2022 Top 25 Cigars of the Year 🏆

There was a lot of hype surrounding the Espinosa Knuckle Sandwich line in 2022. Part of it had to do with television personality Guy Fieri, who’s closely involved with the brand. One can’t mention one without the other. But if you forget about Fieri for a moment, what we have is a spectacular smoke from Erik Espinosa on its own. Knuckle Sandwich is made at A.J. Fernandez’s San Lotano factory in Nicaragua and big flavors seem to be the theme here. The Corona Gorda produces a dense, ample smoke full of pistachio, almond and orange peel notes. Spicy accents of red and black pepper—and a big snap of leather—lead to a smoked hickory finish.

It's hard to overestimate the importance of this cigar; not just for Espinosa, but for the entire industry. As mentioned previously, there have been plenty of high-caliber names attached to cigars, but never before pulled off to this degree (at least that I'm aware of). Sure, if I told some of my buddies that I was smoking a Mike Ditka cigar, they'd nod in approval. But this is Guy Freaking Fieri we're talking about—I could tell literally anyone from my grandma to my six-year-old that I was smoking a Guy Fieri cigar and they'd think it was cool (note: don't actually tell children that cigars exist; they'll spontaneously combust... or something). Guy releasing a cigar with Espinosa is the equivalent of Cigar Aficionado putting Arnold Schwarzenegger on the cover in 1996. The difference is that—apart from their disparate levels of fitness—Guy Fieri isn't here to pitch you unattainable dreams of yachts and stuffy soirées. He's a dude that you could see yourself barbecuing or watching the game with. And now he's embraced not just the boutique cigar crowd, but one of the most beloved brands on the scene: Espinosa. Yes, this is HUGE. Oh, and the cigar's really good too...

Celebrity cigars have often gotten a bad reputation, and generally for good reason: the flavor profiles can be uninspired and the post-launch enthusiasm can certainly be disappointing. While I can't speak to the latter in this case, the profile is certainly on par with cigars from Espinosa, which I think has developed a solid reputation when it comes to using habano tobacco in its blends. The profile of the Knuckle Sandwich Habano Corona Gorda R offers the signature flavors you'd expect from this blend, meaning a hearty amount of earth and pepper, a bit of wood and some occasional creaminess, and while not the most complex profile, it is quite enjoyable through the first two thirds. As noted above, the final third of each sample saw the profile get a bit rougher, but none reached the point where I would have put down the cigar abnormally early. Consider me impressed by the Knuckle Sandwich Habano and consider adding it to your cigar shopping list.