Surpassion Valor – Toro (6 x 50)
Surpassion Valor – Toro (6 x 50)
The Particulars
| wdt_created_by | cigarkey | brand | cigarname | vitola | strength | wrapper | binder | filler | infused | sweettip | origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mcclossm | Surpassion Valor - Toro (6 x 50) | Surpassion | Valor | Toro - 6.00" x 50 | Medium - Full | Ecuadorian Corojo, Natural (Aged 5-Yrs) | Mexico (San Andrés, Aged 5-Yrs) | Dominican Republic (Aged 5-Yrs) / Nicaragua (Aged 5-Yrs) / United States (Aged 5-Yrs) | No | No | Tabacalera La iSLA, Dominican Republic |
| COMPANY / BRAND: | Surpassion |
| CIGAR: | Valor |
| VITOLA: | Toro - 6.00" x 50 |
| STRENGTH: | Medium - Full |
| WRAPPER: | Ecuadorian Corojo, Natural (Aged 5-Yrs) |
| BINDER: | Mexico (San Andrés, Aged 5-Yrs) |
| FILLER: | Dominican Republic (Aged 5-Yrs) / Nicaragua (Aged 5-Yrs) / United States (Aged 5-Yrs) |
| INFUSED: | No |
| SWEET TIP: | No |
| ORIGIN: | Tabacalera La iSLA, Dominican Republic |
Prolegomenon and Other Random Thoughts
If you haven’t heard of Surpassion yet, don’t sweat it—they’re a relatively new brand that hit the scene in 2024, but you’re going to learn about them right now. The company was founded by Asad Imtiaz, a US Army veteran who took his 20-year obsession with cigars and turned it into a full-blown mission. His journey with the leaf actually started as a way to find a little bit of solace during a 2003 deployment to Iraq, which is a hell of a way to cut your teeth on premium tobacco.
After putting in the hours behind the counter as a retail tobacconist and spending two decades geeking out over global tobaccos, Asad hit that inevitable crossroads. You know the one—where you feel there’s something you can uniquely bring to the table, so you stop chasing new blends and start manufacturing your own. Channeling that military-grade discipline, he partnered with his Director of Sales, Manny Riaz, to build the company with one specific goal: to literally “surpass his passion” (hence the name). It’s all about delivering expertly crafted cigars, making zero compromises on quality, and building a community rooted in actual camaraderie.
I am always a sucker for a brand with a genuine, hardworking backstory instead of just corporate marketing fluff, so let’s see if the blends actually live up to the mission! In general, I’m a big fan of the blends that Hostos Fernández Quesada turns out of his factory, Tabacalera La iSLA. The biggest question when running through a new brand’s portfolio is: do I run through them based on their release date, or another way? This time I went light to strong, smoking the Queen, Valor, and then King over successive days.
As mentioned with Amad being a veteran, all of Surpassion’s cigars are designed to honor the US military. Starting with the Queen of Battle, it is designed to honor the US Army Infantry, the first branch of the Army. Valor is dedicated to all of America’s service members and the courage in giving everything to serve. And the King of Battle commemorates 250 Years of U.S. Army Artillery excellence.
| Journaling Date | Cigar | Appearance | Draw | Burn | Flavors | Overall Experience | Burnable? | Base Rating | Final Score | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-15 | Surpassion Valor - Toro (6 x 50) | Good | Good | Great | Great | Great | Most likely (good stick, but look for a deal) | 4.50 | 8.33 | |
| 2026-06-15 | Surpassion Valor - Toro (6 x 50) | Good | Good | Good | Great | Great | Most likely (good stick, but look for a deal) | 4.25 | 8.00 |
The Review
This review for the Surpassion Valor - Toro (6 x 50) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-06-15
Appearance & Construction (0-3): Good (3)
Much like the Queen of Battle, the Valor is another cigar with beautiful presentation. The well-aged Corojo-seed wrapper is a medium chocolate brown with a nice oily sheen, light mottling, and a light tooth. There are a number of thicker veins running through the cigar with visible edges, but the seams and the triple cap are clean and tight.
Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4): Good (3) / Great (4)
The draw is spot-on with an even, if somewhat soft, burn line upon light-up. The burn starts going a little sideways initially, following the wrapper seam, but it’s not out of sorts and remains well under control. The ash is a medium-to-dark gray speckled with oil crystals, and it’s honestly among some of the darkest I’ve seen thus far. Some folks will completely lose their shit seeing that, claiming it means the tobacco is poorly fertilized. No, no, no… Different tobacco simply burns different colors, and that color may just be a result of the specific type of minerals the tobacco was fed—not an indicator that it wasn’t fertilized and managed properly. So while the ash is dark and looks like it desperately wants to flake, the ash stack is holding like an absolute champ with a dead-nuts even burn line heading into the second third. It almost makes it all the way to the midpoint before I finally rolled it off for a quick relight.
Flavor Profile (0-5): Great (4)
Woody, very woody to start, featuring a bit more oak than cedar over a solid foundation of earth. I’m getting baking spice, cocoa, and a mild sweetness I haven’t quite put my finger on yet. Things are starting off mild and definitely leaning toward the darker, more savory side of the spectrum. Coffee comes in at the end of the first third as the intensity starts to steadily build. But overall, the first third sits firmly on the mild and dark side.
By the second third, the flavor really starts to pick up. Coffee becomes more dominant alongside dark chocolate, natural bitter notes, and a slight hint of anise. Baking spice, earth, and oak define a strong base. There’s a mild black pepper in there, but the spice mix is mostly cinnamon and nutmeg, joined by a light raisin sweetness that gets a bit citrusy on the finish. If you like dark, earthy profiles with a mild kick, you’re going to be rolling at this point. But for me, while I’m liking it, I’m not loving it. I’m missing some of the meatier, savory, or BBQ notes since this profile leans more dry and dark, but it is still quite enjoyable.
With the final third, there are no major transitions or new notes. The profile from the second third is just carrying on strong. This is striking me as much closer to medium than full on both the strength and intensity scales. If anything, it’s mellowing out a hair, but it’s making for a very relaxing and chill smoke.
Overall Experience (0-5): Great (4)
A little more flavor intensity would’ve made this an epic smoke. But don’t get me wrong, it’s nuanced, beautifully balanced, and quite delightful… just not fucking delightful, which we all know is my absolute highest praise. Still, this one is well worth checking out. A really nice cigar acting as the debut blend for Surpassion.
Base Rating (0-5)
|
Final Score (0-10)8.33 |
Is it Burnable?
|
Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries
While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example! This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo. Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!
| Times Journaled | Base Rating | Burnable? | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4.38 | Most likely (good stick, but look for a deal) | 8.17 |
| Journaling Date | Cigar | Appearance | Draw | Burn | Flavors | Overall Experience | Burnable? | Base Rating | Final Score | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-15 | Surpassion Valor - Toro (6 x 50) | Good | Good | Great | Great | Great | Most likely (good stick, but look for a deal) | 4.50 | 8.33 | |
| 2026-06-15 | Surpassion Valor - Toro (6 x 50) | Good | Good | Good | Great | Great | Most likely (good stick, but look for a deal) | 4.25 | 8.00 |
Journaling Photos
The Flavor Wheel
| Category | Strength |
|---|---|
| Baking Spice | 2.00 |
| Pepper | 1.00 |
| Coffee / Espresso | 2.00 |
| Anise / Licorice | 0.50 |
| Sweet | 2.00 |
| Chocolate | 2.00 |
| Bready / Toasty | 1.00 |
| Woody / Charred | 3.00 |
| Grass / Hay | 0.50 |
| Earth | 2.50 |
| Leather | 1.00 |
| Floral / Aromatic | 0.00 |
| Fruity | 1.50 |
| Nutty | 0.00 |
| Salty / Mineral | 0.00 |
| Creamy | 1.50 |
| Musty / Barnyard | 1.00 |
| Bitter | 1.00 |
| Smooth | 3.00 |
| Harsh | 0.00 |
With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience. These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out. When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.
The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.
- 0: No flavor detected
- 1: Mild flavor
- 2: Medium flavor
- 3: Strong flavor
Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.
With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience. These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out. When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.
The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.
- 0: No flavor detected
- 1: Mild flavor
- 2: Medium flavor
- 3: Strong flavor
Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.
| Category | Strength |
|---|---|
| Baking Spice | 2.00 |
| Pepper | 1.00 |
| Coffee / Espresso | 2.00 |
| Anise / Licorice | 0.50 |
| Sweet | 2.00 |
| Chocolate | 2.00 |
| Bready / Toasty | 1.00 |
| Woody / Charred | 3.00 |
| Grass / Hay | 0.50 |
| Earth | 2.50 |
| Leather | 1.00 |
| Floral / Aromatic | 0.00 |
| Fruity | 1.50 |
| Nutty | 0.00 |
| Salty / Mineral | 0.00 |
| Creamy | 1.50 |
| Musty / Barnyard | 1.00 |
| Bitter | 1.00 |
| Smooth | 3.00 |
| Harsh | 0.00 |
Questions on how the ratings work?
Check out the detailed explanation here.
Want to Comment?
Leave a comment on our Facebook page.
