Cigar Info
The original Diamond Crown line came about by Carlos Fuente Sr. helping Stanford Newman design a cigar to celebrate the J.C. Newman company's 100th Anniversary. This was back in 1995 and the J.C. Newman Diamond Crown was a super premium offering. Stanford set out to create the best cigar in the world with no regard for how long it would take or what it would cost.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
In the 90's when the cigar was released the largest cigars were in the 50-52 ring gauge range, but despite that, Stanford wanted every Diamond Crown to be 54, allowing the blend to use 6 or 6 individual tobacco leaves. Every Diamond Crown cigar goes through three inspections and is aged in lots of 50 cigars for a minimum of 12 months. Carlos Fuente selected only the most skilled rollers to make Diamond Crown and gave them top pay.
The Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7 is a classic pyramid shape measuring 6 3/4” x 54. The blend uses a Connecticut Shade wrapper, Dominican Republic binder, and Caribbean and Central American fillers. J.C. Newman prides themselves on their exclusive wrapper for this cigar called the CFW which undergoes a 5 year aging process and double fermentation. CFW stands for Connecticut Fermented Wrapper.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Torpedo
Length: 6 3/4″
Ring Gauge: 54
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade CFW
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Caribbean, Central America
Factory: Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
Blender: Carlos Fuente Sr.
Number of reviewers: 5 – Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi) Jason H. (Jokey Smurf) Adam B. (Bushboi) John I. (John I.) Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Price: $18.00
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: 1995
Contributed by: J.C. Newman
Initial Impressions – J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7
Appearance: 93
“This cigar featured a light golden wrapper, with just the slightest hint of tooth. Interestingly the top of the torpedo head is squared off, not pointed, giving it a crayon-like appearance.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Aroma: 91
“Smelling the body of the wrapper has me thinking of Teddy Grahams, especially the honey flavor. Turning to the foot of the cigar and there's a bright green vegetal dusted with cumin. After cutting the cigar I take a few cold draws and I find more of that vegetal note bur there is an added undertone of corn flakes.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Mild
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“Once I light this cigar I'm overwhelmed by corn flakes in milk with fresh sugar on top. This stays around for the first inch. After that, it settles into a nice mix of green vegetal notes with some undertones of cinnamon. When I retrohale this cigar I have a very nice mix of cinnamon and sage spice. The smoke is smooth and velvety on the palate and through the sinuses. The finish is never-ending with the cinnamon tingling my tongue. ” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“First third has very light and airy flavors. Slightly nutty finish with a crisp sweet toasted buttery flavor. Slight spice on the tongue. The burn line is back and forth but causing no problems. The draw is amazing. Zero effort needed. ” –Adam B. (Bushboi)
Second Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Mild-Medium
Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
“Into the middle portion the grassy flavors have disappeared and instead have been replaced with a completely different profile consisting of creamy cashew with a slightly spicy finish…the flavors are mild, smooth, and really quite nice. Through the nose the smoke has remained pleasant and just about perfectly laced with white pepper. ” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Going into the second third to the draw firmed up to the point that I had to give it another cut. There still was not a whole lot of flavor to be found, just the general air of wood. The draw firmed up yet again before the third was finished and I was forced to find my straight cut. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Final Third
Flavor: 91
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium
“The cinnamon just keeps on driving this cigar on both the palate and the retrohale. The smoke is as smooth as silk. Everything can be found in balance. As I reach the last half of the third, there is a freshly brewed coffee that pairs nicely with the snickerdoodle essence. The final change happens in the last half inch. Pepper jumps to the lead and carries the cigar to the end. This was a phenomenal cigar.” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“Final third was a continuation of the first two. Butter and cedar. Easy draw with great smoke production. Slight spiciness on the retrohale was the best part. ” –Adam B. (Bushboi)
Overall Impressions – J.C. Newman Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7
Draw: 93
“I was a bit concerned at how wide open the draw was initially but it tightened up just slightly during the first third and settled in just where I like it…” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
Burn: 94
“Burn was back and forth, however never needed a correction. The chalky white ash held on for about an inch before needing to be relieved. Ash was a little loose and lap prone, but proper attention created no problems. ” –Adam B. (Bushboi)
Construction: 93
“The cigar certainly had good looks, and the head of the cigar, with its blunted torpedo (crayon) top, is something you don't see every day. The performance though was very lacking. I presume there's something going on here and it has to do with the construction.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Overall Strength: Mild-Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Light-Medium
Experience Overall: 89
“I have to start by saying this, this might be the best cigar I have smoked this year. There are plenty of transitions throughout the cigar. I never wanted the smoking experience to come to an end. Sadly, most people won't reach for a cigar light this. I hope that these words make you want to try one cause if you do you will be rewarded with about 2 hours of joy. ” –Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
“The beginning was interesting and the middle almost extraordinary…unfortunately the ending was not able to live up to the rest and the sharp, harsh ending had me glad to set it down. I'd try another one based on where it was heading but would end it early if it started to get hot like this one. ” –Jason H. (Jokey Smurf)
“Overall this cigar was pretty damn good. Flavors held form from beginning to end. Great draw and solid construction. Burned quicker than expected for a larger size stick. Would definitely smoke again and I expect would pair well with a coffee. ” –Adam B. (Bushboi)
“Construction issues here led to a fairly unpleasant experience. Rapid, hot burn resulted in having a really hard time exploring the tobacco here. There were some bright spots, and this hit a lot of the standard marks associated with a mild cigar. Lots of nice baking spice notes early, creaminess, and some floral qualities throughout, but the overall negatives due to construction issues really marred this cigars possibility. ” –John I. (John I.)
“I've got a feeling I know what this is, but we're going to have to wait and see until this is published. It took until the last part of the last 3rd for this cigar to produce anything that I would call a distinguishing flavor. It was so mild in the flavor department I personally would have kicked it a long time ago and found something that I know I like.
“-Isaac M. (The Nothing)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 75
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Estevan Z. | 95 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 |
| Jason H. | 90 | 92 | 90 | 92 | 88 | 95 | 95 | 93 | 88 |
| Adam B. | 95 | 95 | 95 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 97 | 95 |
| John I. | 88 | 90 | 85 | 83 | 83 | 88 | 83 | 83 | 85 |
| Isaac M. | 93 | 90 | 85 | 85 | 88 | 78 | 90 | 88 | 83 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.