Powstanie SBC 24 (5 1/2 x 46) Cigar
Powstanie — Polish for 'uprising' — was founded by brothers Mike and Gregg Szczepankiewicz of Cigar Hustler, and its cigars are produced at Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua. SBC stands for 'Surrounded by Champions,' a limited series launched in 2016 as a tribute to the people behind the brand's success. Every release in the series has been a 5½ x 46 corona gorda with a barber pole wrapper, with the SBC 24 arriving in June 2025 as the fifth installment.
The SBC 24 is a barber pole intertwining a Mexican Habano leaf with Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade, over an all-Nicaraguan binder and filler. It is rolled in the series' signature 5½ x 46 corona gorda format at Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A. in Estelí. Production was limited to 500 boxes of 20 cigars, or 10,000 total.
Reviewers describe a core of natural tobacco sweetness with wood, cream, mixed pepper and a distinct berry note that trade places as the cigar burns. Others picked up earth, summer fruit and graham early on, moving toward apricot, brown sugar and blackberry, with sea salt, pepper and espresso on the retrohale. The body builds steadily, reaching full-bodied territory in the final third.
A smooth whisky, a toasty beer, or a strong coffee all pair well with the SBC 24's shifting sweet-and-peppery profile.
Well suited to an unhurried afternoon smoke, where its long burn and evolving barber-pole profile can be followed from start to finish.
