Cigar Info
Knuckle Sandwich is a brand that debuted in 2022 as a project between Guy Fieri and Espinosa Cigars. Guy Fieri is internationally known as a chef and television celebrity, and Erik Espinosa is well known within the cigar community, making this a perfect pairing of palates and professionals! Knuckle Sandwich has reviewed famously well on Blind Man’s Puff in our blind reviews, and is well represented in lounge humidors nation wide.
Beginning in 2023, with the ’56’, this line came into creation to commemorate Guy Fieri‘s birthday and has been a continuing project since with the number changing to reflect his age…Earlier this year the ’58’ shipped to retailers and luckily for me, my local lounge procured a box.
Vital Stats
Vitola: Toro (oval)
Length: 6.25″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Mexico (San Andres)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: San Lotano, Nicaragua
Blender: A.J. Fernandez, Erik Espinosa, and Guy Fieri
Price: $18
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: Feberuary 2026
Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff
Pre-Light
This cigar is presented with a dark chocolate brown wrapper leaf and is oval in shape. The cigar has two ornate bands, one is the Knuckle Sandwich band we all know and love. The secondary band is sporting a “58” in bold, gold numbers on a black background. At the foot there is a gold satin ribbon. Overall, this is a very impressive presentation.
The aroma at the wrapper is subtle spice and a hint of cedar. At the foot the aroma is deeper and has notes of rich compost.
First Third
The pre-light draw gave me a bit of a tongue tingle with hints of pepper and plenty of spice. After lighting, my first puffs were full of sharply spicy black pepper that made my sinus sting and my eyes water on the retrohale…After the first five or six puffs the profile settled a bit and brought deeply dark earth into the mix. Pleasantly, I have noted the spice has significantly mellowed through my nose…I’ve either become accustomed to it, or it has mellowed just enough to slide right into my retrohale wheelhouse.
As a side note, I chose to use a V-cut for this sample and the draw is literally perfect, gibing me clouds of rich smoke. Such a good start!
Second Third
The middle portion of this Knuckle Sandwich 58 has settled nicely into a medium full strength cigar with hints of the black pepper returning from the opening puffs. Additionally, I’m getting rich earth and the introduction of leather into the profile. Through the nose the smoke continues to enhance the flavors and it has settled firmly into my wheelhouse.
Final Third
The final portion of my Knuckle Sandwich 58 has settled even more and now is firmly in the medium strength category, which is just fine by me since there is so much flavor to go along with the absolute clouds of smoke I’m getting. Very little black pepper remains, but the earth and leather are shining through and I’m really enjoying it. A wonderful finish to a beautiful cigar!
Overall Impressions
In closing I have a lot to say about this cigar. I don’t say this often but I would classify the draw on this sample as perfect. Just the right airflow to give me clouds of smoke with no effort. Also, because of the effortless draw, the smoke is staying cool all the way through to the nub. Just perfect.
The burn was nearly perfect as well on this sample. There was one slight waver that self-corrected, and I never touched the lighter after the initial light up.
In regard to construction, this was a beautiful cigar. From the artwork on the bands, to the wrapper on the cigar, everything was just about perfect and really stood out in my lounges humidor. Additionally, I love the oval shape as it feels comfortable in the hand, and keeps my cigar from rolling when allowed to rest on a flat surface. The ash on this sample held in firm 1.5″ chunks and held until tapped from light up to final ash out. Just stellar construction on all points.
As an overall experience, my expectations were high based upon the initial inspection. Fortunately, all aspects of the cigar lived up to the hype and gave me a highly pleasurable 70 minutes of smoking time. Excellent flavors, coupled with superior performance, lead to a cigar that I highly recommend for everyone to try. Personally, I feel it is box worthy…
Final Score: 95