Cigar Review | Diamond Crown Maximus

I am in one of the moods where I don’t know what to smoke when it comes to doing a review. I mean when I ran my old website back in the day I smoked through everything, so picking something that has been around for a while is tough because in my mind been there done that. So I asked one of my co-workers to pick out a cigar and this is the result. Not a bad result I mind you….

The Diamond Crown Maximus was first introduced in 2003 and is considered to be a full body cigar from the company, J.C. Newman. The cigar which features an Ecuadorian wrapper from Oliva Tobacco’s El Bajo farm is selected from the upper portion of the plant which adds to the strength and flavor. The cigar itself is rolled by Tabacalera  A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic.

Cigar: Diamond Crown Maximus
Size: 5 x 56 (No. 6)
Wrapper: El Bajo Ecuadorian Ligero Oscuro Sun Grown
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Strength: Medium-Full

The Look: The Diamond Crown Maximus band as busy as it is remains one of my favorite cigar bands in the industry. It looks a lot like poster for a show in Las Vegas or Barnum & Bailey Circus. There is a marquee like feel to the worlds Diamond Crown and Maximus on the multi colored band. The cigar itself features a wrapper that can be exceptionally dark or in this case a nice medium hue brown. The cigar is rolled to perfection with nearly a seam visible and a well packed foot. In the hand the cigar feels firm with a spongy foot and an above average weight for the size.

The Notes: With the cap clipped the cigar served up a cold draw that had some cocoa notes and spice. As I took the foot of the cigar to my nose, the aroma was a bit spicy and there was a hint of cocoa as well. After I toasted the foot of my cigar the initial draw of the smoke served up some spice especially pepper through the nose and a slight sweetness.

Smoking into the first third the cigar begins to develop some intriguing notes. Every now and there is a steak like note that reminds me of a Filet Mignon cooked on a BBQ. That note develops over time and eventually becomes the focal point after a caramel like start with notes of pepper and cedar.

In the second third the steak like note really begins to take hold and easily identifiable and enjoyable. As the cigar breached the half way point the steak note begins to fade and the sweetness of caramel and cocoa begin to develop over cedar. The pepper remains through the nose but it begins to tone down some.

In the last third of the Diamond Crown Maximus the cedar notes shine with some coffee notes that develop in the finish inch of the smoke and linger gently on the short finish.

The Burn: The Diamond Crown Maximus isn’t an example for a perfect burn, but it never needed to be touched up. The burn line was jagged at times and the ash was a little weak and flaky. Did this detract from the enjoyment of the cigar, no. The reason I believe this to me so is that I never needed to reach into my pocket to light it back up, and the jagged burn never got out of hand to be touched up. The draw of the cigar was enjoyable though I personally would like a tad more resistance.

The Finish: The Maximus provides a premium cigar experience with notes of substance. The flavors were easy to pick up and were enjoyable especially the notes of steak that dominated the first half of the cigar. Since 2003 these have been a part of my month rotation for at least two smokes and worthy of humidor space.

Score: 92
Price: $12.59