Behike—Still The One
My first thought, after my first puff of a 2010 Cohiba Behike BHK 52, was why are there only three of these cigars left in my locker? By the time I got down to the knuckle-burning length a little over an hour later, I was amazed at the depth of flavor, and the promise of several decades of aging potential.
The cigar was Cigar Aficionado's Cigar of the Year in 2010. I lit it up in the patio of one of Havana's many thriving late night bars, Espacios. No doubt about it. What better place to smoke one of the greatest current production cigars of the last five years than in its home country.
I've been in Havana for a week, navigating around tour groups and finding hotel after hotel full of tourists, seemingly most of them Americans, and discovering top restaurants booked, or the streets in front of them lined with tour buses. One friend wanted to change hotels and couldn't find a room at the small group of hotels that offer lodging at international standards in and around central Havana. I will be writing a lot more about what's happening on the ground here in the months ahead, but suffice it to say the impact from President Obama's announcement to loosen travel restrictions and establish full diplomatic relations can already be seen.
Back to the Cohiba Behike. I had pulled it out of a locker I have here, and had it tucked safely away in a humidor bag, while I smoked, among other things, a Romeo y Julieta Churchill (It was well-balanced with a solid cocoa bean note), a Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo de San Juan, one of last year's new releases (Still showing some youthful tastes and flavors), and some private cigars given to me by a friend. But the Behike 52 kept beckoning.
Thursday night turned into the perfect moment. Havana had been drenched all afternoon in a major thunderstorm, which had let up by the time I headed for an early music concert in a small venue in Miramar. Our table finished off a bottle of Havana Club 7-year-old before we went to dinner at a great new restaurant called Otra Manera. I still had the Behike in my pocket. We left dinner and headed over to another incredible art gallery and music venue called the Fabrica del Arte, but the only smoking space was outdoors. (Yes, cigar lovers, there are indoor spaces now in Cuba where you are not allowed to smoke), and it had started sprinkling again. I said enough. Let's go find a place to smoke.
We ended up at Espacios, a blessedly short five minute drive away. I sat down at a table in a protected outdoor patio; thankfully the rain had finally stopped. I pulled out the Behike.
After the first puff, I was simply amazed at the quality of the cigar. Because it wasn't blind, I hesitate to reveal what score I would have given the cigar, but let me just say it was close to perfect. Full-flavored without being sharp or strong. A perfectly balanced smoke filled with earthy flavors and a solid core of coffee notes. As I said, I smoked it down to knuckle-burning length and finally, reluctantly, had to put the stub in the ashtray.
I could smoke a Behike 52 every day for the rest of my days, and I would be a happy man. If you have any in your humidor, don't smoke them all yet—this cigar has another five years before it even begins to have a patina of age to it. I would also caution that so far this week here in Havana, I have not seen a single box of Behikes... there are rumors of shortages here for that brand. Moreover, in a recent survey of Casas del Habanos around the world, the Behike line was usually cited as the shop's most expensive cigar. So, if you've got them, smoke them sparingly.
But if you have a perfect moment for a great cigar, choose our No. 1 cigar of 2010. You won't be disappointed.
