JC Newman

September 26, 2021

Diesel Sunday Gravy San Marzano (6 x 54)





Video review HERE.


(Description provided by Forged Cigar Company)

The great gravy-sauce debate has been hotly contested for decades. Run a search and you’ll find more than 68 million results. You read that right: 68 million. Now, Diesel’s getting into the fray with its newest collection, called “Sunday Gravy,” launching in August.

Sunday Gravy will be a full-time line under Diesel, and will feature seasonally-released, Nicaraguan-forward smokes, blended and handcrafted through Diesel’s winning partnership of AJ Fernandez and Justin Andrews. Blends will be released quarterly, sold until their limited supply is deleted and offered at an unbelievable SRP of less than $5.00 per cigar.

Justin Andrews, senior brand manager of Diesel said, “When I first started working with AJ Fernandez and even to this day, I’m impressed by his method of making cigars. He ferments and ages his tobacco meticulously to achieve the taste he wants. His process actually reminds me of my Mom and how she cooked her Sunday sauce slowly over a low flame, knowing she had the luxury of being able to cook all day on a Sunday to get it just right. The comparison to cooking inspired the name of this new collaboration with AJ, and it’s actually very similar to his approach. AJ never rushes the tobacco. In fact, his processes are what some might describe as painstaking. The result is richness, depth and complexity and like a good Sunday sauce or gravy, AJ’s cigars are always worth the wait.”

Handcrafted at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua, and blended by AJ Fernandez with Justin Andrews, Sunday Gravy launches with its first blend called “San Marzano.”

Available nationally from July-September 2021 or until the cigars are sold out, San Marzano features three varieties of Cuban-seed tobacco. The wrapper is Ecuadoran Habano, the binder is Nicaraguan Esteli and the filler is Nicaraguan Jalapa. This is a bold smoke, with notes of black pepper, nuts, cedar and a hint of dark chocolate.

San Marzano (6” x 54); SRP per cigar $4.99 (available in ten-count boxes or as single cigars)

This limited-time blend will ship on August 12th and the brand’s distributor, The Forged Cigar Company, is expecting that gravy-sauce debates will be coming soon to a cigar shop near you.A new Sunday Gravy blend will be released in October, 2021 in time for the 2021 holiday season.



The cigar is medium brown and nicely made. It has a nice feel in the hand.




The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors at light up were good basic flavors; cedar, citrus peel, brown sugar, nutmeg, light leather, and black coffee. There was a nice amount of black pepper rated at 7 1/2. A pretty nice start.



At the first third (26 minutes) the flavors were about the same; cedar, brown sugar, light citrus peel, light nutmeg, leather, and black coffee. The finish is citrus peel and nutmeg with a little brown sugar. There was good lingering black pepper. The cigar is currently medium bodied. A good, basic cigar. I rated the first third 91.




As I moved through the second third (1 hour 2 minutes) I had the same flavor notes. Nothing had changed. The cigar is now medium to full bodied. The finish is also unchanged. The cigar is very consistent to this point. I held the score of 91.




The cigar lasted 1 hour 26 minutes. In the final third I had cedar, brown sugar, light nutmeg, light leather, and elevated black coffee. The cigar is now full bodied. The finish had a scorched brown sugar and nutmeg with nice lingering black pepper. I rated the final third 89. For a $5 cigar this has been a nice find and definitely one worth trying. Good basic flavors.




Overall Score: 90.33

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