When the 800 pound gorilla of cigar retailers was unleashed on my home town recently, I decided to see what they had that I couldn’t find elsewhere…I always try to be on the hunt for my next “favorite cigar.” One of the lines I hadn’t partaken of in a very long time was the Man O War, where blender AJ Fernandez got his start almost two decades ago. This latest thing was “Side Projects,” a smaller production group of cigars in special sizes and blends.
Phalanx is a Toro Gordo with a Pennsylvania Broadleaf Maduro wrapper. The filler and binder aren’t noted, but you can reasonably expect them to be Nicaraguan in origin. This wrapper was very oily and smelled of rich, ripe earth. I got it lit and was surprised by how much smoke it produced. It tasted slightly sweet with dark chocolate overlaying espresso roast coffee, earth, and a bit of pepper spice.
The flavor of this cigar was actually really good. Full bodied with a great mix of sweetness and spice and earthier notes. The problem with it was I ended up wearing a good deal of ash as it just shed indiscriminately. I cannot remember the last time I had this happen with a cigar and don’t know what the exact problem was…the whole box could have been dropped at some point, damaging the interior, but we will never know. I’ll probably smoke this again, but I should probably do so in old clothes I don’t mind getting holes in when I do.
