Behike Gets Bigger—Cuba Adding Cohiba Behike BHK 58
Call it a trio no longer. Cohiba Behike, arguably the world’s most sought-after line of cigars, is getting a fatter version. The Cohiba Behike BHK 58 was formally announced this morning, and will be ed out on Friday in Cuba at the Habanos Festival.
Cigar Aficionado was given one of the cigars, which measures 7 inches long by 58 ring gauge, making it not only the thickest cigar in the line but also the longest. (The BHK 56, the previous giant of the group, is 6 1/2 inches long.)
The new cigar is also the first to showcase the new Behike packaging, which now includes snazzy footbands on each cigar, showing the name of the vitola. The updated bands and boxes are not only for looks—the packaging is meant to thwart would-be counterfeiters who seek to copy the cigar, with identification codes, chip technology in the bands and more. They still come in boxes of 10.
Like all Behikes, the BHK 58 is finished with a familiar pigtail, and it is crafted with some medio tiempo tobacco, strong leaves that grow atop some, but not all, tobacco plants. The cigar was rolled at the El Laguito Factory, in Havana.
Expect to pay north of $300 apiece for these cigars, as smaller Behikes are already among the most expensive regular-production Cuban smokes. They have been priced at a since their debut, but as cigars have become more expensive Behikes have seen one increase after another. Cigars that are previewed at the Habanos Festival often don’t make it to retail channels for some time; it’s uncertain when these will actually go on sale. But Habanos is going to give people who attend Friday’s gala dinner the opportunity to purchase a commemorative 15th anniversary pack of the cigars, each one containing all four vitolas of the Cohiba Behike BHK line, including the new 58.
Cohiba Behike BHK cigars (or Línea Behike) have been hot since their release in 2010, and the smallest cigar in the line, the 52, was named Cigar Aficionado’s 2010 Cigar of the Year, which amped up demand. These cigars have been adored by—and bought up by—collectors ever since, meaning it’s exceptionally rare to see one on a store shelf.
As part of the anniversary festivities, Habanos is also launching an extremely limited Behike humidor (only 100 units). It will have 25 cigars each of the Behike line, each one adorned with commemorative 15th anniversary cigar bands.
