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: