Ten Facts About Cohiba Behike, Cuba’s Top Cigar Brand

[JohnS]

A fun read by David Savona from Cigar Aficionado...

Ten Facts About Cohiba Behike, Cuba’s Top Cigar Brand

May 22, 2026 - By David Savona

No other cigar brand in the world draws more attention than the Cohiba Behike line from Cuba. Behikes score quite well in our taste tests, sell for hundreds of dollars per cigar and are exceptionally rare. Here are 10 facts you may not know about Cuba’s most collectible cigar brand.

It’s Older Than You Think
The year 2025 was celebrated as the 15th anniversary of Behike, with a grand dinner in Cuba and a special selection of Cohiba Behikes adorned with 15th anniversary bands. But the first Cohiba Behike was actually released 20 years ago, in 2006. 

The original Cohiba Behike was a one-shot release, a commemorative smoke celebrating 40 years of the Cohiba brand. Production was limited to 4,000 individually numbered cigars (shown above), which were presented in humidors made by Elie Bleu. Only 100 humidors were made, each containing 40 cigars. The cigars had pigtails, measured 7 1/2 inches long by 52 ring gauge, and sold for 15,000 euros ($17,000) at the time. Those humidors later sold for tens of thousands of dollars apiece. 

The Name Means “Chief”
The word behike comes from the Taino tribe that was indigenous to Cuba. The Taino head is a symbol of Cohiba, and a behike was a doctor or chief of the tribe. 

Full Article: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/ten-facts-about-cohiba-behike-cuba-s-top-cigar-brand