PCA 2023: Espinosa Premium Cigars

I’ve covered the Espinosa Premium Cigars booth for several years in a row now, and it’s on my short list of the ones I look forward to revisiting each year at the trade show. In particular, because ever since the company used a booth made from cardboard at the 2019 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, I’m intrigued to see just what the Espinosa crew has up their sleeves for the booth itself.

The cardboard booth hasn’t been back, and since the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 trade show, the company’s presence on the show floor has continued to evolve. Like many companies, 2021 was a fairly small booth, PCA 2022 saw the booth get a bit bigger, and 2023 saw it seemingly grow even more, with a long, branded wall framing the back of the 50-foot-long booth.

Much of the space was dedicated to seating areas, with the new products largely in the front of the booth while a display cabinet in the far corner was dedicated to the Knuckle Sandwich line, the cigars created with celebrity chef and restaurateur Guy Fieri, who made an appearance during the early days of the show but who wasn’t on hand when I stopped by.

(Not pictured)

601 Blue Label Maduro 6 x 60

Espinosa is adding a 6 x 60 to four lines it produces, though none of them were on display in the booth, as apparently the one box of each that were brought to Las Vegas were all smoked during an event with Fieri.

• Wrapper: U.S.A (Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua

• 601 Blue Label Maduro 6 x 60 (6 x 60) — $11.95 (Box of 20, $239)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2023

601 La Bomba Warhead IX

The Warhead has been a steady release for Espinosa Premium Cigars over the past decade, but the company is rolling out this newest installment in a perfecto vitola, a relative rarity for the line, which has generally featured parejo vitolas.

• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Broadleaf)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua

• 601 La Bomba Warhead IX (6 x 56) — $13 (Box of 10, $130)

Production: 5,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (50,000 Total Cigars)

Release Date: June 2023

Espinosa Las 6 Provincias ZDT

The fifth installment in the Las 6 Provincias line, ZDT, honors the province of Pinar del Río on the western end of the island. The acronym stands for Zona de Tabaco, which is a reference to Pinar de Río being the province where premium cigar tobacco is grown in Cuba. Cuban-born artist Eden Gutierrez, returns with another creation featuring artistic renderings of the cigar-making process on the jar, showing steps along the cigar-making process, from tobacco growing in the field to being harvested, processed, and eventually rolled into a cigar.

• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Corojo)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Espinosa Las 6 Provincias  ZDT (6 1/2 x 48) — $18 (Jar of 20, $360)

Production: Undisclosed

Release Date: October 2023

(Not pictured)

Espinosa Laranja Reserva Escuro 6 x 60

The fourth of the 6 x 60s, it gets a box-press just like the 601 Blue Label Maduro and Knuckle Sandwich Habano. Unlike the other 6 x 60s, however, this comes in boxes of 10 cigars, while the others come in boxes of 20.

• Wrapper: Brazil (Mata Fina)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Espinosa Laranja Reserva Escuro 6 x 60 (6 x 60) — $13.35 (Box of 10, $133.50)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2023

Knuckle Sandwich Chef Special

This limited edition is back for a second installment, returning in the same box-press figurado as the debut release but with a new blend, notably an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper as opposed to the Ecuadorian habano of the original. There are also fewer cigars being made, just 15,000 versus 25,000 from 2022, with production handled by the San Lotano Factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua. And if you’re curious, the name has slightly changed, while the debut was called Chef’s Special, this is Chef Special.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Knuckle Sandwich Chef Special (6 1/2 x 52) — $15 (Box of 10, $150)

Production: 1,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (15,000 Total Cigars)

Release Date: Late July 2023

(Not pictured)

Knuckle Sandwich Habano 6 x 60

Like the rest of the sizes in this line, the Knuckle Sandwich Habano’s 6 x 60 is a round vitola, and it’s the only round one of the four new gordos the company is adding.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Knuckle Sandwich Habano 6 x 60 (6 x 60) — $14 (Box of 20, $280)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2023

(Not pictured)

Knuckle Sandwich Maduro 6 x 60

While the Knuckle Sandwich Habano is round, the Madudo version is box-pressed, which matches up with the rest of the sizes in the line.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra Maduro)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Knuckle Sandwich Maduro 6 x 60 (6 x 60) — $14 (Box of 20, $280)

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2023

Knuckle Sandwich Prix Fixe Sampler

It’s no surprise that Guy Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich line would use terms from the restaurant industry, as this new sampler does. Called Prix Fixe, it features nine cigars—three each from the Habano, Maduro and Connecticut blends of the Knuckle Sandwich line—in a 5 x 58 figurado vitola, a new size for the Knuckle Sandwich portfolio.

• Wrapper: Varies
• Binder: Varies
• Filler: Varies

• Knuckle Sandwich Prix Fixe Sampler (5 x 58) — $162

Production: 1,500 Boxes of 9 Cigars (13,500 Total Cigars)

Release Date: July 2023

Knuckle Sandwich Robusto 3-Pack Sampler

It’s exactly what it sounds like, a three-pack sampler that contains a 5 x 52 robusto from the brand’s three core lines, the Knuckle Sandwich Habano, the Knuckle Sandwich Maduro, and the Knuckle Sandwich Connecticut, making it an easy, grab-and-go option for cigar smokers to get familiar with the brand.

• Wrapper: Varies
• Binder: Varies
• Filler: Varies

• Knuckle Sandwich Robusto 3-Pack Sampler — $29.95

Production: Regular Production

Release Date: August 2023