Half Track Rolls into Hogshead

Previously I wrote about smoking the flavorful Surpassion King of Battle at Slow Burn. Last Friday evening, Surpassion Cigars debuted a limited-edition extension of the King of Battle line called Half Track. The new cigar is a 4 x 53 short robusto exclusive to Hogshead Cigar Lounge in Fredericksburg.

Asad and Manny from Surpassion were on hand at the release event at Hogshead to talk about their cigars and meet with customers.

Surpassion Cigars is a veteran-owned cigar company founded in 2024. Although the brand is relatively new, its founders bring years of experience in the cigar industry. Surpassion cigars are produced at Tabacalera La iSLA, a well-regarded boutique cigar factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

The Half Track uses the same American Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder, and blend of Dominican and American fillers as the King of Battle. The tobaccos have been aged for at least five years before being rolled. The cigars come packaged in a paper-wrapped bundle of ten and are available only at Hogshead.

I was interested to see how the shorter vitola would compare with the larger King of Battle.

The initial pepper kick from the Half Track seemed to hit a bit harder than it did with the original size. That difference was short-lived, though, as the flavors quickly settled into balance. The Half Track was remarkably similar to the King of Battle — a credit to the blenders for maintaining the character of the blend in a much smaller format.

Dark notes of espresso and cocoa, along with plenty of black pepper, delivered a full-bodied and flavorful smoke. The short cigar provided about 35 minutes of smoking time, making it a good choice when desiring the King of Battle profile without committing to a longer smoke.

After finishing the Half Track, I stayed at Hogshead to enjoy the conversation with the Surpassion guys and the other patrons. Eventually, I decided it was time for another cigar, but I wasn’t quite sure what to choose. I figured I'd save the rest of the bundle I purchased to enjoy later.

The Half Track/King of Battle blend is the most robust of Surpassion’s lineup, and I was hesitant about following it with something significantly milder. Manny recommended the Surpassion Valor. I had never smoked the Valor, so I decided to take his advice.

Valor was Surpassion’s first release. It features an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper, Mexican San Andrés binder, and Dominican, Nicaraguan, and American fillers. Surpassion describes it as a medium-plus-bodied cigar.

Valor delivered notes of cedar, dark-roasted coffee, and a hint of sweetness. The flavors stood on their own and, interestingly, weren’t muted by the rich smoke that came before it.

Later, Asad told me that Surpassion’s cigars are blended with the idea that they should complement one another. At least based on these two cigars, I found that to be true. The transition from the full-bodied Half Track to the medium-plus Valor worked surprisingly well.

I had a very enjoyable evening at Hogshead and the Surpassion Half Track release event. It was fun to talk with the people behind Surpassion, learn more about the cigars, and spend some time with the other patrons — talking about cigars, of course!

Cheers!