Cigar Info
After having an amazing first year, Espinosa Premium Cigars continued to add to the Knuckle Sandwich line this year in the form of the Espinosa Knuckle Sandwich Connecticut. This joins the original two lines, Knuckle Sandwich Maduro and Knuckle Sandwich Habano released early last year. The Maduro version took our #1 cigar of the year for 2022. After seeing a soft launch at a few select retailers at the very beginning of the year, Knuckle Sandwich Connecticut saw a full launch at Total Product Expo (TPE23) in February 2023.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
The Knuckle Sandwich Connecticut is a regular production cigar and comes in three sizes: Robusto J (5 x 52) – $12.50 (Box of 20 cigars, $250), Short Churchill G (6½ x 48 Box Pressed) – $13.00 (Box of 20 cigars, $260), and Toro H (6 x 54 – $13.50 (Box of 20 cigars, $270). Like with the rest of the line, The Knuckle Sandwich Connecticut was blended by Espinosa Premium Cigars, and rolled at AJ Fernandez’s San Lotano Factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Factory: San Lotano AJ Fernandez
Blender: Erik Espinosa, Hector Alfonso Sr., & Guy Fieri
Number of reviewers: 4 – Chad M. (Chad Tchad) Kevin J. (maninblack77) Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi) Bill C.(Bill)
Price: $13.00
Age: 2 Months
Release Date: January 2023
Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 94
“Very smooth round cigar with minimal seams and veins noted. The color is a very light butterscotch color.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
Aroma: 89
“I feel like the shade of the wrapper is messing with my head. All I smell when I place the body of the cigar under my nose is fresh honey. Turning to the foot there is a combination of coriander and white pepper with some undertones of orange zest. The cold draw has notes of stone fruit. A very intriguing start for sure.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
First Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“The first few puffs, after lighting this cigar, have me wishing for a pistachio cannoli. The flavors are light and dance on the palate. Sadly at about the inch mark, the wrapper makes an audible popping sound. My worst fears are confirmed, the wrapper has spilt. Continuing on with this third, a slight cedar note is starting to build in the background. It is a nice balance to the decadent cannoli note. The retrohale has a fiery cinnamon note that lingers minutes after the smoke is gone. The smoke sits on the palate like a velvet cloud. The mouthfeel is light-medium while the finish is long.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“Used my soft flame so I didn’t scorch the foot. After lighting it, the first several puffs were a lot of white pepper and cashews. The white pepper flavor was dominant for a quarter inch or so. It died down and the buttery creaminess and cashews became the predominant flavors. Very mild in strength and body.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Second Third
Flavor: 88
Strength: Mild
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“To my absolute surprise, the cigar has been able to smoke through the wrapper splitting with minimal effort on the smoking experience. The flavor on the palate is still very decadent. The cedar seems to have been a passing note cause there is none found at the moment. The retrohale has a new element starting to emerge, fresh wildflowers in bloom. The smoke is so silky and soft, on the palate, and the finish is still very long with some nice cinnamon ticking the tip of my tongue.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“The cedar pushes ahead of the creaminess, but the flavor package remains unchanged. Smoking time on this is going to be long unless this change dramatically. No strength to note as of yet.” –Bill C. (Bill)
Final Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“Overall a pretty light smoke going into the last part with not much transition and slight boring smoke that is one-dimensional smoke. Mostly getting light creamy cedar notes. Every 6-7 puffs get an ever so light mocha flavor. Retrohale very light white pepper.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“The final third is the same as the second. Lots of butter and cashew notes with not much else to work with. Was hoping for an uptick in strength and flavors but it wasn’t meant to be.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 97
“An easy and smooth draw greeted me as soon as I cut the cap. It allowed for plenty of cool smoke to cover the entire palate.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
Burn: 93
“Zero touchups needed.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
Construction: 94
“This cigar was clearly well made and produced with care. Construction was as it should be throughout.” –Bill C. (Bill)
Overall Strength: Mild-Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
Experience Overall: 88
“Pretty one-dimensional smoke with super light flavors. Mostly just light creamy cedar flavors. Every so often a light mocha flavor would be picked up. Retrohale very light white pepper which was the best part of the smoking experience if you ask me.” –Chad M. (Chad Tchad)
“This wasn’t a bad cigar as far as mild Connecticut shade cigars go but it was pedestrian in my book. It didn’t offer anything different from other cigars with the same pedigree. Very mild and definitely a first thing in the morning kind of smoke even though I prefer something with a little more oomph to it.” –Kevin J. (maninblack77)
“First and foremost, I love to eliminate as many variables as possible when I do these reviews. Tonight is windier than normal. So with that being said I’m not sure what caused the wrapper to split. What I can say is this cigar recovered exceptionally. So while I took some points off for that in my review this cigar was stellar. The depth of flavors was incredible. Everything worked very well together. This could become a quintessential morning cigar as it paired beautifully with the Earl Grey tea I was drinking. If you are a fan a light to medium flavor profile this cigar is for you. Enjoy!” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“Flavors and construction were all good throughout. However, the format is on the larger size and the smoke time being as long as it was with a profile this linear has me a little bored by the end. This would be a great smoke with morning coffee, but I’d prefer it in a smaller size.” –Bill C. (Bill)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 70
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Chad M. | 88 | 88 | 85 | 88 | 85 | 85 | 90 | 88 | 85 |
| Kevin J. | 95 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 100 | 100 | 95 | 87 |
| Estevan Z. | 95 | 95 | 90 | 92 | 92 | 95 | 92 | 93 | 95 |
| Bill C. | 93 | 90 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 90 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.