-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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The wrapper on this cigar seems is very pretty, it’s got a very fresh and organic feel to it. At the same time it’s also pretty cryptic. On the front form top to bottom, you see “CAO”, “OSA” and “SOL” while on each side there are the words “San Agustin” and “Olancho”. Also in the white section it appears to be a map type of image with some names and rivers or roads on it. To help break the encryption for everyone, the “OSA” is simply the first initials of the regions where the tobaccos for this cigar were harvested. In this case it’s from ‘O’lancho, and ‘S’an ‘A’gustin.

I’m not sure exactly what the map is supposed to mean, possibly just tying into how the name is connected to it’s area of origin. The “Sol” in the name simply translates to “Sun” from Spanish. Likely signifying the Sungrown wrapper that surrounds the cigar. It’s also interesting to see that General Cigar kept the trend of naming the cigar after the location of it’s wrapper like CAO did. Although CAO usually named it after the wrappers after their country rather than region, such as the “Italia” or “Brazilia”

The blender for this new cigar is Rick Rodriguez of General Cigar. According to General/CAO, the leaves were chosen from the above mentioned regions in Honduras because of their unique weather conditions that result in some extra natural oils. I can’t say I noticed any excess of oils but it had a nice sheen to it. I will also say that General has some big shoes to fill after the massive success of CAO’s La Traviata and La Traviata Maduro.

I have to admit I’m coming into this cigar review with mixed feelings. I’ve enjoyed many of CAO’s offerings but now that they’ve been acquired by General Cigar I have some concerns since I’ve not had a good track record with General’s offerings. Maybe I just haven’t found the line they make that appeals to me. So here I guess we will find if the acquisition worked out in favor of the CAO line or not…

A quick disclaimer, this cigar was sent as a sample from General Cigar but I can assure you my review and opinions are my own and are completely honest. Now with that out of the way, let’s get to the “Good Stuff” as Tony would say!

Cigar: CAO OSA SOL
Drink: Innia & Gunn Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer
Vitola: ”Lot 50” Robusto (5 x 50)
Wrapper: Honduran Sungrown
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan/Honduran
Price: About $5.50 – $6
Burn Time: A little over an hour

Construction:
• The CAO OSA has a very velvety smooth wrapper that has a warm cinnamon color to it
• There are some visible veins along the wrapper but they are not bumpy at all
• The head of the cigar is finished with a very clean double cap
• The foot of the cigar seems a bit messy, it looks well packed but some of the leaves seem sort of folded in and not really cleanly cut
• From the cap to the foot, the entire cigar is very firm with very little give when squeezed, let’s hope that doesn’t translate to a tight draw…
• The cut was very easy and clean and left me with a slightly tight draw. It’s not overly difficult to draw so I’ll stick with it for now

Burn:
• Toasting was a little bit tedious and there were some dark spots near the center that would just not glow properly, but after a few puffs I think I’m well on my way
• The cigar has a slight wave to it within the first inch, we’ll see if the burn corrects itself or gets worse…
• The wave is slowly getting worse as the cigar progresses, I’ve made it to the half way mark without correction but it may need a touch up soon
• As predicted, I needed a hefty touch up shortly after the halfway point and it continue to go downhill after that…

Smoke & Ash:
• The first few draws were a little weak in the smoke department but it got going to a moderate amount per draw shortly after
• There is initially a lot of resting smoke after putting the cigar down but within a couple seconds it’s pretty much no resting smoke at all
• The ash on this cigar is looking to be very clean and strong with a medium gray and black color to it
• Ash held on nicely for about an inch before falling into the ashtray, still remaining tightly bound

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma on the wrapper of the CAO OSA has an interesting tart sweetness to it and a bit of a mild tobacco touch
• The foot keeps the slight tartness to it and adds a bit of spice and a dry foliage type of aroma
• The tartness makes another appearance in the pre-light draw, along with more of the dry foliage earthiness
• Within the first few puffs I get a very interesting spicy bite, it’s not quite pepper, maybe something like a chili flake. Mix that in with the sweetness that’s still around and this is making for a very tasty start!
• Sweet Chili Doritos come to mind as I continue smoking this… wow! Maybe even with a little dirt thrown in the bag for the earthy flavors! lol
• The chili flavors have settled down a bit and translated to a mild white pepper, the earthiness has taken it’s place mixed with some cedar. Seems the sweetness is mostly gone now
• The retrohale up to now has been pretty uneventful with almost no bite and a bland finish
• Body for the most part has been in the low end of medium for the first half
• The flavors have settled into a mostly plain cedar and earthy mix and the finish has gotten slightly dry, a HUGE change from my initial impression
• Sadly, the blandness continues as I smoke the cigar, the flavors are turning into an almost charred wood type of flavor
• After my touch up past the halfway point the flavors took another downward turn and really turned more into the charred zone. I’m hoping it picks up…
• After another touch-up I couldn’t smoke this one anymore. I was trying to take one for the team here and hoping for the best but it’s just not happening, setting it down early…

Final Thoughts:
I REALLY had some hope for this cigar after seeing it’s construction, aroma and interesting initial flavors. That wicked sweet chili start really got my attention but it sadly tapered off quickly after that. The sweetness and chili got replaced by some plain cedar and earthy flavors that did not compare at all, it was if I started smoking a whole different cigar. I have to say I can’t remember the last time I had such a huge difference of opinion from start to finish on the same cigar. If the initial flavors on this cigar continued, I would have given this a glowing review for it’s uniqueness and delicious profile, but sadly that didn’t happen. The price point on these is accessible but it doesn’t come close to comparing to CAO’s old flagship La Traviata which was at the same price or even cheaper.

Pairings:
Innis & Gunn, what can I say? It’s still one of my favorite breweries. I enjoy everything I’ve had from them and I continue to seek them out every time I go to the store. Today’s choice was their Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer which is a fantastic brew. It’s got some very tasty fruity sweetness and malty flavors mixed in with their trademark wonderful oaky notes. You can even catch some spicy flavors in there if you really pay attention. It’s got a fairly dark and full body on it so it can stand up to many fuller cigars including the CAO OSA. It made for a good pairing and added some interesting flavors to what ended up being a straightforward cigar. Other good pairings with this cigar would probably be some flavorful or full bodied beers or wines to keep your palate interested. Possiby a nice stout, Port or a strong cup of coffee to overpower the cigar… lol

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Now onto the cigar… If you attended IPCPR back in 2010 or read articles about the event, you probably heard about the new blend from El Primer Mundo, called the Liga Miami. I recently stumbled across a few of these sticks at the bottom of my humidor and realized they’ve been sitting there since sometime last year (oops?). With the upcoming IPCPR 2011 in July, I figured it would be a good cigar to pick up and review.

The Liga Miami blend from Sean Williams(Twitter: @PrimerMundo) made some waves at IPCPR 2010, especially in the blogosphere where a lot of reviewers were impressed by the unique array of flavors this cigar offered. The El Primer Mundo website is currently under construction, but before it went down you could also read up on their previous blends, the Connecticut Shade and Habano Criollo Maduro. The Liga Miami has the same company band on it but also adds an additional goldish-brown and silver band with the words Liga Miami on it.

The cigar itself is produced in Miami at the El Titan de Bronze factory. Willy Herrera of El Titan de Bronze also has a hand in making them This is a big change from the other two blends which are made in Esteli Nicaragua. You’ll also nice there is no box press on this cigar like the other offerings from El Primer Mundo.

Along with today’s Robusto vitola, you can also find the Liga Miami in a Toro and Churchill size. The cigar has an interesting mix of tobacco including a double binder and some ligero used in the filler. So without any more babbling from me, let’s see how this cigar stacks up!

Cigar: El Primer Mundo Liga Miami
Drink: Waterloo Brewery Radlermass Lemonade Lager
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sungrown
Binder: Double binded Nigaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican Republic (some Ligero)
Price: about $9
Burn Time: About 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Liga Miami has a very nice reddish colored wrapper surrounding it
• Slightly oily and rough, the wrapper has some medium sized veins running along it
• There was a nice spring to the cigar when squeezed, not enough to seem under-filled though
• The head of the cigar is finished with a very clean triple cap, definitely some attention to detail there
• The bands themselves take up quite a bit of real estate on this cigar, at least a good 1/3rd
• The foot looks the be moderately packed
• The cut was fairly easy and left a clean opening but made a bit of a mess in the ashtray

Burn:
• Toasting didn’t go so well, had some unevenness to it and I just couldn’t get it all lit properly without some assistance from a couple draws
• Despite the my failed toasting, the burn started off surprisingly well through the first inch
• Burn was razor sharp through the first half
• The cigar has burned nice and slowly the whole way through and allowed me to enjoy it slowly without ever feeling like it was going out

Smoke & Ash:
• Tons of smoke coming from the cigar straight from the start
• The ash has a very nice white color to it
• Despite the nice color, the ash is getting a little flaky very fast
• The resting smoke on this Liga Miami is consistent and has a very unique aroma, you get a bit of sweetness on the nose. Very pleasant.
• Ash managed to hang tight for close to two inches

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on the Liga Miami has a nice sweetness to it, along with a bit of cedar
• The foot definitely brings more sweetness and a tasty mild spice, almost like Cinnamon Sugar
• The pre-light draw brought with it a heavy helping of woodsiness and a bit of earthiness
• The initial draws offered up more of he woodsy flavors with a subtle note of sweetness in there, still along the same lines of cinnamon sugar
• The sweetness is definitely building up in this cigar, almost adding a syrupy flavor to the mix
• Body has been mostly mild to start and the retrohale has the tiniest bite with a smooth and creamy finish
• Adding to the syrupy/cinnamon sweetness, the cigar has a very pleasant creamy finish
• The woodsiness is still hanging around, is that burning caramelized wood could smell like? lol
• Body built up to a nice medium around the half-way mark
• The sweetness has tapered off a bit now, it’s still there and I’m getting some nice nutty almond flavors
• Definitely seems like the ligero was saved for the last half of the cigar, I’m getting some leathery flavors in the mix now and a touch of spice
• With about 1.5inches left, the sweetness has mostly left the mix but the remaining flavors are balancing well and the body is still a comfortable medium
• The creamy finish has remained consistent, I think this can probably be attributed to the double binder along with a smooth wrapper
• The creamy finish and leather/woodsy flavors continued to the nub with no bitterness, this was a finger burning cigar!

Final Thoughts:
Now this was a surprisingly unique and enjoyable cigar. When I hear ligero I usually brace myself for a powerful cigar with a straightforward flavor profile. This was definitely not the case with the El Primer Mundo Liga Miami. The first half of the cigar was totally unexpected. Sweet, smooth, creamy notes with a superb burn. Very uncharacteristic of a ligero filled cigar and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The last half came closer to what I expected from this cigar but it still had a smooth and balanced creaminess I don’t usually find in ligero cigars. I’m curious if the extra age in the humi made a difference since I didn’t smoke one when I first got them. It’s easy to see there was a lot of care and planning that went into this cigar and the final result speaks for itself. These are something everyone should try and can go well as a mid-day or evening cigar.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing was from Waterloo Brewery, just a short 1 hour drive from my house. It is part of the Seasonal Collection and is called the Radlermess. It is a Lemonade Lager and has an interesting story behind it. The term Radlermess comes from Germany and was coined by a Innkeeper not far from Munich. The story says that he was overloaded with cyclists one day and was running low on beer so he took a risk and mixed his remaining beer with some lemon soda. It was a big hit! In German, Radler means cyclist and Mass means a liter of beer.
I took a bit of a risk with this pairing but based on the past few Liga Miami’s I’ve smoked I figured the sweetness from a lemonade beer would go nicely. I was worried the beer may have been too sweet but they did a good job balancing the lemonade and beer together. It actually worked out very well! The sweetness of the beer complimented the sweetness of the cigar at the start. As the cigar turned a little more into the woodsy/nutty/leathery flavors, the beer counteracted them, leaving a nice sweet aftertaste between draws. I think this beer would also go excellently with some connecticut wrappers. As for the cigar, an Amber lager would have gone well here too, as would my favorite tawny port. Maybe even a nice coffee with a bit of sugar to add some sweetness.

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