Stronger Blend And Bold New Look For Diamond Crown Maximus
First, J.C. Newman updated the packaging for its Diamond Crown line in 2024. Now, it’s Maximus’ turn. For the past 24 years, the Diamond Crown Maximus brand has had the same look and taste. That’s changing this month, as Tampa Florida’s J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has not only strengthened the blend, but redesigned the packaging, giving the bands and boxes a more updated appearance. First shipments of the newly-dressed, reblended cigars will be going out to retailers later this month.
Each band is still strikingly ornate and the boxes are still made of varnished wood, so the design didn’t stray too far from the original look. Nor did the blend. Diamond Crown Maximus cigars are still covered in dark, sun-grown wrappers from Ecuador’s El Bajo valley, and the rest of the tobacco is still Dominican. But J.C. Newman has made the cigar a bit stronger to suit more modern tastes. (The box was updated once in 2016, the bands did not change.)
“I am very excited by this because Maximus was my grandfather’s last blend,” says Drew Newman, fourth-generation owner of J.C. Newman Cigar Co. He’s referring to Cigar Aficionado Hall-of-Famer Stanford Newman, who passed away in 2006. “When we launched it, Maximus was one of the strongest and most elegant cigars on the market. Over the past two decades, it has become overlooked and I am excited for everyone to experience it again.”
Like the core Diamond Crown line, Maximus is made in the Dominican Republic by Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. Maximus debuted in 2002 to (belatedly) commemorate the company’s 105th anniversary. Newman expects the new version to start shipping to retailers around August 19th, though the company says it has already sent its first 100 boxes to Two Guys Smoke Shop in New Hampshire for the launch party of the revamped line.
