Powstanie SBC 26

In 2016, Powstanie released its first limited edition creation, a series named SBC, which stands for Surrounded by Champions. According to company co-founders and brothers Greg and Mike Szczepankewicz, the series was created as a tribute to those who helped them establish the Powstanie brand.

During the 2026 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Powstanie showed off the latest release named SBC 26. For fans of the series, most of the details will be familiar: the latest addition is the same 5 1/2 x 46 corona gorda vitola as every release in the series thus far, and it is rolled in a similar offset barber pole wrapper design. The cigars were also rolled at the same factory as previous releases—Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A. in Nicaragua—and are packaged boxes with the same 20-count box design.

However, while each of the cigars in the series so far has had different blends, the SBC 26 is made with tobacco from five different countries. The two wrappers are Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed and Mexican San Andrés, while the binder is Brazilian mata fina. In addition, the filler includes four different tobaccos. The first is a ligero piloto mejorado from Navarrete, Dominican Republic, grown by Leo Reyes. Finally, three Nicaraguan tobaccos round out the blend, which include Condega, Estelí viso from the San Nicolas farm, and Pueblo Nuevo ligero from a 2021 crop.

Interestingly, while the SBC 22 and SBC 24 blends were not disclosed, this is the first time Powstanie has said Dominican tobacco has been used in an SBC release. In fact, the Dominican tobacco is piloto mejorado ligero, which is used in the filler alongside three tobaccos from the 2021 crop.

“Every SBC release gives us the opportunity to do something special, but the SBC 26 is particularly meaningful because it is brother Gregg (Szczepankewicz)’s passion project,” said Mike Palmer, national sales manager for Powstanie Cigars. “The amount of thought, detail and tobacco knowledge that went into this blend is incredible. We’re excited to finally begin shipping it and put it into the hands of retailers and cigar smokers.”

Pricing of the SBC 26 is set at $18 per cigar and $360 for a box of 20 cigars. A total of 10,000 cigars were released, the same number as the SBC 24 and the SBC 22.

The company says this release is dedicated to those who have helped the company. To date, each box has included the following message printed on the inside of the box lid:

It’s important to recognize that great accomplishments require the team to be successful. Too often we see success only as a face of a single man. Surrounded by Champions (number) is a cigar that pays homage to the people that made Powstanie possible. The main ingredient of greatness is the rest of the team.

• Cigar Reviewed: Powstanie SBC 26
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra-seed) & Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Brazil (Mata Fina)
• Filler: Dominican Republic (Piloto Mejorado Ligero) & Nicaragua (Condega, Estelí Viso, Pueblo Nuevo Ligero)
• Length: 5 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $18 (Box of 20, $360)
• Release Date: August 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: 500 Boxes of 20 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

For some reason, I have always loved the look of a barber pole cigar. Sure, it is a bit gimmicky, but it is also distinctive, and in a world of round cylinders of tobacco in similar shapes and color shades, standing out is not a bad thing. The two colors used on the Powstanie SBC 26 cigars are easy to differentiate, which has not always been the case; see below in the Final Notes. The darker wrapper is rustic and rough to the touch with plenty of bumps and tooth, while the lighter wrapper is noticeably smoother. All three cigars are quite spongy when squeezed, but not so spongy that I can’t feel a very large soft spot right under the cap of the third cigar. Raw dough leads the aromas coming from the wrappers, followed by earth, leather tack, generic woodiness, sweet hay and a light note that reminds me of Play-Doh. An interesting mocha coffee note dominates the scents coming from the feet—more coffee on the first and third cigars, chocolate on the second cigar—along with oak, fudge sweetness, creamy leather, tea leaves, and a touch of cinnamon. After straight cuts, the cold draws are fairly close to one another, with rich raisins, creamy oak, cocoa nibs, generic but sweet breadiness and gritty earth.

The cigars start out with bitter espresso, black pepper and some significant spice on my tongue, but before I hit 10 puffs, a combination of powdery cocoa nibs and dry oak quickly takes over the profiles of all three cigars. At various points, secondary flavors of dried tea leaves, gritty earth, plain white rice, leather and sawdust show up while the finish features a distinct lemongrass flavor that is strongest on the second cigar. There is an enjoyable combination of black pepper and raisin sweetness on the retrohale of the first cigar, while the second and third cigars feature black pepper and milk chocolate. Flavor ends the first third at full, the body hits a point just under medium and the strength lands at a solid medium. Construction-wise, my second cigar needs a quick correction to stay on track, but that is the only issue.

During the second third, the profiles of the first and second cigars become creamier overall, and the main flavors change to a combination of creamy almonds and coffee beans followed by additional notes of leather, pita bread, nutmeg, oatmeal and oak. The third cigar is the outlier, with flavors of gritty earth and cloves taking over the top spots, along with less distinct flavors that include bitter espresso, sawdust, burnt bread, chalk and lightly charred meatiness. While the first and second cigars continue to have a light lemongrass note on the finish, the last cigar surprises me with a much more aggressive note of sulfur and burnt matches that instantly reminds me of recently fired cap guns. The retrohales have also changed: black pepper and honey sweetness for the first two cigars, black pepper and dark fruity sweetness for the third cigar. The flavor for all three cigars remains at full, the body crosses into solid medium and the strength increases slightly to land at a point just over the medium mark. The first and third cigars each need attention from my lighter—one correction for the first, two for the third—but the draw resistance and smoke production remain excellent.

The profiles of the three SBC 26 cigars become less creamy but more homogeneous, as all three develop the same main flavor combination of rich espresso beans and terroir. Secondary notes of baker’s spices, almonds, barnyard, cinnamon, toasted bread, and dry hay flit in and out, while the retrohales also feature similar notes of black pepper and dense, fudgy sweetness. However, the finish of each cigar is different: lemongrass for the first cigar, bitter espresso for the second cigar and a dry, gritty earthiness for the third cigar. Flavor ends at full, and the body ends at a point just over medium, but the strength increases enough to land at medium-plus. While the burn lines on all three cigars are far from straight, they never become problematic enough to need correcting with my lighter, and the draws and smoke production continue to impress.

Final Notes

• If you are wondering, Powstanie is pronounced poh-shan-yah.
• Of the six releases in the series so far, only three have shipped to retailers in the year that they are named after: SBC 16, SBC 18 and SBC 26. The other three were released in the year after the year they were named for.
• Unlike some previous releases in the series—I’m looking at you, SBC 16 and SBC 20—the different wrappers are easy to see on this release.
• I have always loved the box design of the SBC series, especially the metallic highlight on the top of the box lid.
• The Powstanie SBC 16 placed #10 on halfwheel’s 2017 Packaging Awards, while the Powstanie SBC 18 placed #12 on halfwheel’s Top 25 Cigars of 2018.
• No, I did not notice a substantial difference in the overall profile when the burn line hit the lighter tobacco stripes.
• If the Fábrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A. factory sounds familiar, it may be because that is where all of the RoMa Craft Tobac cigars are produced.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• These cigars are listed as being 5 1/2 x 46 vitolas. Above are the measurements we took when we measured them.
• The final smoking time averaged out to one hour and 47 minutes for all three cigars.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Powstanie SBC 26 cigars, site sponsor Small Batch Cigar sells them on its website.

Corona Gorda
Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A.
Nicaragua
Powstanie
Powstanie SBC
Powstanie SBC 26