of Mike Szczepankiewicz who notes on the brands Facebook page:
“We wanted to create a brand that would protect retailers as a whole. We want to protect retailers of all shapes and sizes. We’ve all heard stories of bigger retailers suppressing the competition around them. Powstanie was created to provide opportunities for all retailers to have access to smaller quantity products at higher levels of quality.”
The name Powstanie, pronounced poh-shan-yah, is a Polish word that translates to “Uprising”. Mike and his team are making a statement with the brand. The Powstanie was rolled out at the 2015 IPCPR in New Orleans. That was the time we in the industry were seeing the largest fight against the FDA which is still going on today. Mike and his brother Greg are the owners of the Cigar Hustler shop in Deltona, Florida and these guys know the pain that regulations are creating for small shops like theirs.
The Powstanie line includes three different blends – Broadleaf, Habano, and SBC 16, which stands for stands for surrounded by champions, and is a barber pole. Today I would like to review the Habano blend for you which is described as:
Wrapper – Ecuadorian Habano
Binder – Indonesian
Filler – Dominican Criollo, Estelí Ligero, and Nicaraguan Condega and Jalapa
A fine blend indeed! You just want to get right into it based on that description.
The Powstanie Habano comes in 4 vitolas and are packaged in 21 – count boxes.
Belicoso – 5.5 × 54 (MSRP $9.50)
Perfecto – 5 × 50 (MSRP $9.00)
Robusto – 5 × 50 (MSRP $9.00)
Toro – 6 × 52 (MSRP $10.00)
You can find the complete Powstanie on JR Cigars and they offer a 10% discount on the box.
For this review I sampled the Powstanie Habano Perfecto, which I received from the Mike for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press
Pre-Light Examination
The Powstanie Habano Perfecto is well crafted vitola, with its dark brown and slightly marbled wrapper. The seams are tight and the packing is solid throughout. It has an expertly finished pencil tip cap.
The cigar is adorned with two bands. Both bands use a black, white, red, and silver motif with the primary band containing the Powstaine logo which is quite unique, showing the letter “P” with an arrowhead on the bottom. The top of the P rests in a white background and the arrowhead rest in a field of red. There are silver scrolls one top and bottom of the band. The Secondary band describes it as the Habano Blend.
Powstanie Habano Perfecto
The foot of the cigar exudes a rich chocolate aroma though there was not much along the barrel. I can say this cigar has been well aged just based on the pre-light aroma.
Once I sliced the cap about 1/4 in down the cold draw was fairly open and offered a touch of pepper and light natural sweetness.
Well it was time to put the flame to this and turn it to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
Spicy pepper kick right off the light both on the palate and in the retro-hale
Thick creamy smoke
Pepper settles after an inch but I think it still has more to say
Woody and cocoa notes slide into the profile
Medium grey ash that holds on for a good inch or more
Thin char line with a flat and centered burn cone
Leather notes enter
Smoke is fairly smooth end of first third
Maple syrup aroma develops in the second third
Touch of sea salt
Sweet cedar follows
Excellent first half!!
Aroma is very enticing – smoke is still thick and creamy
Strength has picked up quite bit
Coffee bean enters the profile
Smoke is getting very spicy end of second third
Clean finish on palate
Pepper joins the spice in final third
Finishes with a hint of sweet fruit behind the spice and an every present syrupy aroma
Solid Medium – Plus in Strength
Total Smoking Time was one hour and 15 minutes.
Overall, the Powstanie Habano Perfecto was an expertly crafted cigar that had a rich and complex flavor profile and enticing aromas. The burn was flawless and trouble-free through the smoking journey.This is a cigar that the most refined cigar enthusiast would certainly enjoy and is a tribute the collaboration with Skip Martin and RoMa Craft and the tobacco knowledge of cigar shop tobacconists.
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