Knuckle Sandwich 56

Knuckle Sandwich Cigars

• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: San Lotano Factory
• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6
• Ring Gauge: 56
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $16 (Box of 10, $160)
• Release Date: Jan. 26, 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: 1,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (15,000 Total Cigars)
• Original Score: 91

Last year was the third year of the partnership between Guy Fieri and Espinosa Premium Cigars, but only the second year of this special release celebrating the celebrity chef’s birthday on Jan. 22. A spinoff from the Knuckle Sandwich line, the limited edition release adds Fieri’s current age to the end, in this case, 56 years old, to create the Knuckle Sandwich 56. The cigar was made at the San Lotano Factory, which we recently recognized in a tie for our Factory of the Year award.

All four of us had positive things to say about the profile of the Knuckle Sandwich 56, primarily that while bold and full of peppery notes, it wasn’t a singular-note pepper bomb. Complementary earthy and woody flavors mixed with other underlying notes such as popcorn, that both Brooks Whittington and Charlie Minato specifically noted. For Brooks and myself, the final third waned a bit from the enjoyable first two-thirds and a couple of minor construction issues certainly knocked the Knuckle Sandwich 56 down in the rankings. With less than a three-point difference in the first and 25th spots, small detractions like that matter, though none should be taken away from the fact this is one of the better cigars released in 2024.

It seems all four of us were caught off guard, in a good way, that there was much more to this cigar than just a pepper-forward—if you’ll pardon the pun—knuckle sandwich to the face. While Espinosa Premium Cigars have joined the Top 25 rankings in prior years, twice in 2016, this is the first Knuckle Sandwich cigar to make our list. Perhaps that trend will continue in 2025, Fieri’s birthday takes place a week after this list gets published, which means it’s time for Knuckle Sandwich 57. — Brian Burt.