The Good Stuff:

The Diamond Crown Julius Caesar Et Tu Brute was released to celebrate two milestones for J.C. Newman. First their founder, Julius Caeser (J.C.) Newman, founded the J.C. Newman Cigar Company on May 5, 1895 — 127 years ago. Secondly, May 26th would have been Julius Caeser Newman’s 147th birthday. The coffin-boxed, 6 3/4 x 54 “Shark” box-pressed torpedo format is usually only released inside the “Toast Packs”. The blend features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over a binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic. This is an extremely limited run and each stick runs $24.99 per.

• Size: 6 3/4 x 54
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
• Binder: Dominican
• Filler: Dominican
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium
• Price: $24.99
• Pairing: The Bruery B A N A N A S (Imperial Stout 13.3%)

Prelight:

The Diamond Crown Julius Caesar Et Tu Brute is laid within a beautiful black coffin box. Once removed the cigar showcases a beautiful and extremely consistent medium brown wrapper. The first obvious characteristic is the hard box-pressed body which leads up two a round, tapered torpedo cap. The wrapper’s texture is slightly toothy with a ton of oils coating it. The wrapper feels very hard and dense and the cigar as a whole is pretty hard and packed well. The cigar is polished off with the standard detailed gold, blue, white and purple band we commonly find on the Julius Caesar releases.

The wrapper on the Diamond Crown Julius Caesar Et Tu Brute gives off strong cedar and cashew aromas while the foot of the cigar is much more musky with lots of dirt and earthiness. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces strong notes of musk, honey, and natural tobacco.

First Third:

The Diamond Crown Julius Caesar Et Tu Brute starts out with notes of cedar, cashew and honey over lighter notes of maple, graham cracker, and loads of mossy earthiness. The draw is great as each little puff kicks out huge clouds of thick white smoke which really stick around for some time while the cigar releases only small amounts of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is crazy thin leaving behind a compacted trail of medium gray ash which held on for almost an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Diamond Crown Julius Caesar Et Tu Brute and the flavors are now focused heavily on the earthiness and honey. There are lighter notes of cashew and cedar underneath while the retrohale brings the maple back out of the cigar. The cigar is still burning great and I close out the second third with not signs of nicotine.

Finish:

The final third of the Diamond Crown Julius Caesar Et Tu Brute is where the cigar really shines. The musk, earthiness, and honey have taken over the flavor profile and have broth the cashew and maple up along with them. It took me about two hours to smoke this cigar down to the nub. I experienced no harshness nor any extended heat. I close out the cigar with no nicotine kick. I did want to mention how awesomely comfortable this box-pressed torpedo format is in both my mouth and hand.

Overview:

The Diamond Crown Julius Caesar Et Tu Brute is a great cigar and a classic example of how much a vitola change can make a cigar extra special. Anyone knows how rare shark formatted cigars are. The cigar is a bit on the milder site as it features a subtle bit of complexity that could easily be overlooked. The burn and construction were perfect. While I do get that its a cigar created to celebrate the company’s heritage and J.C. Newman’s birthday I do think the cost of the cigar prices it out of most people’s consideration.

Pairing:

The Bruery’s B A N A N A S is a 13.3% ABV Rum barrel-aged imperial stout with graham crackers, bananas, brown sugar, milk sugar, and Tahitian vanilla beans. The beer leads with heavy amounts of natural banana, roasted malt, sweet vanilla, maple and honey with an incredibly thick and stick mouthfeel before finishing with more banana, brown sugar, vanilla, and cocoa. I’m surprised that the banana and brown sugar comes through as much as they did. There is a nice little rum aftertaste that doesn’t come through other than the aftertaste. The beer added a level of sweetness that I felt the cigar really needed to comfort my palate. I have been huge on banana in stouts the last few years and this is a great example of banana done right.

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The Good Stuff:

The Yagua is the brain child of Lazaro Lopez, who manages J.C. Newman’s PENSA factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. Lazaro Lopez’s grandfather used to create cigars back in Cuba without the use of cigar molds, which just about every cigar process now includes. Instead, Lopez’s grandfather would roll the cigars then tightly wrap them in a small wheel using Royal Palm leaves. This would gives the cigars each a unique shape.

J.C. Newman used this as inspiration when creating the Yagua which employs the same method. The result is a range of different shapes within each box ranging from standard, round cigars to triangular and octagon shaped cigars. It is said that the cigars, once unrolled, return to a more circular shape as they rest in the box.

The Yagua comes in a single 6 x 54 toro format using a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. Each box comes packaged in 20’s wrapped in Royal Palm leaves running $7.50 per stick.

• Size: 6 x 54
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium
• Price: $7.50
• Pairing: The Bruery Terreux Tart of Darkness with Cherry and Vanilla

Prelight:

Most of the cigars in my box actually came out in pyramid and parallelogram shapes. Which is interestingly enough, extremely comfortable both in my hand and my mouth. The Yagua starts off with a very consistent, dark brown wrapper with a nice orange sheen. The wrapper’s texture is gritty and toothy with a whole ton of oils coating it. The wrapper is very thick and dense and the cigar as a whole feels very soft and malleable. The body of the Yagua showcases some medium-sized veins and lots of natural webbing leading through the triangular shaped body to the round, double-wrapped cap. The cigar is then polished off with a beautiful maroon and gold band with the Yagua crest embossed over and over around it.

The wrapper on the Yagua gives off a nice brown sugar aroma over soft cedar while the foot of the cigar is much more earthy with notes of musk and leather. The cap cut clean and easy using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some nice mossy, earthy flavors over light caramel and cedar.

First Third:

The Yagua starts out with a brisk kick of black pepper which fades almost immediately leaving behind bold notes of brown sugar, caramel, and cedar of light notes of musk and leather. There is actually quite a bit going on here right off the bat. The burn draw is remarkably steady and easy to get large pulls of thick white smoke while the cigar releases almost no stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. And while the cigar itself is shaped very obtuse, its rather easy to hold and comfortable in my mouth. The burn line is a bit thick leaving behind a trail of lightly compacted white ash which only held on for about a half inch before giving way.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Yagua and the flavor profile is incredible. The brown sugar and cedar still lead the pack backed by caramel, vanilla, musk, floral, and a grainy-earthiness. The retrohale really brings out the sweetness of this cigar and its so easy on my nasal passage that I find myself doing it quite often. The burn line is now razor thin, and surprisingly dead-even while I close out the second third with only a very light nicotine punch.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Yagua and I am loving this. From the comfort of the strange size, to the awesome flavor profile which now consists of bold cedar and caramel back by cinnamon, musk, floral, and brown sugar. It took me two hours to take this cigar down to the nub. I experienced no harshness, nor extended heat. I shockingly never experienced a single draw issue nor did I ever have to touch-up and relight the cigar. I close out with only a mild nicotine kick.

Overview:

I was torn on this cigar going in. It felt a bit like a marketing-ploy, but at the same time the unique process that went into making the Yagua intrigued me. Well, the cigar surpassed all my expectations. First, while the cigar looks a bit weird, the odd-shaped cigars seem to be some of the most comfortable cigars I have ever handled. I don’t know what it is with the hard, juxtaposed edges, but they just fit so comfortably. Second, while I expected to experience crazy draw issues, I encountered… well.. none. I smoked about 4 of these in total so far and each burned well, and the draw was always great. Third, this is a damn good blend. Its complex, yet balanced and the flavor profile is exactly what I look for in a cigar. Oddly enough, this is one of the better cigars I have smoked all years and I didn’t know what to expect going into it.

Pairing:

Brewed at The Bruery Terreux brewery in Placentia, California this version of Tart of Darkness is aged in Rum Barrels with cherries and vanilla. Coming in at 10.5% ABV this sour stout leads with a pungent sourness, tart cherry, floral, caramel and a bit soy sauce, with a very light mouthfeel before finishing with more tart cherry, tart apple, caramel, and a touch of brown sugar and vanilla bean. The complex flavors in the beer matches up incredibly well with the complex flavors in the Yagua while so many of the matching flavors married up perfectly with one another.

The post J.C. Newman – Yagua appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

-Tony

In 2003, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. debuted the Diamond Crown Maximus as a full-bodied complement to their portfolio of super premium cigar lines.  The Maximus utilizes a wrapper grown in the El Bajo region of Ecuador by the Oliva family.  It is blended by Carlito Fuente and manufactured at Tabacalera A. Fuente in the Dominican Republic.

The Maximus come in seven sizes:

• Double Corona 8×50
• Churchill 7×50
• Pyramid 6⅜x50
• Toro 6×50
• Robusto 5×50
• Double Robusto 5×56
• Double Belicoso 6¾x54

Prices run from $11.25 to $18.95 per cigar in boxes of 20

I’ve only had a few Diamond Crown cigars before, so I’m anxious to see how their fuller bodied line pans out.  I got my Maximus from our great friends over at Cuenca Cigars.

The Basics:

• Wrapper: Ecuadorian El Bajo sungrown
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Size smoked for review: #6 Double Robusto 5×56
• Price: $12.45
• Smoking time: One hour, forty minutes
• Pairing: No-Li Brewhouse Wrecking Ball Imperial Stout (ABV 9.5%)

Pre-smoke:

The Diamond Crown Maximus is a great looking cigar, sporting a wrapper that is consistently dark brown with a light sheen of oils and a few fine veins.  The wrapper has a rather silky feel and is firmly rolled with tight seams and a solid pack.  The colorful and intricate band looks well matched against the dark brown of the wrapper.  An earthy barnyard aroma comes off the wrapper, while the foot shows rich earthy and woody tobacco.  A v-cut reveals a somewhat snug, but very tolerable draw that brings up sweet earthy tobacco and light baking spices.

First third:

The draw proves not to be a problem, and the Maximus gives up a more than adequate amount of rich natural tobacco, sweet earth, oak, and spice.  The smoke is smooth and rounded, as musk and bread soon make an appearance, and there is just a touch of pepper on the retrohale.  Although the burn went off a bit for a short while, it has mostly self-corrected and the burn line is razor sharp, while the nearly white ash is solid with just a few flakes here and there, hanging on for an inch and a half.  The sweet earthy tobacco and oak have settled into the driver’s seat, while the musk, bread, and spice play supporting roles.  I’m glad to be smoking this cigar outdoors though, as it has been pumping out gobs of smoke as it sits on the edge of my ashtray.

Middle third:

The second third of the Diamond Crown Maximus ushers in a honeyed sweetness and what little pepper there was in the retrohale has completely dissipated.  The sweetness is nicely complemented by the entry of a bit of savoriness.  The musk and bread have also stepped up a bit, while a touch of cocoa creeps in.  Near the end of this section, the sweetness has dialed back and the savory note has bumped up.  The Maximus at this point is at a solid medium in body, with mild strength.

Final third:

As it moves into the final third, the Maximus has struck a great balance between light sweetness and savoriness. The rich tobacco, wood, and bread, along with light musk and spice blend smoothly on the palate and there now there is even a bit of citrus on the back end.  A small amount of char comes in at the very end and the 1” nub is very firm and absolutely cool to the touch, finishing up at near medium-full in body and still mild in strength with never a hint of harshness.

Final thoughts:

The Diamond Crown Maximus proved to be a very enjoyable smoke for me, with flavors that were smooth and complex enough to keep me engaged, even though there was not a lot in the way of transitions.  Construction was excellent, and even though the burn wandered off a few times, I never had to do anything to get it back on track.  It’s a cigar that anyone can enjoy, from novice to seasoned smoker, and at just about any time of the day.  The price may be a little on the high side for me, but it wouldn’t deter me from picking up on it again for a cigar to just kick back with and relax without having to think about it too much. 

Pairing:

I figured that this cigar would go best with a dark quaff that doesn’t have too much of the typical hopped-up bitterness that many West Coast stouts carry, so I went with one I knew is more on the smooth and malty side.  Even though it has an IBU count of 100, the No-Li Wrecking Ball definitely lacks that common Northwest bitterness in its medium bodied profile.  The rich flavors of mocha, prune and sweetness that deepen as it warms proved to be a perfect match with the Diamond Crown Maximus.  A rich tawny port, or a sweet rum or bourbon would also pair well with it.

~Jeff Oda~

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