I ventured to the south today....south of Dayton anyway.  Ended up an Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati and I was shocked at how many of the cigars in their humidor I had smoked already.  Until I saw the strange P logo of the Powstaine.  Well, I had to try one, right?   Of the five cigars I picked up down there (wearing my mask, of course) this one caught my eye the most.  Let's see how it is, shall we? 

A quick note - the name is Polish and is pronounced POS-TAWN-YEH.  In typical American fashion, I was butchering the word completely.  Who knew?

Construction: A super dark and oily broadleaf wrapper covers this little perfecto.  A few seams and veins are present - giving the Powstaine a very rustic look. I know you have seen me say that before but what does it mean?  Old.  Charming.  Vintage.  You know....rustic.

Pre-light Aroma and Draw: The aroma out of the cellophane is nice and richly sweet.  Notes of cocoa, earth, and some flourless chocolate cake come to mind.  A cold draw gives up some chocolate and heavy tobacco notes.

Light and Burn: No touch-ups needed.  No issues other than a softness halfway through.

Tasting: Starting off we get some coffee, earth, and a very nice woody bourbon note that shifts into cinnamon, nuts, and vanilla.  Wow.  I wasn't expecting that.  The core quickly takes on an earthiness with a nutty background note.  Simply delicious so far.  That vanilla flits around every now and then.  I get more notes of roasted nuts with a creamy texture.  Strength is full as can be but not in a painful way.

As the middle arrives the character gets more toasty like a wood fire without the firewood smoke.  It's hard to explain but it is more about the body of the cigar.  It feels heavy and dense.  The retrohale is vanilla and black coffee.  I notice the cigar gets a bit soft in this stage too.  Well constructed still, but I have to be careful not to squeeze too hard.

The final third kicks up the strength a bit more - if possible.  The flavors are dense and heavy like a three course meal.  I wish it hadn't gone soft on me.  This is a cigar that says outdoors to me - one I would gnaw on while fishing or around a camp fire.  The flavors are excellent and you can tell the tobacco is high quality.  It came from Skip Martin's RomaCraft factory so that makes sense.    Some of these flavors are obviously from the unusual combo of broadleaf and the Indonesian binder....A leaf that gives the red label Graycliff such and unusual and delicious set of flavors.

Value: I paid about $8 bucks for one of these and am perfectly content.   Easily worth the price.

Final Thoughts: I have seen several pics of folks puffing on these over the past couple of years.  I ran into them at Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati and will buy more when I am down that way next month.  Is the Powstaine worth your time?  Yes...easily.  A nice tasty and unusual broadleaf entry to add to your rotation.  Easily recommended.

Wrapper: Pennsylvania broadleaf
Binder: Indonesia
Filler: Nicaragua

Strength: Full

Size: 5x50

An absolutely gorgeous little perfecto.  I love the design of the band.

That logo says "the cigar formerly know as Powstaine" to me - which is pretty fun too!