Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7, Maduro

First review, I guess I'll make this one count, at least my wallet will think so, given this is an $18.00 stick.

I'll start with the technical details - this really is a gorgeous cigar - the wrapper is a beautiful maduro, and while I usually couldn't care less about band art, the band really does pair up well with the deep maduro wrapper. It has a certain heft to it that really makes it feel like a solid smoke.

Construction is excellent - all of the DC's I've seen run large ring gauges, allowing for some pretty impressive multi-leaf blends, and this one was no exception. The construction quality carried through to the ash as well - which held up admirably.

Burn was a little uneven, but I chalk part of that up to my lighting - I was using a sub-optimal lighter at the time, letting the cigar rest for a bit on an incline evened things up though, so, again, I think this was a case of operator error rather than flawed construction.

Draw was great, especially for a torpedo, sorry, pyramid, which can have issues if the overall construction isn't up to par.

Now on to the real details; From a flavor profile perspective, this was a much stronger cigar than I expected - I've seen these classified from mild to medium - I'd put it in the medium category myself, but much more toward the strong/full end of the range. Again, it's strength took me by surprise - it creeps up on you.

At first puff, the cigar was really mild, some cedar notes, but nothing to really write home about. A few moments in, however, it really opened up. Floral notes really were the signature here - even the smoke put off by this stick carries with it some floral overtones. A pleasant surprise for me, as this was one of the few instances I actually smoked in the house (albeit with windows open and a good deal of ventilation) due to some nasty rainstorms in the region. As pleasant as it was, I still underestimated the potency of this cigar - it wasn't until I stood up to fetch some water, and the subsequent "Cigar Buzz" hit me that I realized what a real gem this is.

I paired this with some recently acquired a bottle of Distillers Choice Laphroaig - in hindsight, this wasn't a great pairing. I underestimated the floral overtones of the cigar, and wound up saving most of the scotch for later. An ideal pairing, in my mind, would be a non-Islay, lighter scotch. Budget favorite (i.e. my college favorite) Aberlour would be a good choice for it's floral/fruity notes, or even Glenlivet/Glenkinchie. If you are putting out enough for a nice cigar, it's worth having a good drink pairing, after all.

$18.00 might be a little steep for a cigar, but disregarding the price, this one's a solid Hoff*.

(* - Ratings retroactively added)

Diamond Crown Pyramid No. 7, Maduro
Size: Pyramid (Torpedo) (6.7" x 54 ring)
Taste: Medium (Medium-Full)
Draw: Good
Burn: Even, after correction.
Flavors: Cedar, Floral
Overall Rating:

Rating Methodology

1-10 - A simple 1-10 scale. But why? Things as rich and complex as cigars, simplified down to a single number? What about flavor, what about intensity? Ash quality? Build? Draw?

See, here's the thing - remember when we said we had "average Joes" in mind when we thought up this idea? (We weren't too drunk at the time, we assure you). We wanted to keep it simple. Our 1-10 is basically a "would I smoke it again" rating. Nothing more, nothing less. We'll talk about qualities of the smoke (or drink) in the review/tasting notes, but that's about as far as it goes.

One other note: price. We'll talk about price (since it can be a deciding factor), but price won't weigh in to our actual rating.

Obviously, a simple 1-10 scale alone doesn't tell you everything you need to know about a cigar. Type comes into play as well, a mild cigar that's good at being mild could presumably also be a spicy cigar that's terrible at being spicy... this is where tags come in.

Tags - we'll be tagging works "Mild, Wild or Medium" - based on where the cigar generally falls - a "10" mild and a "10" wild will both be good cigars, but will be so for vastly different reasons. We may need to add a few more for drink tasting notes, but those will be discussed as they arise.

Welcome!

So, this is the beginning of our new adventure into cigar and spirit tasting/writing. Here's the background: we are not connoisseurs. We are not experts. We are barely literate. In fact, in some states we are not allowed to operate a vehicle.

What we are is a group of three guys who have decided (some recently, some not-so-recently) that we enjoy whiskey and cigars, and want to try our hand at writing about them. Our posts will include some background, some impressions of the product at hand, and some pictures. Except this one. Because I forgot my camera.

We live in different areas of the country, but starting soon we will be attempting to review the same cigars and drinks at the same time, to give you some different viewpoints on the same subject. We appreciate feedback, unless your feedback is "lol" or some kind of spam. But we do like real Spam. Mmmmm.....ham-like....



I'll start with this weekend. Curt and I went out to the local cigar bar in Raleigh, Havana Deluxe. I brought with me a Castle Hall churchill that I recieved as a gift from a generous fellow on a message board that I read. The Castle Hall is a hefty cigar compared to what I usually smoke - it's 7" long and has a 52 ring. The wrapper is a very light tan, tending towards the greenish end. The band is predominantly purple and orange, and to be honest looks a little garish. The internet tells me that it is made from Dominican and Honduran filler, with a Honduran wrapper. To be honest, that doesn't mean a lot to me.

The first thing I noticed was that the draw was really easy on this. Not as easy as the CAO Brazilia I had last week, but still ridiculously open. The flavor on first light was not great, and I got a lot of little tobacco bits in my mouth from a slightly frayed cut. However, about a quarter of the way through it really started to pick up. It had a really smooth and creamy smoke, and had a nice strong flavor without being harsh. (I define harsh as that tannic taste you get on the sides of your tongue). It definitely had a hint of sweetness to it, as well as (maybe) a nutty flavor.

However, this is a good place to put a disclaimer. I can't taste all those notes that cigar-people claim to taste. Toasted leather, honeysuckle, Scott Baio's mullet, wild rose, whatever. I can't taste them in wine, I can't taste them in scotch, and I can't taste them here. So take my opinion for what it's worth: nothing.

I paired this cigar with a really nice Old-Fashioned (Maker's Mark bourbon, sugar, orange, cherry, bitters). I find that the smell of a cigar really enhances a bourbon drink, bringing out the smokier flavors in the bourbon. Maker's is a very nice bourbon and makes for a nice old-fashioned. There are fancier bourbons, but for the price it's hard to beat Maker's. I'll have some more detailed bourbon reviews as we progress.

I also really recommend Havana Deluxe to any cigar aficionados in the area. It's members only, so you have to sign up to be a member. But because of this, it's never crowded. There are plenty of leather sofas and small tables with high-backed chairs to hang out in, and the music is low so you can talk. We sat there for 3+ hours smoking and drinking, and never were pressured to leave. I had another cigar in the evening, a Montecristo #3, but I'll review that another time.

So next time expect more pictures, and more of the same ramblings. Also, next time we will debut our unique cigar and drink rating system.