Tag Archives: Knuckle Sandwich

June 28, 2026 · 10:34 am

Knuckle Sandwich Avant Garde, ATL La Carousel and Carrillo Ascend Cigars

After a stretch of really having to hunt down new cigars to try, I find myself with a nice variety to choose from. I can tell you that next week’s post will likely have a theme, and it will be consistent with the holiday! I also have a giveaway coming up, so that’s something to look forward to. I have a problem with ending sentences with a preposition, it’s a lifelong struggle. It just seems awkward to say “something which to look forward”, it’s not the way I talk. I hope you can forgive me. Anyway, on with the show. I started off with an Espinosa Knuckle Sandwich Avant Garde, generously gifted to me by Dan of Wooden Indian fame. These are $18, which is over my personal threshold. This is a 6″ x 54 toro, with an Ecuadorian Habano oscuro wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. Oscuro is an odd descriptor, as it has a lighter wrapper. I was told that this cigar sneaks up on you, which runs a bit contrary to the press on it, which says it’s supposed to be more approachable. I found that it started bready and went from a saccharine to a cane sugar sweetness. The second half didn’t ramp up the way I was led to expect, I’d say that, yes, this is a very approachable cigar, and delicious. I really liked it and it’s a cigar that I may pry my wallet open to buy if I’m feeling reckless. Of course, the Knuckle Sandwich line is made by Espinosa for Guy Fieri, who’s fairly well known, and recently partnered with Espinosa to build a factory in the DR. Thank you Dan for allowing my to try this cigar!

I received a couple cigar from the folks at ATL Cigar Co. this week, their latest offering, the La Carousel-1960. You may remember that I talked to them at the TPE show a few years back, for your convenience, here’s a link. Unlike Espinosa, ATL has this cigar listed on their website! I guess it’s a long standing peeve of mine that companies can’t keep their sites up to date! Anyway, the La Carousel was a 6½” x 56 toro, and is also available in a robusto. Of course, I prefer the toro (extra), and I’m glad they sent me that size. Whe cigar is wrapped in dark Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro, with a Jalapa Valley binder and fillers from Jalapa and Estelí, and is named not for a children’s ride, but a jazz club that was known as Atlanta’s jazz Mecca, as well as an early non-segregated nightclub. It opened in 1960. Even though this cigar has a similar wrapper to the Knuckle Sandwich, it tastes nothing like it. OK, some sweetness comes in toward the end, but it starts out leathery with some spice. The burn and draw were perfect. I was not disappointed.

My final cigar for this instalment was given to me by Salim Hanono, the COO of Casa Carrillo, at the Smoke-onos. It’s the latest offering in the Perez-Carrillo line, the Ascend. I smoked the 5″ x 50 Saddle, with the other sizes available being the 6″x52 Ridge and the 6¼” x 58 Peak. These names represent the stages of a climb, mountain, I assume. I didn’t think I was smoking with the theme this week, but apparently I did. The Ascend has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, binder form Esteli and Nicaraguan fillers, all made in the Carrillo factory in the DR. It’s funny how when I think of Dominican cigars, EPC doesn’t really come to mind, although I know Ernesto has been making cigars there since the mid-90s. I honestly don’t care where a cigar is made as long as it works right and tastes good, which this cigar did. It started with some sweet woodiness, and developed some spice. All three of these cigars with Ecuador Habano wrappers had a distinctly different taste. Those people who say that 80% of a cigars flavor comes from the wrapper are full of shit, or my palate sucks.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

😃+

Another Knuckle Sandwich, La Aroma de Cuba and Diesel Cigars

It’s snowing here, I think I’ll be doing some shovelling later, followed by cigars on the porch. I’m pretty sure I have enough propane to keep my heather going for a few days! It would have been smart to get a back up tank filled yesterday. I think we’ve had more snow this winter than in the past 4 winters combined. Like I always say, I need to get the driveway cleared so the ambulance can get in to get me when I hurt myself shovelling. Enough of my snow whining, on to some cigars. In one recent visit to a local shop, I picked up a Knuckle Sandwich Puro Nicaragua Toro. This is made by Espinosa at the San Lotano factory, with a Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It’s a nice box press and a pretty good looking cigar. This example had a loose draw, which I had to manage carefully. It has a lot of sharp pepper, and I know it’s going to go bad really fast if I over do it. I think it’s a strong cigar, not as strong as last week’s TAA cigar, but still formidable. I think I like the plain old Knuckle Sandwich Maduro best out of the line, but I’ll certainly try any Knuckle Sandwich (or Espinosa for that matter) that comes along.

In another local shop I grabbed a La Aroma de Cuba El Jefe in the 7″ x 58 vitola. I don’t see this on the La Aroma de Cuba website. This is a “value” priced cigar, it was under $10, and it’s made at the My Father factory. It seems like this is the only vitola this comes in. It has a rather ugly Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I bought two of these, from different retailers because the first one that I bought didn’t work right. Let me tell you, when you have a 7″ cigar that isn’t producing smoke, even though the draw seems open, it’s frustrating. I spent an hour and a half waiting for something to happen. That prompted me to stop at a completely different shop and get another one, which smoked perfectly. OK, there was a little burn meandering, but it was within tolerance. It was an OK cigar, some dry cocoa, but hardly worth giving it a second chance. If a cigar doesn’t work right, but I feel like it should taste good, I like to give second chances.

Last night I smoked a Diesel Worthy Fool that I had picked up earlier in the day. This is one I hadn’t seen before. This is the third in the Fools Errand line, it’s a limited edition. It’s a neat little perfecto. It has an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and Nicaraguan habano tobaccos for both the binder and filler. It’s made by Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. I got a late start, and while 5″ x 58 isn’t really a small cigar, it worked for the time I had. It was spicy, no surprise there, and it had a nice meatiness. Like most Diesel cigars, I liked this one. I think this has been around for a year and a half or so, not sure why I missed it.

Stay safe if you are having bad weather this week. I know this was a major storm. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as diesel, El Jefe, Espinosa, Fool's Errand, Guy Fieri, Knuckle Sandwich, La Aroma de Cuba, Worthy Fool

January 18, 2026 · 9:59 am

Romeo y Julieta, Knuckle Sandwich and The Lost Angel Cigars

I see myself diving into some, perhaps, older cigars that I haven’t posted on here over the coming weeks. It’s a slow time of the year, so I’m picking up stuff I’ve overlooked in the past here and there. I’ve also found myself smoking a lot of the Bariay 1492 Red and Black recently, which has moved other stuff to the back of the queue. I may just smoke cigars that are called Red and Black this week, that leaves me with a few options. Anyway, I’ve had this Romeo y Julieta 1875 Connecticut Nicaragua Toro in the humidor for a long time and I realized I hadn’t had one yet. This cigar is made in Nicaragua, with a Nicaraguan shade grown Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers. The tobaccos are grown by the Plasencias, one would assume it’s rolled in their factory also. This wasn’t a mild shade cigar. It started with an odd combination of cream and spice, which eventually turned into a bright citrus. I regret passing this over for who knows how long it was in the humidor. It came out in 2018. It was a good smoke, I enjoyed it.

I stopped in one of the local CigarCigars shops on the way home one day and picked up a few of the TAA releases that I hadn’t seen there before. Since the ownership of the chain changed last year, I’m not sure how the TA membership works, so I’m just going to keep picking them up there when I see them. I know some people who write about cigars ignore the TAA releases, but I do what I do, it’s new to me I’m going to write about it! as the kids said 20 years ago, whatev. One of the ones I grabbed was the Knuckle Sandwich Off Menu, the 2025 offering. This is made by Espinosa in AJ Fernandez’ San Lotano factory, part of Guy Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich cigar line. It’s a butt kicker. It has a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers, and is a 6″ x 54 toro. $16 is at the high end of my range, but it looked good and I wanted to smoke it. This has a spicy, dark coffee and cocoa flavor profile, and it was powerful. It was exhausting to smoke, but quite satisfying! Definitely have a meal before smoking this one. Recommended.

Another TAA cigar I grabbed was the 2023 from The Crowned Heads. Obviously I have overlooked this cigar since it came out in 2023, but there are a lot of Crowned Heads cigars I’ve overlooked so that’s not really unusual I guess. This cigar is made by Ernesto Carrillo in the DR. It has a Ecuador Sumatra hybrid wrapper, Ecuador Sumatra binder and fillers from the DR, Mexico and Nicaragua. It’s 6″ x 54, which seems to be the size I smoked most often, doesn’t it? I wish there were more Churchills out there. Anyway, this is a dark, oily wrapper, which started with some bitter cocoa and sourness, which wasn’t off putting and smoothed out over time. There are probably other Crowned Heads Cigars I like better, and there are probably other TAA cigars I like better, but this was was an interesting cigar. If you like them and can’t find them, I know a place.

That’s all for today. It’s snowing here, so I’ll probably shovel some, and have a cigar with a movie this afternoon. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as aj fernandez, cigar, cigars, Crowned Heads, Espinosa, Guy Fieri, Knuckle Sandwich, Off Menu, romeo y julieta, Romeo y Julieta 1875 Nicaragua Connecticut, san lotano, TAA, The Crowned Heads, The Lost Angel, Tobacconists Association of America

December 21, 2025 · 9:43 am

Tatuaje, Knuckle Sandwich and a Don Emmanuel Cigar

Happy Winter Solstice! While I generally don’t like that today is the shortest day of the year, it gives me hope that for the foreseeable future the days will be getting longer! I prefer sunlight to darkness. Anyway, its uphill from here! Perhaps I have seasonal defective disorder or something. Anyway, I still smoke cigars, thank goodness for electricity! This week some of my “new to me” cigars aren’t really new, but this time of year one can’t be picky. I’ll start with the Tatuaje Avion 12, the smallest size in the Avion line, 5 5/8″ x 52, a cute little perfecto by today’s standards! I know I’ve smoked the Avion 13, which has a broadleaf wrapper instead of the Ecuador Habano that this and it’s larger sibling, the 11 has. The Habano surrounds Nicaraguan binder and filler. Something makes me think the Avion is an offshoot of the Fausto line, but in perfecto shapes. I like the shape, and I believe these are reasonably priced. That this cigar has been on the market for 13 years and this is my first go around with it is a failing on my part. There’s a sweet, dark fruit flavor I get, and it’s a fairly loose draw so I take care not to oversmoke it. I think it’s a really good $9 cigar.

Another cigar I smoked this week is a Knuckle Sandwich Maduro Robusto. This is a cigar that Espinosa Cigars makes for Guy Fieri, the TV cook dude. This is the most successful celebrity cigar todate, with Guy actually doing events to support it. This guy (can you call guys named Guy guy?), is a super busy guy, who recently injured himself requiring surgery, and still makes it to events. It’s good for cigars to have a celebrity, who nearly everyone with a TV knows, show cigars in a positive light. OK, the core line Knuckle Sandwich Maduro uses a Sumatra wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. While it’s different from the Red Meat Lovers cigars, it’s definitely in the top two of culinary themed cigars. There’s rich cocoa and nutty flavors and I like it a lot. I can’t remember where I got this, it might have been in one of those Smoke Inn samplers I keep buying for n0 apparent reason. I really like these Knuckle Sandwich cigars, there’s a whole bunch of Limited Edition cigars in this line I haven’t tried, and probably won’t. I’m sure they are good, I just never seem to see them.

Gabe Piñeres, PR guy to the stars, send me a flight of the Don Emmanuel cigars, Toro, Robusto and petite corona to sample. These cigars are blended by Eladio Diaz, who was the blender for Davidoff for many years. The “about” page on the website says that Don Emmanuel is a cigar sommelier, apparently world renowned, who I haven’t heard of. Eladio Diaz I’ve heard of. I could do some digging if I wanted to. They debuted at this year’s PCA show, and have one line so far, the Don Emmanuel Annunaki, a name which appeals to my affinity for the Ancient Aliens show. If there’s a TV celebrity more well known that Guy Fieri, it has to be Giorgio Tsoukalos, right? OK, he’s a nut who’s made a name for himself, I get it, I should be so lucky. The Anu (which I believe is some sort of fertility god in the Sumerian lore) is the toro, which I smoked. The wrapper is Dominican with a Mexican binder and Dominican fillers.It’s a interesting flavor profile. I want to say cedary, with some bitter flavors. Maybe there’s something mushroomy in there, but that could be a preconceived notion. These are flavors that don’t line up with my preferences, but they do for others. No complaints on the construction, it was well behaved. It’s a $16 cigar, not terribly by today’s standard, and it worth a try if you like cigars that I don’t! Not saying it’s a bad cigar, just not one for me (it happens! ask Lee Marsh of Stolen Throne). Maybe I’ll like the robusto and petite better.

The next few weeks have Christmas and New Years falling in them, so please temper your expectations for the next few Sunday posts. Not that any of them are spectacular, but maybe the next few will be shorter, ’tis the season. Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Saturnalia, etc, to those who celebrate. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Anu, Anunnaki, Avion, Avion 12, cigar, cigars, Don Emmanuel, Espinosa, Guy Fieri, Knuckle Sandwich, tatuaje

March 17, 2024 · 10:33 am

Knuckle Sandwich, Julius Caeser, Postanie and Aganorsa Cigars

I smoked a good variety of cigars this week, the next couple weeks will probably be featuring some retailer exclusive cigars, so I figured I’d mix it up. I had picked up the Knuckle Sandwich 56 Maduro on a recent visit to the Wooden Indian, it was on the high side of what I like to spend, but I wanted to try it. This cigar is made by Espinosa, at the A.J.Fernandez’ San Lotano factory, for Guy Fieri’s 56th birthday. Obviously, it has a 56 ring gauge, and looks to be made using the San Lotano Oval molds. I like a 6″ x 56, and I liked the Oval shape. It has a San Andrés wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. Can anyone tell me why the word “Sandwich” sounds like “Sangwich” when persons of Cuban descent say it? I went through a phase of smoking cigars with the ring gauge of my age for a while, now that I’m 60 I’m over that. I loved this cigar, which is a shame because it’s limited and expensive. It started with a nice spice over cocoa, and mellowed into a chocolaty treat, with a hint of the spice. I dug it, even though when I met Guy at the PCA show a few years ago he really could have cared less and my request for Erik Espinosa to get in the picture with us was ignored. I don’t get starstruck and fawn over celebs, some of them don’t like that. Anyway, I don’t regret the purchase at all, it wa sa really good smoke, probably the best I had all week. It was my Pi Day treat.

We are in the midst of a string of March holidays, so on Friday I was compelled to smoke a Diamond Crown Julius Caeser Toro. We all know that March 15 marks the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. We know the exact date because he invented the calendar we use. He instituted that just a year before his death. Anyway, he was a heck of an Emperor, but I guess his friends thought he was a dick, so they stabbed him. I may be oversimplifying things a little. A few millennia later some Hungarian folks named their son after him, and US immigration screwed up the spelling on his paperwork and Julius Caeser Newman started a cigar company that makes some great cigars. The Diamond Crown Julius Caeser is made at Tabacalera A. Fuente, has an Ecuador Havana wrapper, Dominican binder and Caribbean and Central American fillers. They could just say Dominican, Nicaraguan and/or Honduran fillers, but they can be vague if they want. I enjoy Diamond Crown cigars, from the mild Diamond Crown, to the bolder Maximus and Black Diamond, and this falls in between. I find the flavor to be largely sweet wood, which is a nice change of pace for me. I like this cigar a lot, I remember smoking one of these a long time ago with a shop owner who has since passed, before a big celebrity cigar launch dinner. It didn’t give me any stabbing back pain either.

Saturday ended up being a Connecticut Shade day, which isn’t normal for me, but I had a couple shade cigars I hadn’t smoked yet, so I figured I’d give them a go. The first one I have smoked, but there’s a new size launching at the PCA show that I had a chance to smoke. It was the Powstanie Connecticut Justice, a 5½ x 46 Corona Gorda which Mike Szczepankiewicz blended nine years ago for the birth of his son. This is made at the Nica Sueño factory like the rest of the Powstanie cigars. I really like the Robusto that Mitch shared with me late last year. This shape seemed different, it didn’t have the character that the larger ring had, although I still found it to be exceptional. This was a really good shade cigar with some body, which I think must come from the PA Broadleaf binder in large part. For someone who doesn’t gravitate to shade wrapped cigars, this is a really good one, and worth a shot, but I don’t even think it’s due to be released until next month, some additional age won’t hurt this one. If you come across any Postanie cigars, try them, they are all really quite good.

Finally, I smoked an Aganorsa La Validacion Connecticut Robusto that I got at the Wooden Indian a few weeks ago when Fabien and Mike King were there doing an event. Aganorsa is a brand I struggle to find a favorite in. There’s a few I like, and some I don’t, and I can’t seem to remember which is what. So I buy them and smoke them and enjoy them or not and start the cycle over again. I don’t care for Criollo ’99 too much, so that probably has something to do with it. I think this series is one I like, and I definitely liked this Connecticut. It was medium bodied, nutty with some wood and spice and really a nice cigar. I’m going to remember that I really like the La Validacion line (I just went back and checked and I did like the Maduro and Corojo!).

Today is Green Cigar Day, or as some call it, St. Patrick’s Day, so pick out a nice Candela and drive the snakes out of your country! Why have none of these companies made a Candela Culebra in honor of St. Patrick driving the snakes from Ireland? Because it would suck and it wouldn’t sell, that’s why. I’ll suggest it to Saka. I mentioned him making a Candela Lancero on my last Podcast episode with him and he poopoo’d it, now he’s making a lancero box featuring the candela. I’d write more today but I used a lot of letters on Mike Szczepankiewicz name. Anyway, until the next time,

CigarCraig