(CNN) -- It
is being lauded by aficionados as the finest cigar
ever to come out of a country already famed for
producing the best cigars in the world.
Such is
the anticipation surrounding the Cohiba Behike cigar
when it goes on sale in mid-June that experts are
warning demand will far outstrip supply, creating a
lucrative black market for the stogies.
"This is
perfection in a Cuban cigar. --Mitchell Orchant,
cigar connoisseur
Rarely
has such excitement surrounded the launch of a
cigar, say connoisseurs in the UK and the U.S., but
why? Is the Behike really that good or is this just
hype?
The
Behike was officially launched in Havana in February
with the promise of "setting a new standard among
smokers worldwide," according to Habanos SA, the
worldwide distributor of Cuban cigars. It says
supplies will be limited.
Ana
Lopez, marketing director at Habanos SA in Havana,
told CNN: "This is the most expensive line ever
produced in Cohibas and we are expecting that it
will be very well received."
Mitchell
Orchant, a London-based cigar merchant and
connoisseur, is one of the few people to have tried
the Behike at its launch in Havana. He said he
already has 1,000 people on his waiting list.
"This is
perfection in a Cuban cigar... the Cubans have got
every aspect of this cigar right - the brand, the
size, the taste. And of course it's unique because a
rare leaf is being used in its blend, the first time
such a leaf has been used in a cigar.
"This
will be a very collectible cigar, I already know
people who are planning to lay [store] the Behike
for 10 years. It will sell out very quickly and that
will push prices up."
Simon
Chase, a semi-retired director of the British cigar
importers Hunters & Frankau, founded in 1790, said:
"There is a particular type of rare leaf in the
Behike... there is something in the blend that makes
it very interesting, very special. I've been in the
cigar business for 30 years... and I would say that
this will make a very serious bid to become the best
cigar in the world."
Cuba exported $360 million
worth of cigars in 2009, according to
Habanos SA, the worldwide distributor of
Cuban cigars
Chase,
also an author and auctioneer who puts Cuban cigars
under the hammer every year in Cuba for charity,
often with the former president Fidel Castro
present, also smoked the Behike at its launch in
Havana.
"It had
a rich savoury taste. It's not easy to produce a
distinctive cigar in what is already the most
prestigious brand [Cohiba] in the world," said
Chase.
The rare
leaf is a part of the tobacco plant called the medio
tiempo, taken from the upper leaves of the plant,
but which not every plant produces, making it rare.
There
will be three Behike sizes which in the UK will sell
at £25 ($36), £33 ($48) and £39 ($57) each
respectively, according to Hunters & Frankau.
The U.S.
economic trade embargo against Cuba means that
Cohiba Behikes will not officially be exported to or
officially be on sale in the U.S.
Cohiba
is the flagship brand of Cuban cigars and was
created in 1966 for Fidel Castro; they are made at
the El Laguito factory near Havana, in an opulent
mansion once owned by a sugar baron.
For
years only heads of state and visiting diplomats
were given Cohibas but in 1982 it went on sale in
limited quantities.
Cohiba is an ancient
Taino Indian word for the bunches of tobacco leaves
that explorer Christopher Columbus first saw being
smoked by the original inhabitants of Cuba, the
earliest known form of the cigar.