Cigar Review: Blood Medicine (2025 Limited Edition)
A Curious Remedy with Complications
There’s something seductive about a cigar that presents itself like a secret. Blood Medicine, a 2025 Limited Edition by Crowned Heads, came to me through the Luxury Cigar Club looking like a relic from an apothecary’s shelf. The band—branded with “Good for Man or Beast” and the ironic disclaimer “External Use Only”—leans hard into vintage tonic showmanship. It’s theatrical, mysterious, and makes a bold promise: this cigar is going to do something.
So I lit it up on a warm evening, eager to see whether that promise was charm, or just clever marketing. What followed was a complex ride—one that flirted with excellence, stumbled hard in execution, and ultimately left me wondering what might have been with just a bit more time in the humidor.
Cigar Background
Originally launched as an event-only cigar back in 2015, Blood Medicine has always carried a bit of mystique. In 2024 and again in 2025, Crowned Heads brought it back as a full limited edition release, packaged with theatrical flair and vintage apothecary design.
The blend itself features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over an Ecuadorian Connecticut binder, with all-Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. Rolled at the TacaNicsa factory in Estelí—the same house responsible for blends like Mil Días and Juárez—the cigar aims for medium to full body with balance, spice, and refined complexity. The vitola I smoked was the 5 ½ x 56 Gordo, priced around $11–$12, and produced in limited runs of 700 boxes per size for the 2025 release. It arrived to me wrapped in both curiosity and expectation.
Despite the dark name and vintage circus-style design, this cigar promises balance rather than brute strength. And in many ways, it delivers—just not always at the right time.
Pre-Light Impressions
Out of the cellophane, the cigar felt weighty in the hand—dense, well-packed, and firm throughout. The wrapper was a mid-shade brown with a creamy texture, more inviting than intimidating. But the aroma? Barnyard funk in spades—earthy, fermented, a little sweet. It promised deep, grounded flavors.
The cold draw was surprisingly sweet, with suggestions of chocolate and even strawberry—unusual, intriguing, and exciting. There was a sense of promise before flame ever touched leaf.
First Third
The initial light brought out the sweet cream and chocolate hinted at in the cold draw. The flavor was clean, well-balanced, and delicate, with a strong spice hit on the retrohale that stood in contrast to the smooth profile on the tongue.
But there was trouble beneath the surface.
Early combustion was problematic. Smoke production was weak, and I had to puff hard to keep it lit. After just an inch, tunneling had developed and the burn became wildly uneven. A dark, discolored spot in the ash raised further concern, hinting at improper bunching or an over-humidified section.
The flavors, however, were still elegant—especially in that first third. Cream and chocolate danced well, though it was clear the cigar was struggling to keep up with its own potential.
Second Third
Against all odds, Blood Medicine began to recover. The tunneling slowed, the burn started to self-correct without touchups, and the retrohale remained one of the cigar’s strongest assets—spicy, lively, and eventually even a little sweet.
The smoke thickened slightly, and the flavor shifted from sweet cream to something drier—charred wood, toasted nuttiness, and faint bitterness crept in. While still smokable, this middle portion felt like a flattening of what had been a more complex opening. The clean finish gave way to a faint burnt-toast aftertaste. The “flavor salad” that had delighted early on gave way to something much simpler.
That said, the cigar held construction much better in this third. The ash was sturdy, showing multiple color gradations—a visual record of struggle and recovery. I began to enjoy the experience again, but with clear awareness of the cigar’s flaws.
Final Third
By the time I reached the final third, I was surprised: the cigar was burning evenly. No touchups. No relights. Just a quiet, steady draw from a cigar that had finally found its balance.
But the flavor had mostly moved on.
Charred wood became dominant, with little else to elevate or contrast it. The cream and sweetness faded almost completely. At moments, I caught a flash of something sweeter—maybe syrupy fruit—but it never lasted. The final puffs felt hollow, like the cigar had given everything it had and was just coasting to the finish line.
One out of every three puffs still offered something worth savoring. The rest felt like I was burning the cigar just to complete the journey.
A Note on Context and Construction
As with all reviews based on a single stick, there’s always the possibility that time in the humidor could have made a difference. In this case, it probably would have. While Blood Medicine eventually found its rhythm and delivered some excellent retrohale spice, clean sweetness, and a pleasant first third, the early tunneling, uneven burn, and combustion issues had a clear impact on the overall experience.
And the reality is, most cigar smokers aren’t buying two or three of the same cigar hoping for consistency—they’re trusting the first one to make the case for the blend. When construction falls short, no matter how good the tobacco is underneath, the whole experience suffers.
Aging might improve things. But construction is everything.
Conclusion
For a cigar billed as medicine, this one spent a lot of time in critical condition. And while it eventually found its pulse—and even delivered a few beautiful moments—I’m not convinced it should’ve left the infirmary.
There’s good tobacco here. There’s a great idea here. But it wasn’t consistent, and it never felt fully in control of itself. The flavor told one story, the burn told another, and somewhere in the middle was the truth: a cigar with potential that needed more time, more care, and maybe another draft of the prescription.
The Retrohale Score: C+ (83)
Uneven burn, limited flavor development, ultimately forgettable.