Wrapper: Broadleaf ~ Aged 5 years
Binder: Mexican San Andrés ~ Aged 5 years
Filler: Dominican, U.S. ~ Aged 5 years
Size: 6 x 50 Toro
Strength: Full
Price: $13.50
Date Released: January 2026
Quantity Released: Regular Production
Factory: Tabacalera La Isla, Dominican Republic

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
The company is new. Founded in 2024. It is vet owned. And I found not a single written review of their 3 blends on the market. I did find a 90 second video review but I wouldn’t call it comprehensive or did it contain useless appendages about rock n roll. That’s my job.

Since all the tobacco in this cigar is aged 5 years, I have allowed only a month of humidor time for the cigar to settle.

My first question is where did the Broadleaf originate? There is no mention of its country on their website. The only thing I dislike more about scant leaf stats is when all three say undisclosed. That rankles my tulips.

Following the pleonasm of ‘scant’ are aromas from the wrapper that seem minimalistic at best. I can pick up some earthiness, dark chocolate (that borders on fudge brownies), walnuts (because I’m hungry), and sharp baking spices.

I pierce the toast with my PerfecPunch and the tubular cylinder now looks like a 105 howitzer.

The cold draw falls in line with the aromata. First flavor is fudge brownie and nuts. Followed by a sweet earthiness, black pepper, cinnamon, and clove…with just a hint of mint.

As this is a full-strength cigar, I chose to review it after a light lunch of matzoh meal breaded fried perch, potatoes au kreplach, and brussel sprouts smothered in gefilte fish.

It is now a trifecta as first puffs are fudge brownie. The earthy dam backs up the sweetness and then transverses into a nice cinnamon. Sometimes I spell cinnamon exactly as I pronounce it: cinnamum. I don’t stand a chance with aluminumooum.

Aging doesn’t always work. Ask anyone on social media. As a new member of a couple FB cigar groups, everyone has an opinion. And they are pilloried for having one as the following comment clucks their tongue and says they’re wrong.

Construction is solid with a nice plumpness and sharp char line. I have an amusing plumpness but since I’m taking Wegovy 85mg self-injections every two hours, I am losing 3lbs twice per day. I’d like to get down to my high school fighting weight of 110lbs.

The strength begins at medium/full. My narglies tighten. I’m getting both black pepper (back of throat) and red pepper (tip of tongue).

I like how smooth this blend becomes in its early stages. As this cigar is regular production, I wonder how difficult it will be to continue to use tobacco that is aged for 5 years. Did they uncover a stockpile forgotten to time…and if so, how will it be able to sustain the company’s needs if their blend becomes popular. I should check social media.

Speaking of speech impediments…one of the lasting impressions of my time on the British Aisle, half a century ago, was how the natives made fun of the way I spoke American. It was impossible not to have someone stop me mid-sentence, and mimic the way I said things. It was a very successful method to shut me up.

With the first inch in the can, I can say that it was enjoyable with a charming flavor profile accented by the smoothness of the aged tobacco. I’m doing a one-off because I received the cigar as part of my Luxury Cigar Club monthly subscription. Normally, I don’t like to gamble like this with a 50/50 chance of being disappointed. I prefer not to write negative reviews. But sometimes you feel like a nut.

The profile is minimal. I don’t get a sense that a flavor bomb is impending. But the perfect balance sells the cigar. 5” to go. Something I’ve never said to a woman.

There’s a good chance most of you have never heard of comic Bob Hope. But that won’t stop me. My dad lived in Palm Springs and loved golf. On one visit, we went to the range to shoot a bucket or two. It was empty. Until Bob Hope showed up with his assistant. Hope picked the spot directly next to my father and started cracking jokes before, during, and after each of my father’s swings. My dad started to laugh and couldn’t concentrate. Hope had his assistant put the balls down on the mat in front of Bob because Bob was too old to bend. Soon, an audience began showing up and applause ensued. Everyone assumed my dad was a friend of Hope’s. Pop was a very confident man but this whole thing unnerved him, and he gave up and left. I got to shake Hope’s hand and thanked him for the show and humiliating my father.

The strength is a little unnerving as well because it’s subtle and not driven by nicotine. Clearly, there is some ligero in the filler. The smoothness of transitions fools the senses. I only have two senses left: begging and whining. Works at my age.

As inch number two is in full force, the blend settles down and extrudes complex notations of the modest list of flavors. It remains a fudge brownie but now it is smothered in caramel ice cream. And essence of coffee beans enters. The early profile had edges but now there is depth that widens the contour of the blend.

In the early 80’s, I took a date to see a Bob Hope show that was situated at Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose in Long Beach. The stage was the giant wing. I had front row center tickets. I remember being shocked at how old Bob Hope was as he walked down the wing to the spot in front of me. He was around 80 but he had so much makeup on that it looked unnatural and a little frightening. But the man had energy. His wife, Dolores, came out and did some song and dance with Hope. Honestly, I kept expecting Bob and his wife to lose their balance and tumble from the giant airplane. There was a meet and greet after the show, so I naturally tried to impress Bob with my rock n roll background. He had no idea who I was talking about and my date pretended not to know me.

The first half has me thinking I like this cigar. It’s not expensive. It has character. But can it keep its erection down to the nub? Something women often said to me.

The full strength is here. I feel a swoon coming on. Something akin to coming on to acid. It feels good but fear lingers in the air.

Old guys don’t smoke full tilt cigars. Our capacity for staying lucid and upright diminishes as we edge towards 80, or death; whichever comes first. It’s a number I’m afraid of as it becomes a possibility. Will I be a drooler who depends on Depends…or be as cool as Robert DeNiro ranting incoherently about Trump.

The cigar is a chocolate candy bar. One that attaches your gonads to a car battery and yells, “Fore!”. The power sneaks up on you. It’s a good thing I’m sitting. The walk off might occur earlier than the end of the cigar. But then it makes it a good evening smoke as you can set it down, circle the toilet, take more puffs, pull a David Carradine, a few more puffs if you survive, etc. I don’t drink but I imagine if you pair the cigar with booze, it will sit you so hard on the floor, that it will leave a dent.

This cigar reminds me of the YouTube show “Hot Ones.” It’s all fun and games at the start but as the end is on the horizon, you’re barely hanging on.

The blend isn’t about definitive transitions. It’s a very smooth cigar that has gravity and a license to kill.

I have one third to go and I’m not sure I’m going to finish it. It is kicking my old wrinkled ass. Wow.

Walk off.

40 minutes later…I’m back. My vision has returned and my joints are supple. I did 10 pushups and 3 situps.

The cigar picks up where it left off. It’s a Kahuna burger on steroids.

Clearly, you cannot huff and puff the King of Battle. It’s not so deadly with a break I used to tidy the cave and put my favorite bobbleheads of cigar industry icons in alphabetical order.

Balance leans at 60% sweet. The savory portion is the perfect accent. And then it hits me. The blend reminds me of the Dunbarton Barba Amarilla, but $6 cheaper. There’s that dark oily flavor of a Mars bar, the creaminess of a Three Musketeers, the crispness of a Twix, the syrupy quality of an espresso, with an aroma of your favorite slow cooked chili quietly blending. The last part seems far-fetched. I gotta eat something.

You might not need to take a break 4” into the cigar like I did. My only excuse is that old men are pussies. But allowing it to sit for a bit will give you time to regroup. The cigar finishes beautifully.

The Surpassion Cigars website has links to the retailers with their cigars. Plus, my old friend, Ben Rotem of Luxury Cigar Club, sells Surpassion cigars. With him, you get 15% off with promo code KATMAN15.

RATING: 95

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, katman, phil kohn, Surpassion Cigars King of Battle | Cigar Reviews by the Katman