Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Diamond Crown Tampa is medium tan and has some lightly raised veins. The seams are slightly raised while the head is well finished. There are three bands, with them all carrying a primary color combination of gold, cream, blue and white. The primary carries the brand logo, with the secondary carrying the brand name. The foot band notes the line and has images of the factory in Tampa along with other images that the city is known for. The three bands together are pretty slick. The aroma from the wrapper is a musty mix of cedar, hay and light earth, while the foot brings musty cedar and bread. The pre-light draw brings cedar along with some stone fruit sweetness and floral notes and there is a mild spiciness on my lips.
Seth: The Diamond Crown Tampa is a nice-looking cigar. It is finished with a darker Connecticut wrapper, and it is between Claro and Natural in coloring. It is silky in texture with small veins throughout. It has a nice golden hay coloring. The bands are lovely against the cigar, and there are aromas of hay, leather, tobacco, cedar and cream. Sweet spices are present as well on the wrapper and foot.
John: The Diamond Crown Tampa comes in cellophane and does not have a UPC sticker. There is a primary crown symbol band, a secondary Diamond Crown band and a Tampa foot band that takes up roughly one-third of the cigar. I weighed the cigar at 20.9 grams and measured the humidity with the CigarMedics Humidimeter Pro at 60.4%. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet tobacco and a musty hay note, while the foot offered similar aromas with slightly more pronounced sweet tobacco.
Jiunn: The Diamond Crown Tampa has a silky smooth wrapper to the Colorado Claro wrapper shade. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas tell burning plastic and barnyard. Odd…

Diamond Crown Tampa

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, earth and some black pepper. At a half inch in, the earth mellows a bit, and a light orange pith becomes present. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and light orange pith. At an inch in, a light creaminess joins the profile. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with the earth a good bit behind. Black pepper is in the middle of the profile along with some orange pith and creaminess in the background. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third begins with tobacco and cedar notes. I am picking up some earth and sweet cream qualities, and they are paired with this mineral spice. It has a natural quality to it as a cigar. Balanced, but not complex. Just under medium in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with creamy, sweet tobacco and a delayed dry wood on the post draw that has a short finish. Light to light-plus strength spices move into the finish as the first third settles in. Some earth quietly joins the post draw, sitting underneath the wood as the wood itself intensifies to medium-minus strength. Tannins begin to modify the wood on the finish as the cigar progresses toward the halfway point of the first third.
Jiunn: The first third provides cedar, natural tobacco, citrus and leather. Retrohaling is my favorite as it gives distinct notes of dried red pepper spice and cherry cordials. The finish has tongue sticking cedar wood and toast. Strength and body is medium.

Diamond Crown Tampa

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper increases a bit. At a quarter inch in, the earth increases a bit, as well as the toast level. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth, black pepper and light orange pith. At an inch and a half in, the earth is now right behind the toasted cedar. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with black pepper just in front of the middle of the profile. Orange pith and creaminess remain in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third is in line with the first. Tobacco, cedar and sweet cream notes. Some earth and mineral spices are present. The cigar remains balanced, but not overly complex. Like before, just under medium in strength and body.
John: Creamy sweet wood leads off the second third as tannic wood combines with earth into the post draw. The profile remains largely wood-driven, with modifiers of tannins and dryness contributing depth as the cigar settles in.
Jiunn: The second third’s mouth draws reduce down to just cedar wood and citrus. The good thing is, the retrohale is still intact, providing the same full flavors of dried red pepper spice and cherry cordials. Strength and body is still medium.

Diamond Crown Tampa

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the earth is now even with the toasted cedar up front and the black pepper increases a bit as well. At an inch in, the black pepper becomes a bit sharp. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth with some black pepper. At an inch and a half in, the toast level becomes pretty heavy and some wood bitterness joins the profile. As the cigar wraps up, the heavily toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with some sharp black pepper a bit behind and some orange pith, creaminess and wood bitterness in the background. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
Seth: The final third is in line with the first and second. The cigar is not delivering a great profile, or a profile that is keeping my interest at least, and in the end the mineral spice notes grow in intensity. Medium in strength and body.
John: Dry, tannic wood carries the cigar into the final third with the same flavor combination defining the post draw. Medium-strength earth mixes into the start of the profile and eventually takes over by the halfway point. Earth moves up to medium-full strength through the bottom half of the cigar, dominating the profile.
Jiunn: The final third is exactly like the second third, being primarily cedar wood and citrus. At this point, especially given the large format of the cigar, the flavors taste mundane and not engaging. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

Diamond Crown Tampa

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times and the cigar went out twice in rapid succession at the end of the second third where there was a hard spot in the bunch. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Seth: The burn was off throughout the entire cigar. Shocking and unacceptable. I have never had a Connecticut Shade burn this poorly.
John: The burn had a wavy start but quickly straightened out, remaining straight for the rest of the review.
Jiunn: Burn performance was perfect, giving an even burn, tight ashes and cool burning temperatures.

Diamond Crown Tampa

Draw

Aaron: The draw was a bit tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
Seth: The draw was decent from beginning to end.
John: I measured the draw at 70 inches of water using the CigarMedics draw machine. Subjectively, I found the draw to be 3½ to 4 notches toward the resistant spectrum, which is fairly snug. As the cigar moved into the first third, it opened to roughly 2½ to 3 notches, improving the overall impression.
Jiunn: The draw was also perfect, giving the ideal balance between air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, earth and some black pepper. A light orange pith joined in pretty quickly. Later, some creaminess joined the profile. The second third saw the pepper, earth and toast level increase a bit. The final third saw the earth become even with the toasted cedar up front. Later, the toast level became very heavy and some wood bitterness joined in. The Diamond Crown Tampa had a nice start, with a good combination of flavors. The profile took a step down in the second third as the earth and toast levels were increasing and remained that way for the rest of the cigar. Overall, a fairly average experience. Add in the very high price point and it’s not a cigar I’d see myself coming back to.
Seth: I was not a fan of the Diamond Crown Tampa. I thought the cigar was very expensive and did not deliver a fraction of what it should have delivered. I think the cigar should have been made in Tampa, and I think the blend should have been more complex. In reality, it should have just been better. We’ve seen elegant Connecticut and FSG blends in the past, and I was expecting that from a cigar of this nature. I would not recommend, I hate that it has FSG tobacco in the blend , and will not return to in the future.
John: The Diamond Crown Tampa delivered a mild, wood-forward profile with touches of cream, tannins and light earth. While the first third offered some balance and subtle sweetness, the profile became progressively more dry and earthy, ultimately losing harmony in the final third. Excellent burn performance and a draw that improved in the first third that helped offset an otherwise linear flavor experience. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 16 minutes.
Jiunn: It’s not everyday you see a massive 6×52 Connecticut Shade. Which makes sense, because for me, it’s a first cigar of the day starter type of cigar in which I’m not looking to sit for 2 plus hours. At any rate, I think the Diamond Crown Tampa was just ok. It possessed a good baseline of flavors in being dirt earth forward and citrus, but where it falls short is heavily lacking sweetness and creaminess. Given this, it’s a pass for me.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.65

Cost/Point

$5.31

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

4.90

Cost/Point

$6.12

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.10

Cost/Point

$5.88

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$5.22

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Diamond Crown Tampa