Today, we review the Knuckle Sandwich 58. By now, most cigar enthusiasts know Knuckle Sandwich as the cigar brand of celebrity restaurateur Guy Fieri. For his brand, Fieri has teamed up with his friend Erik Espinosa of Espinosa Cigars. Espinosa handles the production of the Knuckle Sandwich cigars and it is a major brand in the Espinosa portfolio. One of the more anticipated cigars each year is the Knuckle Sandwich birthday cigar. Fieri turned 58 years old in 2026, and this the Knuckle Sandwich 58 was released in honor of that. Today, we take a closer look at the Knuckle Sandwich 58.
The following are the Knuckle Sandwich birthday cigars. Each of these have been a one-and-done release:
SPECIFICATIONS
The 58 is produced out of AJ Fernandez’s San Lotano factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua. The 58 features a San Andres wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers. The cigar comes in one size: a 6 1/4 x 54 Toro Oval. While the blend has remained the same for each of the birthday cigars, the size has changed from year to year. The one common denominator on this sizes is that each cigar is an oval press. The oval press is a size AJ Fernandez has been known to use in his factories for many years.
- Wrapper: San Andres Mexican
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Nicaraguan
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: San Lotano
- Oval Press: 5 3/4 x 55
PERFORMANCE
The Knuckle Sandwich started out with a blast of white pepper. Once the pepper blast subsided notes of coffee, cherry, earth, and hay entered the equation. For a short time, the hay notes became primary. As the cigar moved about midway into the first third, the coffee and cherry notes took over as the primary notes. The hay, pepper, and earth notes remainded secondary. Meanwhile, the white pepper was prominent on the retro-hale. This flavor profile held until the final third. By that point, the pepper closed in on the coffee and cherry in the forefront. The final third had a slightly muddling of what were some very bold flavors.
As mentioned, this cigar has some boldness. The strength and body start out medium to full, but both progress into full territory by the final third. The strength and body balanced each other quite nicely. Construction-wise, this cigar was also on point. The burn maintained a straight burn path and straight burn line requiring minimal touch-ups. Meanwhile, the draw had a touch of resistance to it – which is ideal in my book.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
The Knuckle Sandwich 58 is by far the belle of the ball when it comes to the Knuckle Sandwich birthday releases. In fact, I would put this as the best Knuckle Sandwich release to date. The 58 is a flavor bomb from start to finish. I found the 58 to be the boldest offering compared to the other Fieri birthday releases. The bolder profile worked quite well with the flavors produced. While I did mention some muddling of the flavors, there was still enough to enjoy here. These cigars sold fast, but if you can find them – they certainly garner box-worthy consideration. Coming in at 91 points, this exceeds the threshold for Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence.
Summary
Key Flavors: Coffee, Cherry, Hay, Earth, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Medium to Full (First Half), Full (Remainder)
Body: Medium to Full (First Half), Full (Remainder)
Finish: Very Good
Rating
Value: Box Worthy Consideration
Score: 91
REFERENCES
Previous Assessment: Knuckle Sandwich 57
News: Knuckle Sandwich 58 Released
Price: $18.00
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: Espinosa
Photo Credit: B&B Tobacconist, Asheville, North Carolina; used with permission
