Crowned Heads Blood Medicine B Positive Limited Edition 2026

Crowned Heads Blood Medicine B Positive Limited Edition 2026

The Crowned Heads Blood Medicine B Positive Limited Edition 2026 is a full bodied, limited edition cigar wrapped in a dark Nicaraguan Corojo leaf over an Ecuadorian Connecticut seed binder and Nicaraguan long fillers, handcrafted at Eradio Pichardo’s TacaNicsa factory (formerly D’Hatuey Tabacos S.A.) in Estelí, Nicaragua. B Positive uses the same internal blend as the original Blood Medicine (Ecuadorian Connecticut seed binder, Nicaraguan fillers) but replaces the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with a Nicaraguan Corojo that pushes the profile darker, meatier, and more intense. Crowned Heads co-founder Jon Huber described it directly: “B Positive was born from experimentation to push the Blood Medicine blend into new territory, darker, meatier, more intense.” The B Positive debuted in 2025 as a single 6 x 52 Toro that generated overwhelming demand, and for 2026 the line expands into three vitolas: a 5 x 52, a 5 1/2 x 56, and a 6 x 54. Each size is limited to 800 boxes of 21 cigars, and all three are expected to ship in March 2026. The name “Blood Medicine” comes from the painted words still visible on the third floor wall of Nashville’s historic Merchants building, a structure that has housed a wholesale drug company, The Merchants Hotel, and now Merchants Restaurant since 1872.

• Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper replaces the Ecuadorian Habano used on standard Blood Medicine, delivering a bolder, spicier, meatier profile with more pepper, richness, and intensity than the original.
• Ecuadorian Connecticut seed binder, the same binder used across the entire Blood Medicine line, providing a smooth, creamy structural foundation underneath the bold Corojo wrapper.
• Nicaraguan fillers, identical to the regular Blood Medicine filler blend, offering the earthy, woody, spicy Nicaraguan backbone that defines the line.
• Three vitolas for 2026: 5 x 52 ($11.50), 5 1/2 x 56 ($12.50), and 6 x 54 ($13.50), each in boxes of 21 cigars.
• Limited to 800 boxes per vitola, maintaining the controlled production that has defined Blood Medicine since it was originally an event only cigar.
• Handcrafted at TacaNicsa (formerly D’Hatuey Tabacos S.A.), Eradio Pichardo’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
• Nashville heritage: named for the “Blood Medicine” inscription still visible on the wall of the historic Merchants building at Broadway and 4th Avenue in downtown Nashville.
• Crowned Heads’ boldest Blood Medicine expression, designed to push the familiar blend into darker, more intense territory.

Darker, meatier, more intense

The difference between Blood Medicine and B Positive comes down to one leaf: the wrapper. Standard Blood Medicine uses an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a smooth, oily, medium brown leaf that delivers a balanced, complex cigar with earth, cocoa, cedar, leather, and measured spice. B Positive swaps that Ecuadorian Habano for a Nicaraguan Corojo, and the change is dramatic. Nicaraguan Corojo is thicker, oilier, and significantly bolder than Ecuadorian Habano, with more natural pepper, a meatier body, and a richer, more intense flavor delivery. The internal blend remains unchanged: same Ecuadorian Connecticut seed binder, same Nicaraguan fillers. Everything you taste that is different in B Positive comes from that single wrapper change.

The 2025 debut was a single 6 x 52 Toro, and the response was immediate. Huber told halfwheel that demand was “overwhelming,” which prompted the expansion to three sizes for 2026. The three new vitolas are shorter and broader than the original Toro, giving the Corojo wrapper more surface area relative to the filler and potentially amplifying the wrapper’s bolder, spicier contribution to the blend.

The Blood Medicine story

Blood Medicine takes its name from a building at the corner of Broadway and 4th Avenue in downtown Nashville, Crowned Heads’ home city. The original three story structure was built in 1872. On the third floor, a wholesale drug company became famous for producing an alcohol and opium based tonic called “Blood Medicine,” the kind of patent medicine that traveling snake oil salesmen peddled across the American frontier. From 1892 to 1988, the building operated as The Merchants Hotel, hosting legendary musicians including Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline. Rumors persist that the building also served as a brothel and a casino over the years, and tales of Civil War ghosts wandering the halls have followed the structure for over a century. Today the building houses Merchants Restaurant, but the painted words “Blood Medicine” remain visible on the brick wall of the third floor.

The cigar was originally called Snake Oil when it debuted in 2015 as a My Father made event only cigar. Crowned Heads renamed it Blood Medicine, with Jon Huber explaining that the new name “actually makes better sense for Crowned Heads from a ‘story’ standpoint, while maintaining the whole ‘vibe’ of the old snake oil salesmen of years ago.” In 2022, Crowned Heads announced a new version of Blood Medicine, still event only but now made at Eradio Pichardo’s TacaNicsa factory instead of My Father. In 2024, the company made Blood Medicine available for retail purchase for the first time. The 2025 release expanded the habano wrapped version to three vitolas and introduced B Positive as a single Toro. Now in 2026, B Positive gets its own three vitola lineup.

The Blood Medicine lineup

B Positive LE 2026 vitolas

Crowned Heads

Crowned Heads was founded in 2011 by Jon Huber and Mike Conder after their former employer, CAO, was acquired. Both men had deep industry experience and a shared conviction that boutique cigars should be defined by artisanal quality, excellent flavor, balance, and consistency. The company is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and its portfolio draws heavily on Nashville’s music history, Southern culture, and the stories embedded in the city’s architecture and folklore. Blood Medicine is one of the most Nashville rooted cigars in the lineup, taking its name directly from a piece of the city’s physical landscape that can still be visited today at the Merchants building on Broadway.

Crowned Heads works with multiple factories, and Blood Medicine is produced at TacaNicsa in Estelí, Nicaragua, operated by Eradio Pichardo. The original 2015 Blood Medicine (then called Snake Oil) was made at My Father Cigars in Estelí. When the cigar was revived in 2022, production moved to TacaNicsa, where it has remained. Pichardo’s factory has earned a reputation for consistent, high quality production, and the partnership with Crowned Heads has produced some of the company’s most acclaimed limited editions.

Smoking experience

The Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper is dark, oily, and thick, noticeably different from the medium brown Ecuadorian Habano on standard Blood Medicine. The pre light aroma delivers musty wood, earth, and a meaty richness. The foot adds shredded wheat cereal, fragrant wood, and baking spice. The cold draw brings musty bourbon barrel oak nuances, cedar, and a medium to full resistance.

The opening puffs are immediately bold. Pepper and spice from the Corojo wrapper hit first, followed by a rich, creamy body that establishes itself quickly. The smoke output is generous and thick from the first draw. Cedar and musty wood notes form the initial backbone, with baking spice (allspice, cinnamon) riding alongside the pepper. The body reads full, while the strength sits at medium to medium plus, rich and intense without being punishing. The Corojo wrapper’s oiliness translates into a creamy, coating smoke texture that carries the flavors across the entire palate.

The second third sees the pepper mellow and a creamier, nuttier character emerge. Chestnut, hazelnut, and cashew appear alongside the cedar and musty wood. Dark chocolate and espresso notes surface from the Nicaraguan filler, and a saltiness and savory, meaty quality develops that one reviewer described as the cigar “playing in that fuller body lane.” The retrohale carries leather, minerals, and a lingering warmth from the Corojo spice. The cream from the Ecuadorian Connecticut binder holds the blend together, preventing the bolder wrapper from overwhelming the palate.

The final third amplifies the creamy and nutty qualities while the wood and spice persist. Straight up cream flavors dominate alongside chestnut and cashew. Fragrant, musty wood aromas continue, and touches of allspice and cinnamon round out the profile. The cigar finishes aromatic, pleasant, and smooth, with a lingering warmth and nuttiness on the palate. Jonose Cigars summarized it well: “Very aromatic, very pleasant, and very smooth. All around a very enjoyable cigar.”

Why “B Positive”

The name carries a double meaning. “B Positive” is a blood type, connecting to the Blood Medicine name and its pharmaceutical, apothecary imagery. It is also a directive: be positive. The wordplay fits Crowned Heads’ approach to naming, where every product carries layers of meaning rooted in storytelling, history, and attitude. The blood type reference ties into the medicinal, snake oil heritage of the original name, while the optimistic reading reflects the spirit of a cigar that was born from experimentation and risk taking.

Pairings

B Positive’s bold, meaty, peppery profile with cream, nut, and dark chocolate notes pairs naturally with a rye whiskey, where the spirit’s own spiciness and dry character match the Corojo wrapper’s pepper and the filler’s earthy depth. Bourbon with vanilla and charred oak complements the musty wood and baking spice that run through the cigar. A dark roast espresso mirrors the espresso and dark chocolate notes from the Nicaraguan fillers. For beer, a brown ale or amber with nutty, caramel qualities matches the chestnut, hazelnut, and cashew flavors that emerge in the second and final thirds. A Nicaraguan single origin coffee creates a terroir matched pairing, with the coffee and the cigar sharing the same soil.

Summary

• Box Count: 21
• Region: Nicaragua
• Strength: Medium to medium plus
• Binder: Ecuadorian Connecticut seed
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
• Filler: Nicaraguan

What is Blood Medicine B Positive?

It is a limited edition cigar from Crowned Heads that uses the same internal blend as regular Blood Medicine (Ecuadorian Connecticut seed binder, Nicaraguan fillers) but replaces the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with a Nicaraguan Corojo for a darker, meatier, more intense smoking experience. Made at TacaNicsa in Estelí, Nicaragua. For 2026, it is available in three sizes: 5 x 52, 5 1/2 x 56, and 6 x 54, each limited to 800 boxes of 21.

How is B Positive different from regular Blood Medicine?

The only difference is the wrapper. Regular Blood Medicine uses an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper for a balanced, complex, medium full profile. B Positive uses a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper that pushes the cigar darker, meatier, and more intense with more pepper, richness, and bold spice. The binder and fillers are identical.

What does B Positive taste like?

Bold pepper and spice open, followed by cream, cedar, musty wood, dark chocolate, espresso, and baking spice. The middle and final thirds bring chestnut, hazelnut, cashew, and a savory, meaty quality. The body is full, while strength sits at medium to medium plus. Very creamy smoke texture throughout.

What does “Blood Medicine” mean?

The name comes from painted words still visible on the third-floor wall of Nashville’s historic Merchants building at Broadway and 4th Avenue. Built in 1872, the building housed a wholesale drug company that produced an alcohol and opium based tonic called “Blood Medicine.” The building later became The Merchants Hotel (1892 to 1988), hosting Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline.

Why is it called “B Positive”?

The name is a double meaning: “B Positive” is a blood type (connecting to the Blood Medicine name and its pharmaceutical imagery) and a directive to “be positive.” The wordplay fits Crowned Heads’ storytelling approach, where every product carries layers of meaning.

Who makes Crowned Heads?

Crowned Heads was founded in 2011 by Jon Huber and Mike Conder in Nashville, Tennessee, after their former employer, CAO, was acquired. Blood Medicine is produced at Eradio Pichardo’s TacaNicsa factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

How many boxes are produced?

800 boxes per vitola, totaling 2,400 boxes across all three sizes. Each box contains 21 cigars. All three sizes are expected to ship in March 2026.

What pairs well with B Positive?

Rye whiskey, bourbon, dark roast espresso, brown ale, amber ale, and Nicaraguan single-origin coffee all complement the cigar’s bold pepper, cream, nut, dark chocolate, and meaty, savory profile.