Knuckle Sandwich Chef Special 2024 Review — Knuckle Sandwich Chef Special 2024

Today, we review the Knuckle Sandwich Chef Special 2024. As many know, celebrity restauranteur Guy Fieri owns the Knuckle Sandwich brand. For his production and distribution, Fieri works with Espinosa Premium Cigars. Chef Special is one of two annual limited-edition lines in the Knuckle Sandwich portfolio (the other is Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich birthday cigar). The Chef Special 2024 is the third installment in the Chef Special series, featuring a different blend and wrapper.

The Knuckle Sandwich line currently has three regular production blends, plus the two annual limited edition releases:

Knuckle Sandwich Connecticut
Knuckle Sandwich Habano
Knuckle Sandwich Maduro
Guy Fieri Birthday Cigar (2 releases “55” and “56”)
Knuckle Sandwich Chef Special (3 releases)

The following are the three installments of the Chef Special series. The wrapper used on the blend is noted in parentheses:

Chef Special 2022 (Ecuadorian Habano)
Chef Special 2023 (Ecuadorian Sumatra)
Chef Special 2024 (Connecticut Broadleaf)

Knuckle Sandwich Chef Special 2024 – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, the Chef Special 2024 features all Nicaraguan tobaccos for the binder and filler. Production comes from AJ Fernandez’s San Lotano factory in Ocatel, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: San Lotano

Vitolas Available

The Chef Special 2024 comes in one size – a 6 x 54 oval press (which is exactly as stated – an ovular-shaped pressed cigar. This size is different from the previous two editions of the Chef Special, which came in a 6 1/2 x 52 box-pressed figurado. The Chef Special 2024 comes in a ten-count box. A total of 2,000 ten-count boxes were produced.

Appearance (*)

The Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper of the Chef Special 2024 is quite exquisite. It is a rich cocoa color. There wasn’t much oil on the surface of this wrapper, and despite its darker color, the wrapper seams were quite visible.

The oval press is a box press that is more rounded than most. It has two pressed sides, and the other two sides are rounded. As many know, the oval press is an AJ Fernandez factory staple dating back to the San Lotano Oval days.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Before lighting up the Chef Special 2024, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. After the cap was clipped, it was on to the pre-light draw experience. The cold draw delivered cocoa notes along with a slight amount of pepper and some subtle fruit sweetness. This was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to remove the ribbon of the Chef Special 2024, toast up the footer, and see what the smoking experience would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Chef Special 2024 opened with more cocoa, white pepper, fruit notes, and some herbal and earth notes. Cocoa emerged as the primary note as the cigar progressed through the first third. Meanwhile, the herbal, earth, pepper, and fruit notes settled in the background. The retro-hale delivered a mix of herbal and white pepper.

As the Chef Special 2024 entered the second third, a coffee note emerged and displaced the cocoa notes. At the same time, the herbal notes joined the coffee in the forefront. The cocoa notes receded into the background, joining the earth, pepper, and fruit notes. The pepper notes increased in intensity, while the fruit notes diminished and dissipated by the final third.

By the final third, the coffee and herbal notes remained primary. The pepper notes closed in on the forefront. Meanwhile, there were still notes of earth. The cocoa notes dissipated during the final third. As the cigar experience of the Chef Special 2024 came to a close, the resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The Chef Special 2024’s burn performed excellently. This cigar required minimal touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and line. The resulting ash wasn’t overly firm, and there was some minor flaking from time to time. Most of the ash was light gray but had some darker spots. The burn rate and temperature both maintained ideal levels.

Draw

The draw of the Chef Special 2024 also performed well. There was enough resistance to this draw to make it satisfactory in my book. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor.

Strength and Body

The Chef Special 2024 is one of the boldest cigars I have had in the Knuckle Sandwich portfolio. It started out medium to full in strength and body, and both attributes increased in intensity. The body increased faster, moving into full territory by the second half. Strength and body continued to increase until the cigar smoke closed. Strength increased slowly and didn’t exceed the medium to full range.

In terms of strength and body, both attributes balanced each other in the first third, but by the second third, the body maintained an edge until the end of the smoking experience.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

The Chef Special 2024 features the same primary band found on all Knuckle Sandwich Cigars. This band has a black, red, and gold foil color scheme. It features Guy Fieri’s Knuckle Sandwich skull and chef’s hat logo. The band is also emblazoned with the Espinosa name and insignia. The Chef Special 2024 uses a dark blue ribbon to make it stand out.

The box is also dark blue and features a dark blue vista. Overall, I love how the blue box packaging and footer ribbon contrast with the cigars. While I would love to see a Knuckle Sandwich secondary band, I still think the overall packaging design works.

Box of the Knuckle Sandwich Chef Special 2024

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

I will say that the Knuckle Sandwich Chef Special 2024 is unique from a flavor standpoint. It definitely had more of an herbal component than I have gotten on most Broadleaf cigars. Over the years, Espinosa has done some epic releases with many types of Broadleaf. The problem is that I’m not sure this flavor profile is for everybody, and while it’s a nice cigar, it still dwarfs any cigar in Espinosa’s Warhead series. In the end, this is a cigar I’d advise trying a sample of and seeing if this is a fit for you.

Summary

Key Flavors: Coffee, Herb, Cocoa, Earth, Fruit, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full (1st Half), Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good