Cohiba Behike BHK54 vs Casa de Montecristo B56

The Cohiba Behike BHK54 doesn’t really need an introduction. It’s a tip-top of the line Cuban cigar blended with the rare “medio tiempo” leaves that only grow on some tobacco plants. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest “regular production” cigars from Cuba.

The B56 has a bit of a story behind it. Supposedly, Sam Khalil, the owner of Casa De Montecristo, discovered an old Cuban “Master Blender” who happened to have some “special” tobacco that he brought with him and claimed to be able to roll a Behike. Casa de Montecristo claims to have ” revealed the secret of behike blend.” There is no information given about the tobaccos used, and obviously, we are supposed to think there is some Cuban tobacco in there. Whether there is or not is up for speculation, but this being a US product, and Cuban tobacco being illegal in the US, it makes sense that he can’t reveal the tobaccos inside. Still, I’m rather leaning toward the opinion that that is all marketing and mystery. No mater what, it can’t possibly be all Cuban tobacco, so I can’t see how it could taste and smoke just like a Behike, as they claim. Time to put it to the test!

Note: I would have liked to use a BHK56 so the vitolas were the same, but the BHK54 was all I could afford to get my hands on.

Statistics

Cohiba Behike BHK54 Shape: Parejo Size: 5.67″ x 54 Country of Origin: Cuba Wrapper: Cuban Binder: Cuban Filler: Cuban (including medio tiempo) Color: Colorado-claro Strength: Full Price Paid: $35 Smoke Date: March 27, 2014 Box Date: October 2013



Casa de Montecristo B56 Shape: Parejo Size: 6.5″ x 56 Country of Origin: United States Wrapper: Secret Binder: Secret Filler: Secret Color: Colorado Strength: Medium-full Price Paid: Gift Smoke Date: March 28, 2014 Age: 6 months



Accessories Used

Xikar VX V-Cut X Mesh cutter, Silver & Chrome Vector Stratos single-flame torch lighter, Handmade English walnut ashtray made by wedgewoodrings. I’ve been loving v-cuts lately, and they seem to have less chance of ruining the cap as well. The wrapper on the Behike seems especially delicate, so this seemed like the right way to go.

Pairing

Organic Anxi Tie Guan Yin served in a Japanese blue dragonfly teapot and glazed ceramic and cracked celadon “rust and green” tea cup. I wanted something tasty, but not something strong that might overpower the cigars, as I really wanted to taste the flavors. The light floral and nutty flavor of a light-roasted TGY seemed like the perfect classic oolong tea to go with these cigars. The pairing was a success. The light flavor of the tea was refreshing between puffs on these big, bold BHK54. The nuttiness was a great compliment to the banana of the B56.

Appearance/Nose

The B56 was clearly meant to resemble the BHK. The triple cap and little pigtail were the same, and the wrapper had a similarl smooth texture. These are both very pretty cigars. The B56 was a shade darker than the BHK54. Oddly, despite the fact that the B56 is supposedly 56RG and the BHK54 is 54RG, the BHK was noticably wider gauge than the B56. Some cigars do shrink after rolling, so I’m assuming that’s what happened here with the B56, which appears to be closer to 52RG in its current state.

Cohiba Behike BHK54

The wrapper on this cigar was smooth and slightly orangish. The veins were minimal, and there was only one small discolored freckle on the back near the head. There were little sparkly mineralizations on the wrapper leaf as well. The triple-cap and little pigtail are a nice touch. The band–well, the band! Look at it! The indian head hologram and sparkly gold need to be seen to be believed. It might be the greatest band ever put on a cigar, but it’s not something I would want on something I smoke regularly–too fancy! The nose was light with a bit of hay and some raisin/fruit flavor.

Casa de Montecristo B56

Unbanded, this cigar had a slightly darker, colorado wrapper with the same triple cap and pigtail. The veins were a bit larger than the BHK54’s, with one noticably large vein running down the length of the cigar on one side. Compared to the wrapper on the BHK, it was a bit bland. It did not have the stunning orange color or the little crystalizations, and had a bit more tooth. Still, it was a damn nice looking stick. The nose was also faint with hay notes, but none of the fruity notes on the nose of the BHK54.

Construction

Both of these seemed to be immaculately constructed. Both were perfectly smooth with no lumps or deviations in the roll.

Cohiba Behike BHK54

The BHK54 was firm and springly throughout. It felt about medium weight, perhaps on the light side for its size. The triple cap was applied perfectly. The burn got slightly wavy here and there, but never needed touching up.. The ash was light gray with black striations. It held for about an inch before I tapped it off. It fell off in incredibly solid chunks, which was a sight to behold. Truly some impressive ash was to be had with the BHK54.

Casa de Montecristo B56

The B56 was also firm and springy, but quite a bit heavier. This is probably due to the already-mentioned tidbit that it had shrunk from 56RG to about 52, making it a denser stick. Again, the triple cap was excellently applied. The burn was less wobbly than the BHK and stayed pretty straight the whole way through.. The ash, like on the behike, was gray and black and came off in big solid chunks, perhaps a touch longer. Outstanding! However, the, after shrinking from 56RG to 52 after rolling, the stick expanded a bit during smoking and popped a split into the wrapper leaf, so minus points for that.

Cold Draw

Cohiba Behike BHK54

The cold draw was rich and spicy. There were notes of honey, nuts, yellow cake, and barnyard. The draw was slightly tight off an unintentionally shallow v-cut.

Casa de Montecristo B56

The cold draw was also a bit tight on the B56, with strong flavors of peanut and hay.

Smoking

First third

Cohiba Behike BHK54

The first puffs were full of flavor. There was nuttiness, grassiness, honey sweetness, and a bit of spice. There was a sort of a sweet, bready flavor that was almost reminiscent of banana or plum.

The smoke production was about medium, but the tight-ish draw required double-puffing to get enough smoke.

This was a full bodied cigar, no doubt. The flavors were rich and strong. There was a long twangy grass and honey finish with a bit of citrus. There was a lot going on here, and every puff brought out a new note in the complexity.

The sharp grass and citrus tang was forefront, but it was on top of cookie dough, caramel, honey, and a light red pepper that subsided quite a bit from the initial puffs.

A retrohale brought out the banana, plum, passion fruit flavors that gave this cigar a unique taste.

After the first ash fell, the draw opened up slightly, though remained on the tight side.

The bready banana notes were shining through at this point.

Second third

Cohiba Behike BHK54

Moving along into section 2, the flavors were still rich and full.

This was a fairly young stick, but I wasn’t tasting much “youth” here, just strength. The strength was tempered, powerful yet graceful. Honey, grass, citrus, bread, and passion fruit were the primary flavors.

There was also definitely a hint of graham cracker and vanilla.

At about the halfway point, the strength began to pick up, but it still wasn’t harsh, but some of the more delicate, fruity flavors seemed to be getting covered up by the strength. Still, the flavors were mouth-wateringly good.

Final third

Cohiba Behike BHK54

Coming into the final third, the cigar hit its first major transformation, and began to taste of flowers, vanilla, and nuts. The strength once again subsided. The smoke was creamy and seet, with a honey finish. Gone was the grassy citrus twang, as well as the bread and banana.

The band had been a bit loose, and when the time came to remove the it, I was able to slide it right off the top, rather than trying to deal with Cohiba’s notoriously strong glue. The final third reminded me more of what I expect in a Cohiba, with strong vanilla, honey, and rich tobacco flavors.

The draw remained a bit tight up until the end, but it was never troubling enough for me to try to do anything about it. The strength petered off quite a bit at the end, leaving it smooth and almost mild-medium.

First third

Casa de Montecristo B56

The first few puffs were immediately interesting. There was a very strong note of sweetness. It was a bit like pudding. There was a banana/plum flavor and a slightly bready note, with zero spice.

The strength was at about medium. The banana pudding flavor was completely dominant in the first inch. There was a rich nuttiness on the finish. The banana note is shared with the BHK, but so far, the flavor profiles weren’t very similar. There was no grassiness, honey, or spice in the B56 so far, and the banana-bread is far, far more pronounced than it was in the BHK.

After the first ash dropped about an inch and a half in, a sprinkle of black pepper came into play. Still, banana pudding dominated the palate. Truly unusual. The draw was a little tight, and I found myself again taking double-puffs.

Two inches in, very little had changed. The only notes I was getting were still banana pudding, bread, and light black pepper.



Second third

Casa de Montecristo B56

The second third did not herald any changes. The bready notes did pick up a bit, but there was still a strong banana pudding flavor. The black pepper stayed at just a pinch. A retrohale brought out the pepper a bit, but also the banana.

It was an interesting flavor combination that I wouldn’t have expected to work (peppery banana?) but it was actually delightful. Finally, a new flavor emerged: jalapeño. The jalapeño pepper was a welcome addition and helped bring out some of the tang in the banana. The draw remained a bit tight, even after ashing twice.

Final third

Casa de Montecristo B56

Unsurprisingly, there was little change entering the final section of the cigar. Banana, bread, and jalapeño were the only flavors I was able to discern.

The ring gauge, which had originally shrunken from when it was rolled, expanded a bit as it warmed up, causing a split in the wrapper. There was more wrapper underneath, so this did not cause any issues other than cosmetic. There really isn’t too much else to say about this section, as there were no changes from the first two thirds, so just enjoy the pictures.

Notes

Cohiba Behike BHK56





Draw: Semi-tight Body: Full Primary Flavors: Honey, citrus, grass, vanilla, bread, banana Smoke Output: Medium Smoke Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes



Casa de Montecristo B56





Draw: Semi-tight Body: Mild-medium Primary Flavors: Banana pudding, bread Smoke Output: Medium Smoke Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes



Overall

Cohiba Behike BHK54

This was a great cigar, truly. The flavors were complex, delicious, and interesting throughout, and the transformation in the final third was impressive. The vitola is a bit wide for my tastes, and I would love to see a “BHK44” corona (at an appropriately lower price point) but I don’t see that ever happening. My only real complaint is the astronomical price, and the level to which that price has driven the hype of this cigar.

Does it live up to the hype? Well, yes and no. It’s a stellar cigar, no doubt about that. The flavors were rich and unique, the burn and construction were excellent. Was one of the best cigars I’ve ever had? Yes. Was it the best? No, I’ve had better. The best cigar I had was a fluke though, a $6 cigar that was absolutely incredible but has been inconsistent in my revisits to it. Still, It’s hard to justify buying another one of these when I can get what I feel is consistently a better cigar for about half the asking price (I can think of two cigars off the top of my head that I have enjoyed more on multiple occasions). The flavor was delicious, and the construction was excellent, but the asking price is a bit ridiculous. I would definitely recommend this as an experience to anyone curious with the money to spare though. Definitely worth trying at least once.

Rating

Casa de Montecristo B56

This was, without a doubt, the most banana-pudding-tasting cigar I’ve ever experienced. I guess that doesn’t say much, as I’ve never really had a cigar that tasted much like banana pudding at all before this one. The flavor was unique and interesting enough to keep my attention… This wasn’t a terribly complex cigar, but it was a very unique tasting one. At the asking price of about 1/3 of a Behike, it’s certainly not bad for something unique.

Rating

Bottom Line

First off, these were both great cigars. I In terms of smoking experience, these two cigars have very little in common. The only shared flavor is banana, which the BHK54 has a small hint of, and which is absolutely dominant in the B56. The constructions were similar, and the draw was on the tight side for both. The burn and ash were comparable with the B56 coming out slightly favorably. Still, taking cost out of the picture, the BHK54 is the better cigar. It is far more complex and has a full body and flavor. The B56 is on the milder side of medium and has far less complexity: banana pudding the whole way through. But then we don’t live in a perfect world, and price is most definitely an issue. I don’t think the BHK is worth it’s excruciating price tag, but the B56 just might be worth it’s MSRP due to the excellent construction (minus the wrapper split) and unique flavor–at least if you like banana, which I do.