Tag Archives: Diamond Crown

by Craig Vanderslice | July 17, 2022 · 8:00 am

PCA 2022: J.C. Newman Cigar Co. with Eric Newman

Can’t say we’ve had the best week here at Casa Vanderslice. I, naturally, quickly passed the Covid on to my wife, so we are both feeling crappy. I tried a couple cigars, but I think my sense of smell is all but gone, which effects cigar flavor significantly. I expect I’m going to take a break for a while longer. I need to get back to work and get caught up there, as stuff stacked up (literally) last week while i was “on vacation”. Not the way I wanted to use that Paid Time Off. Let’s continue with the video interviews I did at the PCA show. I want to thank Ed O’Neil for helping out with the camera work. He had been at the show with Kevin (CigarProp), and needed something to do on Sunday and generously offered to help me out. My set-up isn’t as fancy as Kevin’s, but we got the job done. I had a nice talk with Eric Newman of J.C. Newman, makers of some of my favorite cigars. In the video he talks about the new El Baton cigars, the Diamond Crown Black Diamond, and the Cuesta Rey made in the Tampa Factory. Of course, their booth featured a cardboard replica of the El Reloj factory in Tampa, which was quite impressive.

Thanks to Eric for taking the time and to Sydney for her hospitality! I was able to finally meet Adria, who has been my contact there for several years, in her last official event with the company. Maybe we’ll see her around Philly sometime! That’s all for today. until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Black Diamond, cigar, cigars, Cuesta Rey, Diamond Crown, EL Baton, El Reloj, Eric Newman, J.C.Newman, PCA, Perla del Mar

by Craig Vanderslice | December 26, 2021 · 10:35 am

A Neanderthal, a Diamond Crown and Boxing Day Cigars?

It’s the day after Christmas, so I don’t have a great deal to write about, since the last few days have been busy with family and the whole build up to the holiday and all. I have just been smoking good cigars, and whatnot. I started off the long weekend with a Paladin de Saka after a private discussion amongst some bloggers about how this yet to be released cigar might end up on the Halfwheel Consensus. A little insider info for you there. I toyed with the idea of doing a top whatever list myself, just to see if I make the consensus again, but it would be a vanity project, and I think I’ll just discuss my favorites of the year in a different way. There were some new cigars that impressed me, and I want to give credit where credit is due, but my ego doesn’t need to be stroked. One of the cigars I treated myself to was a Christmas Eve Romacraft Neanderthal Gran Perfecto. I had purchased a collection of Gran Perfectos from Son’s Cigars a while ago and have been working my way through them. I have to say, the Whiskey Rebellion has been my least favorite, there’s something I don’t like about it. Of course, the Cromagnon was excellent, as was the Neanderthal. This format, the 5 5/8″ x 60 perfecto, changes the flavors ever so slightly. In the cases of the latter two, the flavors seemed stronger, or more focused, which makes sense considering the tapered format. I’m a fan of the brand, of course, I’ve known Skip and Mike for over a decade, they are one of the brands that I’ve purchased 99% of the cigars of theirs that I’ve smoked!

Christmas day, after all the kids and grandkids have gone and our big brunch was cleaned up, I hit the porch with a Diamond Crown No. 7. It has been my tradition over the years to smoke a classic cigar on Christmas day, usually something Fuente or Padron, something I love that I can just enjoy. This is such a cigar and brings with it a lot of memories. I always think of a cigar party in Vegas in 1998 when I smoked a Diamond Crown for the first time. My wife smoked one too, and Saka was there as well as a few other folks I’m still in touch with (Ed Sullivan of The Cigar Authority and The Ashholes podasts, for instance). It’s a quintessential Connecticut shade cigar, mild, bready, a hint of sweetness, and just an all around pleasant cigar. When they came out in the mid-90s, available only west of the Mississippi, oddly, enough, they were absurdly large 54 ring gauge. This pyramid is a 6 ¾” x 54, and manufactured at Tabacalera Fuente. My preference is generally for the maduro, or the Maximus, but the original version is always a treat for me.

Today is Boxing Day in the British Commonwealth countries, and I don’t quite know the intricacies of that holiday, but I know it doesn’t have anything to do with pugilism. There goes my plans to watch Rocky movies all day. That saves me hours of going frame by frame looking for myself in the fight scene in Rocky 5 (we were extras ringside). Anyway, whatever Boxing Day is, for me it’ll mean finding a box of cigars and taking a cigar out and smoking it, maybe doing it more than once. It’s supposed to be a nice day too. I’m certainly not going shopping. Anyway, I only mentioned Boxing Day because I couldn’t think of anything else. Didn’t Rocky Patel make a cigar for a boxer? So, that’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Diamond Crown, J.C.Newman, Neanderthal, RoMaCraft

by Craig Vanderslice | July 18, 2021 · 10:12 am

A Diamond Crown Maximus, A Flow and a Contest (Last Wednesday)

We had a special occasion this week, so that called for a special occasion cigar, so I pulled out a Diamond Crown Maximus Robusto No. 5. The Diamond Crown Maximus is another one of those cigars that has been on my list of “classics” for the last probably 15 years since it came out. It’s on the list of cigars I’d like to always have a box of in my humidor, along with Fuente Don Carlos, Hemingway, and Añejo of some sort, and a Padrón 1964. It’ made my Fuente, it’s wrapper is a corona leaf (top of the plant) from Ecuador making it very heavy and dark, so it’s got a very rich flavor. I absolutely love this cigar. It’s woody and earthy with some espresso and sweet notes here and there. I’ve never had a bad one. When it came out it was super expensive, now days it’s a deal. If you like lighter Connecticut shade cigars, you can’t go wrong with a Diamond Crown, if you want something with some more oomph, the Maximus is awesome.

I’ve been smoking a bunch of a new cigar from Danli Honduras Tobacco, my favorite little factory in Honduras that makes the Don Juan Calavera, Clown and Marchetti cigars that I love so much. The cigar is simply called Flow, and the box I received is marked “maduro”, but the cigars don’t seem maduro to me. I’ve asked for some clarification, but haven’t received an answer. Language barriers can be frustrating. I know they have a Connecticut, and I know a couple fairly local shops (within a 40 minute drive) might have some, so I have some research to do. As it stands with this one, and the ones I’ve been smoking, the blend is undisclosed! That being said, I’ve found that I really like the cigars, much like I like the other cigars in the DAHOT range. I would put money on it being a Habano wrapper, it’s got a little spiciness and cocoa, and the overall blend is very tasty. I appreciate the fact that the company only makes toros, and this line is no different, makes my life easier, as it’s my preference. As with any cigar from this company, and I think folks I’ve shared this with will back me up, if you see them, try them.

The subject line refers to a contest, and that contest was posted on Wednesday, so scroll back and enter to win some of my cigars (which I bought, by the way!) Who knows, there might be a Flow accidentally in the package as an bonus! I rarely just send out what I say I’m sending! So go back and enter! In addition to BCPs new ad promo, Ortega Cigars has updated their ad with a new promotion. They have a great deal on some excellent cigars. I was so impressed with the Connecticut I smoked last week that I threw an order in for some Connecticut Churchills at a really great price and they arrived very quickly with free shipping. Excellent product and service, and Eddie was in Nicaragua, so I have to assume that’s the norm. Anyway, I’m going to wrap this up and get on with my Sunday, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Contest, Danli Honduras Tabacco, Diamond Crown, Flow, JC Newman, Maximus

by Craig Vanderslice | February 24, 2021 · 9:04 pm

Perla Del Mar Corojo and a Diamond Crown Cigars

The folks at J.C. Newman recently shared some cigars with me, so I figured I’d smoke some of them. I’ve been a fan of the budget-friendly Perla Del Mar line for a while, and I was quite curious to try the new Corojo they recently released. I can’t say that I’m overly enthralled with what they’ve done with the bands, I thought the old bands were pretty cool, and the new bands with just PDM in the middle bring to mind another brand, and I don’t find it as classy as the old ones. I get it if that’s not what they are going for and it’s none of my business really, and isn’t going to make me like the cigars any less. I looked in my local shop for the Corojo a few times over the last few weeks to no avail, and was thrilled when some showed up in my mailbox. These are made in J.C. Newnan’s PENSA factory in Nicaragua, with a Corojo wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I was fortunate to come in to possession of the Corona Gorda vitola, which would be my second choice after the Toro. After the Toro, I do like the 5½” x 46 size the best, I think. These are box pressed as well. This is a really tasty cigar, with a sweetness like I enjoy in the Sumatra wrapped cigars, with some nuts and leather as well. For about $6, you can hardly go wrong with this one, recommended.

The Diamond Crown is a sentimental favorite of mine. Back in 1998 I was at a cigar event in Vegas that was hosted by, among other people, Steve Saka, before he was actually employed in the cigar industry. He was writing for a website called CigarNexus at the time, and it was a gathering of folks who contributed to the alt.smokers.cigars Usenet newsgroup. At the time, Diamond Crown was only available on the West Coast (Opus X was only available on the east coast), so it was a treat to get to smoke one. My wife and I smoked these large cigars, probably the 7½” x 54 No. 2 size, I don’t think it was the No. 1, but that was a long time ago and memory isn’t what it was. All of the cigars were 54 ring gauge, which was enormous at the time. I always remember this event when I smoke a Diamond Crown. I admit that my preference is for the maduro or the Maximus nowadays, but the Diamond Crown remains a Connecticut Shade cigar that I can always smoke. I smoked the No. 7, a torpedo measuring 6¾” x 54 and found it to be medium bodied and delicious. It has a Connecticut grown shade wrapper, Dominican binder and five fillers from the Caribbean and Central America. It’s made at the Fuente factory in the Dominican Republic.It’s a flavorful cigar, with a nuttiness, and creamy coffee flavor. It’s certainly a great cigar, and will always be special to me.

Thats all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Diamond Crown, J.C.Newman, Perla del Mar

by Craig Vanderslice | August 16, 2020 · 11:17 am

A Diamond Crown Maximus a Julius Caeser and Some Cigar Trivia

I’ve been celebrating this whole finding a new job thing pretty hard, smoking some good cigars while I still have the time! Starting tomorrow I’ll have to get back to my evening cigar walk routine, not that that is a bad thing! It’ll be nice to have a Monday to Friday, 8-4:30 gig again after over two years (between not having a job, and having a retail schedule with nights and weekends). I’m looking forward to settling into the routine! It’ll also be nice to have a roughly 7 minute commute! I love not having to waste a lot of time driving and wear and tear on vehicles, and since my car gets 38 mpg, and my bike gets about 55, I won’t be spending a lot on gas. So I’ve been smoking so great cigars, like I said. I started off with a Sin Compromiso that I had bought when we visited Best Cigar Pub in June. It was amazing, and a prelude to my appearance on The Retrohale podcast, where I smoked a Sobremesa Short Churchill with the guys. Give the show a listen, it’s a good time and I didn’t embarrass myself too much!

I came across the J.C. Newman Julius Caeser Hail Caeser, the 6″ x 60 that they introduced a few years ago, whole poking around one of the better drawers in the wineador, and decided it would be a great celebration cigar. I’m so sad that this was the last one I had, because it was a wonderful cigar! I seem to forget how much I like this cigar until I smoke it, then I remember and wonder why I don’t keep more of these around. I think the only one I have left on hand is in a 2014 Toast Across America box that my daughter surprised me with for my birthday that year. I suppose the fact that I rarely drop upwards of $17 on a cigar plays into it, but I probably would for this cigar, heck, I did for the Sin Compromiso, and this is it’s equal.It’s rich, sweet and creamy, I’m a fan. I may have to treat myself to a few to have on hand.

Smoking the Julius Caeser, and the barrage of Yagua news and pictures I’ve seen (I was hoping some would arrive before writing this, but they didn’t, more on those later, TY KS in advance), I felt compelled to smoke another top shelf J.C. Newman offering, the Diamond Crown Maximus Toro No. 4. I remember when Maximus was released about 15 years ago. I loved the Diamond Crown, but it was a little too mild for me (I still love it, I have to be in the right mood). I was thrilled when they came out with the MAximus because it was more full bodied, and this one has some oomph to it. It has a Sungrown Ecuador wrapper, which is funny because most of the tobacco growing regions in Ecuador are known for being predominantly cloud-covered. It’s a dark wrapper, oily, almost rustic, but beautiful with a lovely flavor. The cigar has a rich, dense smoke, with dark-roast coffee flavors, it‘s really a nice cigar, I put it in that “classic” category that I’d like to have a box in my humidor, up there with Fuente Don Carlos and Hemingway, Ashton VSG, etc. I know there’s a common thread there, but it’s funny that some of the cigars I consider humidor staples are Fuentes and Padrons. Anyway, I’d put a box of Maximus in my humidor in a heartbeat (and/or Julius Caeser!). You know how I like to pick on website feux pas, I think the last two sizes on their size chart are reversed, but I’m probably one of the few who would notice or care!

I’m going to wrap up with an interesting (to me, anyway) bit of trivia. I mentioned this to Dave Garofalo years ago, now that he has The Snack Authority podcast, maybe he might want to bring it up. If you’ve ever had an Avanti or Parodi cigar and seen the way they are packaged, in a cardboard tray wrapped in cello and thought it looked familiar, it’s because the Avanti/Parodi company actually bought that packaging machine from Tootsie Roll. The classic 2.25oz Tootsie Roll bar came packaged in the same cardboard tray and cello as the Avanti and Parodi cigars. By the way, you should avoid Tootsie Rolls if you have certain dental work, I learned that the hard way at an IPCPR in New Orleans a few years ago! Took a temporary crown right off! It’s the last Tootsie Roll I ever ate. Your bit of cigar trivia for the day.