Diamond Crown Maduro

In 1995, Stanford Newman wanted to create the "best cigar in the world" to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the J.C. Newman Cigar Company. He spared no expense and didn't care how long it took to create the blend. To do this, he recruited none other than Carlos Fuente Sr., crafting the cigars in his famed Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia factory in the Dominican Republic. The final cigars would be released in two versions: Diamond Crown Natural and Diamond Crown Maduro.

Back in the 1990s, the largest ring gauge cigars on the market were 50 to 52—pretty average by today's standards. But when Stanford Newman wanted to make this entire line a 54 ring gauge, that was considered to be a very large cigar. He did this to make sure he could fit six different tobacco leaves into the blend. Adding to the stat sheet, Diamond Crown cigars are inspected three separate times before hitting the shelves, and are aged in lots of 50 cigars for at least 12 months.

The wrapper for the Diamond Crown Maduro cigar is a Connecticut Broadleaf that goes through two fermentations. The rest of the blend is the same as its Natural Connecticut Shade-wrapped sibling, using a Dominican binder and Caribbean and Central American fillers. When smoking this super-premium, be on the lookout for layered notes of wood, cocoa, and espresso.