Man O War Side Project 52C Review

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Ligero
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $9.00

Man O War cigars have been a favorite of mine for a while now. A couple months ago, they released the "Side Projects" which are limited edition cigars. Previously I had reviewed the other two side projects. The Phalanx and the Little Devil were both very good cigars.

The only one left was this one, the 52C. It wasn't until recently that I was able to get this cigar, and I couldn't wait to complete my reviews of all the Side Projects.

The firth thing that I noticed with this cigar, is the chisel tip, which is how this cigar got the name. 52C stands for 52 ring gauge chisel tip. The wrapper leaf is the color of milk chocolate. The chisel's cap is a little rough and made up of three layers.

Other than the cap, the cigar is pretty smooth. There are only a couple very thin veins throughout the wrapper leaf. The cigar itself is very solid throughout and gave off a nice sweet chocolate smell.

As soon as I lit up this cigar, the flavors came out. There was a strong oak flavor very early on with a mild pepper flavor. After a few more puffs there was a little bit of coffee flavor. About an inch into this cigar there was a light creaminess, but it never picked up. The first third really didn't have much going on. The majority of the flavor was oak, earth, and light pepper.

As I moved into the second third the oak and earth flavors really picked up. There were some very light sweet notes poking through every few puffs. Along with the sweetness, there was a little bit more of the coffee flavor coming out. It finally seemed as though this cigar opened up.

By halfway the coffee flavor became much more dominant. The sweetness and the pepper notes seemed to keep each other pretty balanced. There was still the strong oak flavor throughout the second third, In fact, it seemed to continue to build throughout the remainder of the second third.

The last third of this cigar was a little more balanced out and smooth than the rest of the cigar. The oak and earth tones remained very prominent throughout the finish. The sweetness seemed to come back a little bit as well, but it never became a major factor in the flavor profile. Each flavor was noticeable in each puff, some much easier than others.

The ash on this cigar was actually surprising. It held on until about the half way point and was a light to medium shade of gray. The burn was pretty even throughout the entire cigar except for a minor wave at one point. The draw was actually very easy through the chisel tip. The smoke was a very thick and white shade that gave off a strong oak aroma.

Out of all of the side projects, this one is my least favorite. Its not bad though. Its a quicker smoke than the other two I feel. Personally the Phalanx is my favorite, followed by the Little Devil. But, if I were to get a few of these, I wouldn't be mad. I give this cigar a solid 8 out of 10.

Thanks for reading,

Zack the Stogie Man