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Opinion on Cohiba Behike?

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Danforz

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2004
Messages
331
Location
Los Angeles
Hey guys. I hosted a local herf recently and a gentlemen I met was showing me photos of his box purchase. Cohiba Behike... he insisted highly upon the cigars rarity, price, etc. I looked online and he wasn't joking. $400+ a peice. Wow.

Anyways, I was curious on your guys' take. Is this just marketing fluff or is there something more to these than hype and exclusivity?
 
I purchased a single of the 52 size and it was awful. No flavor and it tasted like grassy cardboard, I was so disappointed due to the the high price. I guess these need years of age on them. :(
 
Jake Bourdon said:
I purchased a single of the 52 size and it was awful. No flavor and it tasted like grassy cardboard, I was so disappointed due to the the high price. I guess these need years of age on them. :(
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Sorry to hear that, Jake. Given the price I could imagine that being quite the disappointment.
 
The box prices I've seen were more like $30 to $70 per stick for a box of 10 depending on whether it's the 52, 54, or 56. Way out of my price range but still way less than $400 per stick. I think even the Gran Reservas are less than $200 a stick.

Edit: To fix punctuation.
 
Jake Bourdon said:
I purchased a single of the 52 size and it was awful. No flavor and it tasted like grassy cardboard, I was so disappointed due to the the high price. I guess these need years of age on them. :(
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To the contrary, I believe these smoke great young, and don't think they'll be much better with 10+ years on them.
I've smoked one of each vitola and they are all friggin delicious. The smooth flavor is in my opinion better than the Gran Reserva.
 
I haven't tried any yet but I am generally skeptical of young cohiba fancy releases. I was not impressed with the GR at all.
 
For all the criticism this cigar engendered, much of it deserved, this is not a shabby cigar. You can rightfully say that these have issues, especially relating to price and availability, but I dont think that anyone who smoke an authentic Behike, from the 52, 54, or 56, would say that they dont deserve praise for flavor and construction.
What impressed me most about this cigar was the unique taste. They really do have a different dimension of flavor than any other Cohiba, or Habanos available in recent years. I dont compare these to the CGR, they were outstanding and unique, but this is an exception cigar, and if you enjoy the fat rg, this might be a great special occasion smoke.

Cheers
Drew P
 
insight said:
I haven't tried any yet but I am generally skeptical of young cohiba fancy releases. I was not impressed with the GR at all.
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Yeah, me too. All the fancy, expensive, rare Cohiba releases I've smoked have been awful.....oh wait, I can't find nor afford all the fancy pants stuff that Phil smokes. :angry:
 
ree ree robusto said:
dagoR6 said:
ree ree robusto said:
Had one gifted to me. Good cigar, not worth the money.

Jake, you probably got a fake...
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Hard to imagine a fake would get that grassy taste right
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Cohiba has a very distinctive taste. Did it have a characteristic of a "green" Cohiba, perhaps?
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My guess from his description would be really young Cohiba that he didn't enjoy.

Hard to say what his source was though, I actually had someone give me a fake behike (got from his cousin who works in an LCDH in Switzerland of course!!!) This thing was *okay* looking but the first dead give away was that it had a normal band. Decided to measure it, correct length but 51 ring gauge instead of 52. That's a barely noticeable error with humidity variation. But still, I know the cigar was fake.

So, my point, the fake molds exist and guys are going to town on them already. Shame.
 
Very unique taste. I have had a few 52's and they have like a sweet tea flavor, mild cocoa, and that cuban hay taste..very good.
 
Have a box of 54s and 56s and love them. I paid just over $50 per stick and as a treat once in a while they are worth every penny.
 
Have to agree with the positive reviews, out of fear of touching my CGR's I went with the Behikes for now. Too expensive for an everyday smoke but not as expensive as the CGR which needs that "perfect occasion." I loved the Behikes in all sizes.
 
I've tried one each of the 56 and 54. The 52 is turning to ash soon. The 56 was great and the 54 was good. I don't like any of the sizes, but the smoke on the 56 was delicious. I agree with others though that they are not worth the price.
 
Read in ECJ that Habanos SA has pretty much stated that their strategy in the economic downturn is to focus on high-priced limited crap (low sales, big profit margins), which really pisses me off.

I'm no market strategist, and sure, low production/high price crap makes them a pretty penny (otherwise, they wouldn't be doing it)...but wouldn't also be a good idea to focus on good quality, yet affordably priced, cigars for those with tighter budgets?

I'm not a fan of such big ring gauges and I don't really wish to enforce Habanos' belief in continuing to churn out this kind of stuff.....so I probably won't be shelling out for any anytime soon.
 
Black Plague said:
I'm no market strategist, and sure, low production/high price crap makes them a pretty penny (otherwise, they wouldn't be doing it)...but wouldn't also be a good idea to focus on good quality, yet affordably priced, cigars for those with tighter budgets?
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That's only if you want to build your brand and expand your customer base for the future. I guess they don't feel the need to do that. :(
 
Black Plague said:
Read in ECJ that Habanos SA has pretty much stated that their strategy in the economic downturn is to focus on high-priced limited crap (low sales, big profit margins), which really pisses me off.

I'm no market strategist, and sure, low production/high price crap makes them a pretty penny (otherwise, they wouldn't be doing it)...but wouldn't also be a good idea to focus on good quality, yet affordably priced, cigars for those with tighter budgets?
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I don't necessarily agree with it, but I understand why HSA would focus their efforts on a customer base that could afford and would be attracted to limited/special releases (i.e., educated smokers with the coin to afford it, flush newbies/posers who want to look the part) rather than a customer base that focused on lower-end cigars but might not be able (for economic reasons) to afford a box or two. With the first group, you can expect to get some level of sales. With the second, who knows how much they'll buy (especially if the economic downturn continues)?
 
Partagas, RyJ and Por Larranaga still produce some of the best value cigars you can get, inside of Cuba or out. Not only that, but their quality has improved dramatically in the last 5 years.
 
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