March 6th, 2006
HABANOS VIII CUBAN CIGARS FESTIVAL
COHIBA BEHIKE
Thanks to JNG, we had the
chance to taste a few sticks of the surprise of the
year: the COHIBA BEHIKE. This cigar was made for the 40th Anniversary of
Cohiba.
The Cohiba Behike will be priced at
375 euros ($450) each and will be sold only on special orders in
elegant boxes fashioned by Elie Bleu from Galuchet, mother of pearl, ebony,
sycamore, cedar and ox bone and containing 40 cigars for the sum of
15,000 euros ($18,000) ! The humidors will include a plate with the
humidor number (from 1 to 100) and the Cohiba Behike lot number it
contains.
Habanos wanted this cigar to be not
only the most exclusive in the world, but probably the most
expensive in the world. The name BEHIKE comes from a witch doctor
name of the Taino tribe who performed sacred rites with tobacco.
Ever since Corporación Habanos
conceived this project originally to commemorate the brand’s 40th
anniversary, the project has remained completely secret since 2001.
To that end, plants from the seed bed, the best growing fields of
Vuelta Abajo, and even the best growers were selected. The outside
wrapper leaf were chosen by Pancho Cuba, Alejandro Robaina and
Antonio María Paz, three of the most prestigious Cuban tobacco
growers.
The cigar containers are made by Elie
Bleu; the cigars are prepared by Norma, the most experienced
hand-roller in Havana’s El Laguito factory –
Only 4,000 sticks of the luxurious
Behike will be produced, each one numbered, adding that it is
“unique and unrepeatable” and that it “captures the spirit of Cohiba.”
Imagine a Siglo VI with the length of a Lancero, the 52 ring gauge
triple robusto Behike with a pigtailed finish is a blockbuster. It's
presence in the hand if massive. The pigtailed head gives it a cute
shape despite the long and heavy weight body.
TASTING of the beast:
The first third delivers a regular
but massive smoke. Grassy, vanillin with hints of delicate tobacco
spices like warnings before the storm. Once you're almost finished
with the first third and a little bit tired of this massive and
regular draw, the Cohiba
Behike takes you by surprise with an explosion of tastes and
delicate spiciness. It rises like a thunder and develops in an
exponential way !
Loads of oak overwhelms your mouth in a generous
and heavy smoke. The draw becomes easier, faster, more complex and
you'll have to make an extra effort to overcome the beast. Once you
get used to its new style, it mutates again. As you prepare
for the finale, the cigar turns into a live volcano expressing all its
complexity and strength. At one point you'll have to take your time
and cool down with puffing because you realize that your taste buds are saturated
and your burning tongue is overloaded with the magic effect of the
Behike !
The Cohiba Behike is a masterpiece and
is here to stand amongst the legendary cigars. We'll wait to see how it
will age in a 12 to 18 months..
The only problem is the price. Habanos
will make only 100 humidors containing 40 cigars each. The suggested
retail price is $18 000. That's outrageous, but there's no doubt
that the cigars smoke like a dream...
Check below to see our Habanos
Festival Harvest
|
COHIBA BEHIKE (52 x 7
1/2
inches)
|
|
Romeo y Julieta short Churchills
Tubos
|
Partagas Casa Del Habano
cigars
|
|
Cohiba
Siglo II Tubos
|
Custom-made extravagant cigars, Giant culebras, Giant
Robustos, Torpedos and Bullet cigars, for comparision we
took the picture with one Diplomaticos No.2 (6 1/8 x 52 !!!
:) |
