Cigar Review: Diamond Crown Black Diamond Radiant

The J.C. Newman Cigar Co., best known for its Cuesta-Rey and Diamond Crown cigars, was founded in 1895. That’s the year a young Julius Caeser Newman crafted his first cigars in the family barn in Cleveland, which is about 1,100 miles from the city that’s been synonymous with the company for decades: Tampa. J.C. Newman has operated there since its 1954 move to a historic cigar factory in the heart of the Ybor City neighborhood.

With so much history—and given this industry’s proclivity to never let an anniversary pass without a new cigar—it’s no wonder J.C. Newman has a few milestone cigars. Diamond Crown, for example, while originally available in the 1940s and 1950s, was relaunched into the super-premium line you know today in 1995 to commemorate the company’s 100th anniversary. Later, in 2010, Diamond Crown Julius Caeser celebrated the 115th anniversary.

Not every Diamond Crown recognizes a milestone, though (which is perfectly fine, by the way; one shouldn’t require a reason to create a great cigar). I am not aware of any special motivation behind the launch of Diamond Crown Maximus in 2003. Nor am I of the newest Diamond Crown addition: Black Diamond.

Launched in 2016, Black Diamond is made at the Tabacalera A. Fuente factory in the Dominican Republic for J.C. Newman. “Eric and Bobby Newman worked closely with Carlos Fuente, Sr. and Carlos Fuente, Jr. developing a new blend worthy of the Black Diamond name,” reads a J.C. Newman press release. The result is a three-vitola line that includes a dark, eight-year-old Connecticut Havana-seed sun-grown wrapper around a Dominican binder and five-year-old Dominican filler tobaccos grown exclusively for this cigar. This “small-batch, epicurean cigar” is made in limited quantities and only available at 150 retailers.

The three sizes are: Emerald (6 x 52), Marquis (5.25 x 56), and Radiant (4.5 x 54). In keeping with Diamond Crown tradition, they are expensive. Per-cigar prices range from $15.55 to $18.25 when bought by boxes of 20; or $17.25 to $20.25 when bought by the 5-pack.

The Diamond Crown Black Diamond Radiant is a stout, pudgy cigar that’s mottled and fairly toothy. It has thin veins and a relatively spongy feel. At the foot are delicate pre-light notes of cocoa and leather. The cap clips cleanly to reveal a slightly stiff cold draw.

At this price, it’s impossible not to have high expectations when you light up your first. Fortunately, the Radiant gets off to a great start with well-balanced notes of espresso, dark chocolate, creamy peanut, and cereals. The texture is bready, the body is decidedly medium, and the spice level is low. The finish is characterized by cinnamon.

As it progresses, baking spices come to the fore and a green raisin note emerges. All the while the combustion properties are admirable. The burn line is straight, the draw opens nicely once lit, the smoke production is good, and the ash holds well off the foot.

I would only change one thing about the Diamond Crown Black Diamond Radiant: the price. I suppose that isn’t a fair way to judge a cigar, though. Price is so subjective. To one wallet, $10 is a lot to spend on a cigar; to another, it’s quite reasonable. At any rate, this is a wonderful cigar worthy of your time, attention, and, yes, hard-earned money. In my book it earns four stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys