Cohiba Behike
This year, the cigar world was abuzz with the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Cohiba. During the XVIII Habanos Festival, Cohiba released two highly exclusive lines to commemorate half of a century of luxury cigar making. These two cigars will prove to be some of the most expensive and sought after ever created, with one 50th Anniversary humidor already fetching over $300,000 at auction. However, people tend to forget that 10 years ago, Cohiba had another major release, a cigar that has proven to the king of rare smokes. It is the holy grail, the unicorn, the great white whale, and El Dorado all wrapped into one perfect cigar.
The Cohiba Behike was released at the VIII Habanos Festival back in 2006. It was made to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Cohiba brand. As many aficionados recall, the word Cohiba is derived from the Tainos indian word for tobacco. When creating this legendary cigar, Habanos S.A. drew on the roots of their brand and named it the Behike, which was a sort of Tainos doctor or healer. Before we focus on the amazing packaging, lets talk abut the cigar first. You will never find a cigar that is rolled better or looks more beautiful. All of the tobacco is grown in the famous Vuelta Abajo region of Cuba. Only one man, the master roller of the Cuban brand, rolled each of the original Behike. It has a superb profile with notes of vanilla, pepper, leather, and cedar. Its burn is near flawless and its aroma magnificent.
Although in 2010, a bigger production version was released, only 4000 original Behikes were ever made. They were available in high end humidor boxes, with 40 cigars per box. Each box was numbered 1-100 and were priced as high as $17,000 per box. Only one retailer was actually allowed to sell the Behike, and he had to purchase the right to do so.
It seems that every major Anniversary, you will see a amazing release from Cohiba. Each time they attempt to top themselves, and so far each time they have succeeded. For more news on the Cuban cigar industry, make sure to keep checking out our Blending Room articles.
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