Pre-light Experience

Seth: The Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025 is average in appearance. It has a smooth wrapper that appears to be maduro in coloring, and it sports small veins throughout. It has a leather-like texture, and gives off aromas of earth, tobacco, barnyard and spices.
John: The Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025 features a Colorado Maduro wrapper with an aggressive box press as its primary artisanal complication. I weighed the cigar at 17.6 grams and measured the humidity with the HumidiMeter Pro at 59.1%. Aromas from the wrapper consisted of mildly sweet tobacco with wood, evoking a barrel-aged character. From the foot, I picked up sweet tobacco, mild earth and hay.
Jiunn: The Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025 has a Colorado wrapper shade with fine traces of toothiness. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas give barnyard and cedar.

Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025

First Third

Seth: The first third begins with damp earth notes and barnyard. It is not overly rich, but there is a sweetness present. Tobacco and soft spice notes are present as well. In terms of strength and body, I would classify the cigar as medium in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with bread leading the profile, followed by sweet tobacco, while mild spices provide an accent note. Wood settles onto the palate through the post draw, with some delayed leather developing shortly thereafter. As the first third settles in, cinnamon breaks into the post draw and lingers on the palate between each puff. Moving toward the halfway point, the overall profile remains balanced and restrained at a medium level of strength. That barrel-aged wood note detected pre-light has now clearly moved into the post draw.
Jiunn: The first third’s flavors are thin and meek. Lightness in minerals, dark chocolate and cedar wood. Retrohaling heats up the intensity with mainly sharper minerals. The finish is short and clean with toast and cedar wood. Strength and body is medium.

Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025

Second Third

Seth: The second third is in line with the first third. Damp earth notes that are somewhat sweet with some tobacco and soft spices. Barnyard qualities are present as well. Baking spices. Medium in strength and body.
John: There are not many significant changes as the cigar transitions into the second third. Through the retrohale, creamy wood leads off with cinnamon providing a supporting accent. Mildly dry wood and delayed cinnamon spice define the post draw. As the second third settles in, bread returns to the profile, sitting just beneath the wood. By the halfway point, the cigar has become largely wood-driven.
Jiunn: The flavors are unchanged. It’s still airy in minerals, dark chocolate and cedar wood. This combination does taste a bit more melded together though. Strength and body remains medium.

Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025

Final Third

Seth: The final third is like that of the second third with some mineral notes on the rise. Nothing over the top that destroys the cigar, but it is noticeable. Same strength and body level.
John: The final third begins with a combination of creamy earth and wood lingering into the finish, where they are joined by mild pepper. Earth rapidly increases to medium strength and takes over the post draw as the last third settles in. Approaching the halfway point of the final third, earth continues to build, climbing to just under medium-full strength. By the bottom half of the final third, earth is clearly driving the profile and has pushed the cigar out of balance.
Jiunn: No changes from the second third to the final third. Still a better melded flavor combination of minerals, dark chocolate and cedar wood. At this point, the cigar is feeling a bit boring and repetitive. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025

Burn

Seth: The burn was average from start to finish.
John: The burn was straight through the entire review process, with the ash holding on in consistent one-inch increments.
Jiunn: Burn performance was great, featuring an even burn, tight ashes, cool burning temperatures and ample smoke production.

Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025

Draw

Seth: The draw was good from beginning to end.
John: I measured the draw at 62 inches of water with the Cigar Medics draw machine. Subjectively, the draw initially measured approximately 2½ to 3 notches resistant, making it snug. As the first third settled in, the draw opened to around 1½ to 2 notches resistant, placing it in the somewhat resistant range.
Jiunn: The draw was also great, providing the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: The Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025 was a decent cigar. Nothing great. It smoked young with a potential for improvement with age. I think dry boxing the cigar would benefit as well. Central flavor profile that is complex but enjoyable. There is not a lot of depth, and no transitioning. I would smoke the cigar again and would be interested to see the blend in different sizes, but nothing I am crazy about.
John: The cigar starts off with a promising and well-balanced profile, showcasing bread, sweet tobacco and restrained spice layered over a barrel-aged wood character that gives the cigar a sense of maturity early on. The first third is cohesive, balanced and enjoyable, never pushing too hard in strength while still offering enough complexity to stay engaging. As the cigar moves into the second third, the profile begins to narrow. Wood increasingly takes center stage, with bread and cinnamon relegated to supporting roles. While the profile consistency is still intact early on, the lack of meaningful evolution starts to flatten the experience. The final third marks a clear downturn. Earth ramps up quickly and aggressively, overwhelming the remaining flavors and throwing the profile out of balance. What had been a restrained, layered cigar becomes earth-forward and dominant, with only faint traces of its earlier complexity remaining. Construction is a strong point, with an excellent burn and a draw that opened as the cigar progressed. Ultimately, the Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025 delivers a solid opening and dependable construction, but the loss of balance and escalation of earth in the final third limit its overall impression, landing it squarely in Average territory. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 53 minutes.
Jiunn: Average through and through. The flavors were a bit too reserved and light. If it was more intense, this flavor combination would be a winning blend no doubt. But since it wasn’t, I got bored of it pretty quick and wanted to move onto the next one. The Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025 is a pass for me.

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.15

Cost/Point

$2.62

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.60

Cost/Point

$2.41

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.35

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Crowned Heads Belgian Blue LE 2025