Welcome back to another episode of Smoke and Steel, brought to you by StogieReview.com! Episode 015 brought some serious firepower to the lounge with an impromptu Knuckle Sandwich review, breaking news from the cigar industry, and plenty of hot takes on everything from celebrity cigars to the proper way to light up.
What We’re Smoking Tonight
We kicked off the episode with an interesting coincidence. Walt had just received a package from Kyle at the LA Cigar Collective in Louisiana that contained a My Father Blue among other cigars. After five days of shipping from Louisiana (we’re so used to next-day delivery!), the package arrived complete with a handwritten note from Big Rob, individual humidified baggies, and plenty of packing peanuts. Walt was impressed with the personal touch and decided to fire up the My Father Blue, praising its classic My Father flavor profile with a buttery smooth character that’s slightly milder than other My Father offerings. At around ten bucks from Kyle’s shop, it’s hitting that sweet spot.
Eric joined in with a Knuckle Sandwich by Guy Fieri – made by Espinosa Cigars. The timing was perfect since we had industry news about that very cigar lined up for discussion.
Eric also smoked an Olmec Maduro from a fresh box delivery, while Jim broke out a Crowned Heads Los Calaveras from his Small Batch monthly subscription. If you’ve never checked out Small Batch Cigar, we’re constantly jealous of those monthly picks that Jim gets every month.
The Knuckle Sandwich: Celebrity Cigar Done Right
Here’s where things got interesting. We had actually planned to discuss the Knuckle Sandwich in our news segment, but Eric firing one up gave us the perfect opportunity to dive deep into this Espinosa collaboration.
Guy Fieri’s Approach to Making a Cigar
We pulled up a video of Guy and Eric Espinosa discussing the Knuckle Sandwich, and honestly, it was equal parts entertaining and educational. Guy went into detail about the cigar’s construction – the binder, filler, and wrapper – comparing it to how wine is made as a marriage of flavors.
But then he dropped this technique that had us all scratching our heads: moistening the cap for five to ten minutes and then slowly peeling it off instead of cutting it. According to Guy, this preserves “the integrity of the final wrap.”
Our take? That’s some serious salesmanship right there.
The Reality of Cigar Caps
Look, we’ve all been in situations where we’ve had to improvise – ripping caps with fingernails, using pocket knives, even random pointy objects in a pinch. But intentionally moistening a cigar for ten minutes just to peel the cap? That’s not happening in the real world.
We broke down why this technique is physically impossible with certain cap styles. There’s the flag method where the wrapper is cut into a flag shape and flipped over, and there’s the triple cap with multiple layers. If you’ve got a flag cap, you’re not peeling anything without unraveling the entire cigar.
Even Guy’s own statement that he’s “never cut” a cigar raised some eyebrows. We’re calling it: if you followed him around, you’d absolutely catch him with a cutter at some point.
The whole “interrupting the integrity” bit? Very salesy. Give us a cutter, let us light up, and let’s get to smoking.
But Here’s the Thing: It’s Actually Good
Despite the gimmicky cap-peeling technique, the Knuckle Sandwich is legitimately a great cigar. This isn’t your typical celebrity cash-grab that floods the market and disappears in six months. Eric Espinosa makes quality products, and this collaboration showcases that.
We appreciated Guy’s statement that he told Espinosa he didn’t want to make “just a celebrity cigar.” Espinosa reportedly said he wasn’t interested in that either, which is refreshing in an industry full of flash-in-the-pan celebrity endorsements that usually produce subpar products.
The Knuckle Sandwich comes in both Habano and Maduro, with the Habano being the favorite among those of us who’ve tried it. At a price point that’s actually approachable, this is one celebrity cigar that earned its place in the humidor on merit.
La Flor Dominicana Announces Suave
Speaking of cigars worth getting excited about, La Flor Dominicana dropped news about a re-imagined Suave that’s launching at the 2025 PCA trade show. This is huge for LFD fans.
The Suave was actually the very first cigar LFD made back in 1994, and they’re bringing it back with a refreshed presentation and new blends. We’re talking MSRP ranging from $8.40 to $12.80 – incredibly approachable pricing in today’s market where so many new releases start at over $10 and climb from there.
The new Suave will come in both San Andres Maduro and Ecuadorian Corojo wrappers. Kyle’s shop, LA Cigar Collective, already has (at the time of recording) pre-orders available, which tells you these are going to move fast.
Why We Love La Flor Dominicana
LFD has always been one of our go-to brands. They don’t play the limited edition game every few months like some manufacturers. They stick with their core lineup and drop a few special releases, but they’re not constantly hyping “rare” cigars that create artificial scarcity.
We shared some memories about LFD’s legendary “ice picks” – those ugly little cheroots that Lito Gomez used to hand out at events. They were wildly powerful little things that you could never actually buy, though they eventually released them in limited quantities.
Eric the Elder is still trying to track down a mysterious LFD limited edition from a few years back that was sold at a local shop. It was in a box of 50, not expensive (maybe $8 at the time), and absolutely fantastic. This is the problem with not keeping better records of what we smoke – four years later, the memory is fuzzy but the regret is real.
The State of Cigar Pricing
This naturally led us into a broader conversation about cigar prices. The Suave’s pricing is actually refreshing because we’re seeing so many cigars launching in the $12+ range these days.
We all have different price thresholds. Some of us cap out around $17-$18, while others will go up to $25 for special occasions. But here’s the question we always ask ourselves: Is this $28 cigar really worth three of the ones I normally smoke?
The Liga Privada Problem
We got into our relationship with Drew Estate’s Liga Privada line. These used to be $15 cigars, and now No. 9 are pushing $22-$23. When you can get a Tabernacle or other fantastic smokes for less, it makes those Liga prices harder to justify.
That said, we’re all guilty of splurging on special occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries – those are times when dropping $30-$50 on a single cigar doesn’t feel quite as painful. But boxes of $50 cigars? That’s not happening.
We heard about a guy who used to come into a local lounge and only smoked Opus X. He’d buy boxes regularly, and we remember him negotiating a $1,500 Opus chest down to $1,400. When you’re driving an M3 and working in tech, your cigar budget operates differently than most of ours.
Finding the Sweet Spot
The reality is that the economy is forcing manufacturers to reconsider their pricing strategies. You can’t keep putting out $20-$25 cigars when people are choosing between buying three or four $8-$9 sticks versus one expensive one.
We’re big on finding deals – discount codes, sales, anything to offset these climbing prices. The difference between a box of Tabernacles and a box of Liga Privadas can be $100 or more, and when you don’t feel like you’re enjoying the expensive one any more than the cheaper alternative, that math stops making sense.
Placencia Announces Alma de Chile
Placencia is launching a new Alma Del Cielo, and this brought up an interesting divide in the cigar community. Placencia tends to split people right down the middle – you either love them or think they’re overpriced and overrated. There’s not much middle ground.
We’ve enjoyed the Alma Fuego (the red label line) and found decent prices at various retailers, though availability and pricing seem to vary wildly depending on where you shop. The octagonal pressed shapes are beautiful and burn forever, but at $26 for the high-end Alma Fuerte line, you’re competing with Padron, Opus, and other top-shelf brands.
When you price yourself in that upper echelon, there’s almost no margin for error. Things we’d overlook on a $7 cigar – minor burn issues, slight construction problems – become unacceptable at $26. You’re under a microscope at that price point.
The Lacquer Problem
We discovered an interesting issue with some Placencia boxes. The red boxes had a lacquer finish that was impacting the taste of cigars stored in them – almost an ammonia-like quality. This happens when manufacturers rush the finishing process, and cigars being like sponges, they absorb those chemical smells.
It’s a corner-cutting issue that might save a couple days in production but can have a big impact down the line, especially when you’re wrapping cigars in cellophane and sealing everything up. For any cigar, this kind of quality control issue is a problem.
Nicaragua Tariffs and Cuban Cigar Updates
We did some homework on the tariff situation. Prior to August, there was actually zero tariff on products coming out of Nicaragua thanks to a long-standing trade agreement. However, under the Trump administration’s review of the trade deficit with Nicaragua, that changed to an 18% tariff in August.
This is what we’re seeing reflected in retail prices now. It didn’t go from 10% to 18% – it went from zero to 18%, which is a significant jump that’s working its way through the supply chain.
In related international news, we got emails from Cuban cigar websites announcing they’re resuming shipments to the United States after a brief three-week hiatus. They probably realized cutting out the U.S. market was a dangerous play financially.
Multimedia Upgrades and Future Plans
We’re excited about our new tech setup. We’ve got the ability to Skype in out-of-state guests and check in with people when they’re on the road. This opens up a lot of possibilities for the show, including potentially connecting with previous guests when they’re traveling or bringing in cigar industry folks remotely.
The Great Lighting and Cutting Debate
Our discussion of Guy Fieri’s cap-peeling technique opened up a broader conversation about cigar rituals and traditions.
Cutting Methods
Some people are purists about cutting their cigars. We’ve all been in situations where we’ve improvised with pocket knives, fingernails, or whatever was available. Eric the Elder even admitted to biting a cap once – it wasn’t pretty.
We talked about guys who get really precious about the whole process, like the person who freaked out when someone stamped out their cigar in an ashtray, claiming it was disrespectful to the workers who made it. Look, we appreciate the craftsmanship, but that’s taking it a bit far.
Lighting Preferences
The one thing we all agreed to avoid: Zippos with traditional lighter fluid. The fumes get pulled into the cigar and affect the taste – that oily quality is unmistakable. Thankfully, they make butane inserts for Zippos now, though that kind of defeats the purpose of the classic “ching” and flame.
Some guys are all about long wooden matches and butane torches as part of the ritual. We get it – there’s something ceremonial about the process. But we’re practical: give us a sharp cutter and a butane torch, and we’re good to go. We don’t have time for six matches and ten minutes of lighting.
Monster Madness: The Mummy Arrives
With October approaching, Tatuaje announced this year’s Monster Series release: The Mummy. These releases always create a frenzy, with some editions (like The Frank) remaining hard to find years after release.
Harry’s in Philadelphia is already taking pre-orders, and these will move fast. We’re hoping The Mummy lives up to the hype, though we acknowledged that some Monster releases have been more successful than others. When they’re good, they stay in demand. When they’re not quite as special, you can usually find them without the rush.
Random Tangents and Lounge Life
We veered into our usual territory of pop culture discussions, from Oak Island (which some of us love and others can’t stand) to Bar Rescue’s questionable success rate (most of the rescued bars apparently go under anyway) to Extreme Home Makeover’s construction problems.
We shared stories about smoking in restaurants back in the day, airplane ashtrays, and the evolution of smoking sections. One of us remembered the bizarre glass partitions at Applebee’s that separated smoking and non-smoking sections while being completely open on both ends.
The conversation eventually landed on portapotties at sporting events and various bathroom-related work stories that we’ll spare you the details of, but which had us in tears laughing.
Why We Love What We Do
Episode 015 exemplified what makes Smoke and Steel what it is – we’re just a bunch of guys sitting around, smoking cigars, and talking about whatever comes to mind. Sometimes it’s deep industry analysis. Sometimes it’s debating whether Guy Fieri’s cap-peeling technique makes any sense (it doesn’t). Sometimes it’s bathroom humor.
We’re not pretentious cigar snobs. We’re not here to tell you that you need to spend $50 on a cigar to enjoy it. We’re here to share honest opinions about cigars we smoke, industry news that affects all of us, and the occasional tangent into reality TV or childhood memories.
The Knuckle Sandwich earned our respect not because of any gimmicky cap removal technique, but because it’s a quality cigar at a fair price made by people who know what they’re doing. That’s what we’re always looking for – value, quality, and enjoyment.
Watch the Full Episode
Want to see us react to Guy Fieri’s cap-peeling technique in real time? Watch the full episode above and let us know in the comments what you think about the Knuckle Sandwich and whether you’ve ever tried removing a cap instead of cutting it.
Join the Conversation
We want to hear from you! What’s your take on the Knuckle Sandwich? Are you excited about LFD’s Suave relaunch? Where do you draw the line on cigar pricing?
Connect with us on:
- Facebook: Share your thoughts and join the discussion
- Instagram: Behind-the-scenes content and cigar photos
- Discord: Real-time chat with Stogie Review and the Smoke and Steel community
Support the Show
If you enjoy Smoke and Steel and want to help us keep bringing you honest cigar reviews and industry talk, here are two ways you can support us:
Shop through our Cigar Page Affiliate Link: When you purchase cigars through our affiliate link, you get great deals and help support the podcast at no extra cost to you.
Make a Direct Donation: Feeling generous? Buy us a coffee (or a cigar) through our Ko-Fi page.
Until next time, keep those cutters sharp and those lighters full. We’ll see you in the lounge.
