This past weekend was the best The Cigar Authority episode to date in my opinion. What made it so great? We were drinking, which is always worthy of a few laughs. But for this episode we were joined by Brad Jarvis of Fuente-Newman who definitely knows his scotch, and he took us on a tour of the scotch making process With four different scotches on the table, we experienced first hand how much scotch can change up the flavors of a cigar. You can check out the episode on podbean or iTunes.
Cigar Review: Diamond Crown Maduro
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Length: 5.5″
Ring Gauge: 5
Size: No. 4
The Look: Diamond Crown cigars are made for JC Newman, by the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic and recently they have received a face lift of sorts. The boxes are packaged in a gift box, that sees the box get a subtle redesign of blue on blue spot coating giving a diamond like effect. Insider the wooden dress box sees the same design used on the cliche inside the box. The cigars see the bands reworked as well with the white portion of the band removed and replaced with gold foil and the band also gets some added embossing. All of these changes give the cigar a more luxury like appearance. The cigar features a toothy looking wrapper with a thin network of veins. The cigar is slightly spongy and the foot of the cigar is well-packed.
The Notes: The cold draw of the Diamond Crown is earthy with a hint of sweetness while the foot of the cigar serves up similar notes with the sweetness being more dominant.
Once I execute my light the initial notes are sweet but they become an after thought as heavy notes of cedar become dominant with a hint of leather. As we continue through the first third a clove like element enters the mix, while the finish of the cigar is long and sweet, especially on the retrohale.
As we transition through the second third there is some definitive sweet cherry notes and cedar that is mixed together like the perfect cocktail. Some spice begins to develop on the aroma and retrohale as the cigar is definitively medium in strength but full on flavor.
As we finish the Diamond Crown No. 4 Maduro, notes of leather become dominant with some nuttiness and some underlying sweetness. Through the nose the cigar there is some spice mixed in with some coffee on the aroma making this a Diamond Crown experience for the ages.
The Finish: When I smoke Diamond Crown I almost always reach for the shade wrapper version. When I want something a little stronger I reach for the Maximus. In browsing the humidor today I realized I always skip over the Maduro version and opted for the No. 4 for the purpose of today’s review. What caught me off guard was how much I enjoyed the cigar with its classic Broadleaf notes. When you mention Broadleaf, this cigar gets overlooked and in my opinion that is a mistake. I know this, I’ll be reaching for the Diamond Crown Maduro No. 4 again.
Score: 92
Price: $12.69 / $168.99
Diamond Crown Maduro #4
Diamond Crown Maduro #4 Foot
Diamond Crown Maduro #4 Burn
