J.C. Newman’s new-look and slightly reblended Diamond Crown Maximus is on its way to stores.
On paper, the basics of the blend remain the same as it has been: an Ecuadorian wrapper over a Dominican binder and Dominican fillers. That wrapper continues to be supplied by Oliva Tobacco Co., which grows the leaf at its El Bajo farm. The wrapper is a high-priming leaf, meaning it comes from the top parts of the plant, known for having smaller but fuller leaves. Maximus was introduced in 2002 and, like the other Diamond Crown cigars, is made by Arturo Fuente.
Also not changing are the vitolas and prices; however, the packaging has been updated once again.
Key elements of the old bands (left) can be found on the new ones (right), but there’s now a secondary band with the Roman numerals corresponding to 1895, the year J.C. Newman was founded.
The third-generation boxes (bottom) keep the unique use of feet, something that was developed for the original boxes (top), when the company created a giant M on the side of the boxes.
Drew Newman, owner of J.C. Newman, told halfwheel that he has plans to methodically revamp the company’s core lines, tweaking their blends to better correspond with the modern market, while also updating the packaging. Previously, lines like Diamond Crown Black Diamond, El Baton and Perla del Mar have received similar updates.
“The new Maximus is more refined and a bit bolder,” said Newman in a text to halfwheel. “When it was introduced in 2002, Maximus was a powerhouse of a cigar. Both because average strength has increased overall in cigars in the past two decades and because the blend had become mellower than we wanted over time, we wanted to improve it — and I am happy we did!”
Overall Score
Diamond Crown
Diamond Crown Maximus
Drew Newman
J.C. Newman
Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia
