One of the most unanimous decisions for our 2022 awards was the category of Brand of the Year, going to Espinosa Premium Cigars. The company was founded by Erik Espinosa in early 2012, going on to win Cigar Dojo’s first-ever Cigar of the Year award that year with the Espinosa Habano cigar. A decade later, Espinosa continues apace, ramping up to what felt like their most commanding presence on the market to date. This included not one, but two 10th anniversary cigars—making sure to commemorate Espinosa as a brand as well as the 10th anniversary of their closely related La Zona factory in Estelí. A decade in the cigar industry is an impressive milestone, no doubt, but Espinosa is not one to rest on its laurels and ride the wave of former success. Instead, the company introduced the most significant celebrity-meets-cigar crossover the industry has ever seen. We’re referencing Espinosa’s partnership with one Guy Fieri, with the duo launching three cigars in 2022 under Fieri’s established Knuckle Sandwich brand. At launch, it was made clear that Erik Espinosa, owner and founder of Espinosa Premium Cigars, had only gone through with the project under the condition that Guy was fully committed. This has certainly been the case, with Guy attending multiple cigar events/festivals throughout the year, as well as introducing the cigars (or premium cigars in general, for that matter) to formerly untapped audiences, including TV appearances and social media shout-outs. The company now sets off on a new decade, showing no signs of slowing by adding a fourth cigar to the Knuckle Sandwich line: Knuckle Sandwich Connecticut.
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