Vitola: No. 4- 5.5” x 54 ring gauge
- ~$11.25
- Samples provided by JC Newman
Background
J.C. Newman Cigar Company became a sponsor of Leaf Enthusiast in January 2020, paying for ad space, but also providing a fairly steady stream of cigars meant for review on Leaf Enthusiast. I am committed to publishing fair reviews of the cigars they sent. First up on the list is the Diamond Crown Maduro. This is by no means a new blend on the market. If I remember correctly, Diamond Crown Natural and Maduro were already staples in the humidor when I started smoking cigars 20 years ago. Over the years I’ve had a few Naturals, but can’t remember ever smoking a Maduro
The Diamond Crown brand is owned by J.C Newman Cigar Company and is produced by the Arturo Fuente Cigar Company in the Dominican Republic. Ties are close between these two companies, to the point that ever since I’ve known about them, they have had one rep for both companies in each territory. Both Natural and Maduro are made with “a blend of 5 of the finest tobaccos from the Caribbean and Central America” for the filler and a Dominican binder. The Maduro is wrapped in a Connecticut Broadleaf.
This review is based on the second of these that I smoked; both were provided by J.C. Newman. If your local store does not carry Diamond Crown, you can buy them online at Leaf Enthusiast sponsor, Small Batch Cigar.
Prelight
There is nothing overtly fancy or elaborate about the packaging of Diamond Crown. They use simple wooden boxes and a single band that is very old-school with plenty of gold foil bling on it. In other words, classy and not trying too hard. You know what is fancy, though, is that they are putting barcodes on the cellophane of these cigars now, as part of the program where all Fuente-produced cigars are getting coded. I once called Fuente doing barcoding as a sure sign of the apocalypse, so you may want to get right with God…if Padron starts barcoding, too, it’s all over.
The wrapper leaf was a medium-dark brown with a touch of darker mottling in places and a little bit of veininess. It wasn’t shiny under the light, but it did have a deep oiliness that came off on my fingers. Giving it a sniff, I picked up strong barnyard earthiness and more subtle notes of cocoa powder and leather. The foot had a balanced mix of earth, cedar, and cocoa powder aroma.
After clipping, the Diamond Crown Maduro had a very good draw and cold flavors of hay, natural tobacco, cedar, and chocolate.
Flavor
I applied fire to the cigar and soon had it burning well. I got initial flavors of grass and bread, typical of Dominican tobacco, but also plenty of earth and semi-sweet chocolate. The retrohale had notes of leather, coffee bean, and brown pepper. A few minutes in I got some citrus that I’ve noticed frequently in Fuente blends, along with a stronger bread flavor.
Getting into the second third, bread and chocolate notes melded together for a chewy brownie flavor that was unexpected. Citrus was in the background with touches of earth and coffee.
Semi-sweet chocolate and coffee bean notes were dominant in the final third, with a slight increase in pepper and citrus just holding on. Grassy and earthy notes were in the background
Construction
I had a very good draw, even burn line, and solid ash the entire way.
Value
Diamond Crown cigars are slightly higher than average, but they are also better than the average Dominican blend, so I’d say that’s worth it.
Conclusions
The Diamond Crown Maduro is a very fine medium-bodied cigar that really shows off the sweetness of the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and bring with it a rich complexity of Dominican and other tobaccos working harmoniously. At a certain point I decided that most Fuente blends were just not to my liking and I pretty much gave up on them. In recent years, though, I’ve had to reevaluate my thinking on that point, as I’ve discovered I do enjoy several regular-production cigars from that factory, including this one.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
