Powstanie SBC 26
Powstanie Cigars' newest Small Batch Collection (SBC) release, the SBC 26, is now reaching retailers across the US. Powstanie co-founder Gregg Szczepankiewicz developed the blend, and the cigar is rolled at Fábrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A., the same Nicaraguan factory that produces the rest of the Powstanie lineup.
The Short Answer
At 5½ inches with a 46 ring gauge, the Powstanie SBC 26 pairs Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed and Mexican San Andrés leaf in a two-tone barber-pole construction. A Brazilian Mata Fina binder sits underneath. Nicaraguan leaf from Condega, Estelí, and Pueblo Nuevo rounds out the filler alongside an aged Dominican Piloto Mejorado ligero. Production is capped at 500 boxes of 20 cigars, 10,000 sticks total. It costs $18 per cigar, or $360 for a full box, and it is shipping now.
What's Confirmed
| Detail | Confirmed |
|---|---|
| Brand | Powstanie Cigars |
| Series | Small Batch Collection (SBC), release 26 |
| Blender | Gregg Szczepankiewicz, Powstanie co-founder |
| Wrapper | Barber-pole: Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed / Mexican San Andrés |
| Binder | Brazilian Mata Fina |
| Factory | Fábrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A. (Nicaragua) |
| Filler | Dominican Piloto Mejorado ligero, plus Nicaraguan leaf from Condega, Estelí, and Pueblo Nuevo (2021 crop ligero) |
| Vitola | 5½ x 46 |
| Price | $18 per cigar, $360 per box |
| Production | 500 boxes of 20 (10,000 cigars total) |
| Availability | Now arriving at Powstanie's authorized US dealers |
SBC 26 is a fully specified release already moving into retail channels rather than a preview blend. The 2021-crop ligero gives the filler roughly five years of age before reaching this cigar, which is longer than most boutique blends carry before their first sale.
How the Small Batch Collection Series Works
Powstanie built the Small Batch Collection around one rule: a fixed number of boxes, a single blend, then the release is gone for good. SBC 26 follows earlier entries in the same series, including SBC 24, which shipped through the identical limited-run structure. Each SBC release gets its own blend and its own production cap rather than repeating a house recipe under a new number.
Run the arithmetic on this one. Five hundred boxes of 20 comes to 10,000 cigars, split across every authorized Powstanie retailer in the country. Divided across dozens of shops nationwide, that leaves a thin allocation per store. A single stick showing up at any one retailer is not something to count on. A shop that lists it today may sell through its box before a second shipment ever arrives.
Powstanie Cigars is co-founded by Gregg and Mike Szczepankiewicz, who split blending and business duties between them. SBC 26 draws on tobacco from five countries for one blend: Ecuadorian and Mexican wrapper leaf, a Brazilian binder, and filler from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. That's a wider sourcing footprint than most boutique releases carry, and it's the reason the brand frames SBC 26 as Gregg Szczepankiewicz's personal project rather than a routine seasonal release.
This is not a mainline reorder cigar. A capped, single-blend run like this one behaves differently from a cigar a shop restocks every season. Once a retailer's box sells, Powstanie has not confirmed a restock for that store, since the entire 10,000-cigar run is the only supply the SBC 26 blend will ever have. A listing that shows stock today is worth acting on rather than bookmarking for later. Nothing in the announcement points to a second shipment landing anywhere once the first allocation clears.
The Barber-Pole Wrapper Powstanie Chose
A barber-pole wrapper is not the same as a single-leaf wrapper dyed or blended for color. Two full wrapper leaves, spiraled together around the same cigar, alternate in visible stripes down the length of the stick. The cigar wrappers guide breaks down how different wrapper types shape flavor. The short version for SBC 26: pairing Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed with Mexican San Andrés puts a sweeter, grassier leaf directly against a darker, earthier one on the same cigar. Instead of one dominant wrapper flavor, the smoke can pull character from both leaves as it burns.
The filler adds a second layer to that construction. Ligero leaf grows at the top of the tobacco plant, where it gets the most direct sun. It typically carries the most strength, and the slowest burn, of any primer position on the stalk. Pairing the aged 2021-crop Pueblo Nuevo ligero with younger Condega and Estelí leaf is a common way boutique blenders build strength into a filler without losing the complexity a single heavy leaf would flatten out.
What the Brazilian Binder Adds
Most premium cigars use a Nicaraguan, Ecuadorian, or Connecticut binder leaf. Mata Fina, grown in Brazil's Bahia region, is a less common choice, and it changes how the whole blend behaves rather than just how the cigar looks.
A binder leaf's main job is holding the filler bundle together and controlling how the cigar burns, not adding much flavor on its own. Mata Fina is known among blenders for a naturally oily leaf structure that helps a cigar hold a straight burn line, plus a mild, faintly sweet undertone that seasons the blend without fighting the wrapper for attention. Pairing it with an assertive barber-pole wrapper and an aged ligero-heavy filler is a specific choice: it lets both of those bolder components lead the flavor while the binder handles construction and burn quality in the background.
That combination, a quiet binder doing structural work under two more assertive components, is typical of how boutique blenders build a cigar meant to showcase its wrapper. SBC 26 leans on Mata Fina for exactly that reason.
Where to Buy
Search for Powstanie SBC 26 at Famous Smoke Shop. We earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. At 10,000 cigars total, SBC 26 is likely to move through its authorized retailers quickly, so a listing showing up today does not guarantee stock next week. The best boutique cigars guide covers other small-batch labels worth tracking down if this particular box sells out before you find it. Are cigars a good investment covers whether buying extra boxes of a capped release like this one to hold is worth it. Caldwell Cigar Co. shipped its own capped boutique release the same week. See the Eastern Standard Silk Road Lancero coverage for that one.
Log a box in the Humidor Tracker the day it arrives so you can note how the blend develops over the next few months of rest.
FAQ
What size is the Powstanie SBC 26?
5½ inches by a 46 ring gauge, a slim, shorter format closer to a corona than a robusto.
How much does Powstanie SBC 26 cost?
$18 per cigar, or $360 for a full 20-count box.
How many Powstanie SBC 26 cigars exist?
10,000 total. Powstanie capped the release at 500 boxes of 20 cigars each.
What wrapper does Powstanie SBC 26 use?
A barber-pole wrapper made of two leaves spiraled together: Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed and Mexican San Andrés.
Who blended the Powstanie SBC 26?
Powstanie co-founder Gregg Szczepankiewicz, described by the brand as a personal passion project within the Small Batch Collection series.
Where can I buy Powstanie SBC 26?
Boxes are already landing at Powstanie's authorized dealers nationwide. See the Where to Buy section above for a search link.
Is Powstanie SBC 26 a good first cigar for a beginner?
Probably not the one to start on. A barber-pole wrapper over an aged ligero filler is built for strength and complexity, not an easy introduction, and at $18 a stick it costs more than most starter cigars. New smokers are better served by the best cigars for beginners guide, which covers milder, cheaper options to learn on first.
Will Powstanie make more SBC 26 once this run sells out?
Nothing in the announcement suggests a second production run. The Small Batch Collection's entire structure is built around a capped release that does not return once its boxes are gone, matching how earlier SBC entries have shipped.
What does "ligero" mean in a cigar filler?
Ligero refers to leaves picked from the top three to four positions of the tobacco plant, where the most direct sunlight produces the thickest, oiliest leaves. Those leaves carry the most strength and, generally, the slowest burn of any primer position. That is why blenders reach for ligero when they want a filler with real body behind it.
Are barber-pole wrappers harder to keep burning evenly?
Often, yes. Two different wrapper leaves sit side by side instead of one continuous leaf, so each strip can burn at a slightly different rate. A relaxed draw and a few extra touch-ups with a lighter keep a barber-pole cigar burning evenly. Rushing the draw is more likely to let one stripe run ahead of the other than it would on a single-leaf wrapper.
What is Mata Fina tobacco?
A binder leaf grown in Brazil's Bahia region, known for a naturally oily structure that helps a cigar hold a straight, even burn. It carries a mild, faintly sweet undertone rather than a strong flavor of its own, which is why blenders reach for it under a bolder wrapper and filler instead of a more assertive binder leaf.
Where is Powstanie SBC 26 rolled?
At Fábrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A. in Nicaragua, the same factory that produces the rest of the Powstanie lineup.