A Behike Shrine In Switzerland
Cohiba Behikes are perhaps the most sought-after cigars in the world. In today’s market, the pigtailed, Cuban smokes are incredibly expensive and hard to find, even in Cuba’s many cigar stores. And ever since the Cohiba Behike BHK 52 was named Cigar Aficionado’s Cigar of the Year for 2010, their legend has only grown. This is why a certain cigar room in Switzerland is all the more remarkable. The space, roughly 400 square feet in size, was built by cigar lover and architect Fredy Iseli. The room all by itself is a gorgeous, private smoking retreat, but it’s what’s on the wall that has our attention: it’s luxuriously outfitted with 34 Cohiba Behike boxes.
Iseli’s cigar room is located in the small town of Uttwil, in northeast Switzerland on Lake Constance. On the opposite shore is the border of Germany. The room was built about 10 years ago as part of a larger residential complex made up of three terraced structures. Iseli was the architect behind this conglomerate of condominiums and subsequently created his own kind of one-stop-shop within its confines. Along with the cigar room, he has his office and his living quarters spread around the larger residential development, creating his ideal set-up for business and personal relaxation. “I would say I did the best business in there,” he says with a chuckle, noting he has often brought clients to the lounge. But sometimes, he simply leverages his nearby smoking retreat to help him pull off midday disappearing acts during long workdays.
Iseli estimates he has been smoking cigars for about 25 years. He doesn’t remember what got him into premium cigars, but he hasn’t looked back since. Like most aficionados, Iseli enjoys cigars for their duality. They’re what he turns to for relaxation, but he says they also help him tremendously in his professional life and he appreciates their ability to foster bonding with others. He smokes nearly every day, and when he does, it’s usually three to five cigars.
The Behike wall is more than just the centerpiece of Iseli’s cigar room, it’s the driving force, the main inspiration for it all. “I had a lot of boxes and I always felt I would do something out of the Behike boxes,” says Iseli. The meticulous collecting started around 15 years ago. He had a particular fondness for the Behike BHK 56, his favorite. He was drawn to the cigars not just for their flavor, but for their luxurious packaging.
Behikes have always been pricey, but Cuba’s recent price increases have made these cigars far incredibly expensive. Upon their release in 2010, they sold for 421 pounds ($577) for a box of 10, or roughly $57 a cigar in British markets. Today they sell for 2,593 pounds ($3,555) a box, or $355 for a single cigar, if you can find one. Iseli is not so sure he’d be able to accumulate such a collection today. “I smoked a lot of Behike when it was a bit better in price,” he says. “Today, I stop smoking them, because it is like burning money.”
The wall is a grand and lavish shrine to the beloved Cuban brand. The boxes are dispersed throughout the installation in a meticulous fashion, with each box inside its own wooden frame with lights that follow the edges of the wood. The latter design element rightfully magnifies the presence of the Behike boxes, which are accentuated by a pair of televisions, works of art and large-format photographs of Iseli’s dream architectural vision: a Zeppelin-inspired hotel.
The rest of the room is a balanced blend of vintage elegance and contemporary design. Despite the modern look, the space is filled with special items one might find in a high-end antique store. Much like his Behike boxes, it is evident Iseli has devoted time and effort to build up a collection of the finer things. Elegant paintings, velvet chairs, marble desks, ornate chess sets and statues fill the room. There are also a number of glasswork pieces from Swiss artist Regi Vonrüti, including a handcrafted mirror, sink, writing desk and side table. Beyond the lavish furnishings, Iseli has all the other items that make for a great cigar room: a wet bar, a fine collection of spirits, a custom table with a built-in humidor, even a full bathroom.
Iseli even has a special, solid gold Behike ring he keeps in the room, which was made by a friend who is a goldsmith. And in case Iseli's ring and the 34-box shrine wasn’t enough to convince you of his love for the Behike brand, consider the door to enter the cigar room. The custom, frosted glass door mirrors a Behike box, with the famous Taino Indian head surrounded by the iconic squares emblazoned onto the outside of the door. He has a similar custom door just next to the cigar room, which leads to his wine cellar.
There is a smoke eater for ventilation inside the room, but he also has sliding glass doors that lead to a small outdoor terrace. Iseli says the space is best for intimate crowds of about six to eight people. But perhaps no guest is as familiar with the cigar room as frequent American visitor and close friend, Philip Pike. “The room where I met Phil for the first time,” says Iseli, who has grown close to his cigar-loving counterpart when he’s in the country visiting family. “Fredy's been very welcoming and generous,” says Pike. “I’ve brought other people that traveled to see me and they all love it.” Pike, perhaps only half-jokingly, called the smoking retreat the “United Nations of Switzerland.”
The moniker appears fitting, especially if you examine the recent trends in Iseli’s smoking preferences. He, like many European cigar lovers in recent years, is taking a more globalized, or New World, approach to cigar buying these days. “Before, I smoked mostly Cohiba,” says Iseli. “But I had to change.” As Cuban prices have steadily increased over the years, New World manufacturers from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere have made concerted efforts to tap into international markets, especially in Europe. Smokers like Iseli find themselves smoking Cubans less often, and trending towards cigars from Nicaragua and beyond. And despite his painstaking efforts to acquire so many boxes of Behikes, he doesn’t have some kind of grand stockpile of Cuban cigars on hand. “I smoked them all,” he says with a laugh. But at least the boxes survived.
