Are they back or is this BS

[Mattb82]

[Mattb82]

^^^very good point 

[jp1979]

There was a sighting of AMO code Behike in Europe so it may be true

[oliverdst]

Outrageous

[amaxp81]

how do you get your hands on a box?

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[zeedubbya]

18 minutes ago, oliverdst said:

Outrageous

x2, and since discussions of pricing aren't allowed on here I will add another description as well--overpriced.  

[gweilgi]

4 hours ago, amaxp81 said:

how do you get your hands on a box?

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1.  Rob a store.

2. Buy a box on Ebay.  It'll be empty (and fake), but hey, it's a box, right?

3. Fly to Cuba, hang around the bars and buy a black market box off one of those friendly helpful natives whose cousin's girlfriend's flatmate (allegedly) rolls them ...

[Smallclub]

7 hours ago, SenorPerfecto said:

More importantly, do they have Medio Tiempo??

Who cares? I mean, WHO exactly is able to tell if a blend contains medio tiempo? What is the characteristic of medio tiempo? what does it bring in a blend? How does it taste? I haven't yet heard or read anything convincing or credible on the matter. And the few BHK I have smoked weren't conclusive.

So far to me "medio tiempo" in the BHK line might be 90% marketing 10% tobacco.

[Fugu]

1 hour ago, Smallclub said:

Who cares? I mean, WHO exactly is able to tell if a blend contains medio tiempo? What is the characteristic of medio tiempo? what does it bring in a blend? How does it taste? I haven't yet heard or read anything convincing or credible on the matter. And the few BHK I have smoked weren't conclusive.

So far to me "medio tiempo" in the BHK line might be 90% marketing 10% tobacco.

Thanks SC, there goes another one of your "spot on" posts!

Apart from that, I'd like to add, Medio Tiempo is nothing new nor an invention for BHK. Has been used for years in other ligero-laden blends. It is nothing less and nothing more than simply a strong ligero leaf from the very top of the plant (Corona), which is not developing on every plant and under all conditions. Availability ("rarity") and strength seem to be the main drivers of the marketing hype, not particularly its aromatic subtlety.

And - I'd venture to guess it has not been a lack of ligero (MT) that drove the BHK hiatus.

[PigFish]

6 hours ago, Smallclub said:

Who cares? I mean, WHO exactly is able to tell if a blend contains medio tiempo? What is the characteristic of medio tiempo? what does it bring in a blend? How does it taste? I haven't yet heard or read anything convincing or credible on the matter. And the few BHK I have smoked weren't conclusive.

So far to me "medio tiempo" in the BHK line might be 90% marketing 10% tobacco.

You know, I liked this post, but I must admit I see two sides of it.

One side of the post represents 'truth in tasting.' When you pay for one of these overpriced marvel cigars, do you get what you want in taste?

Yet on the other hand there is the marketing and the cost. And, marketing is part of the cigar! They charge you for it. So representing that a cigar contains certain tobaccos, when it perhaps does not containing the tobacco advertised is fraud! And fraud is fraud.

If you are not wiling to buy a 'fake' BigHillbilly, made outside of a factory, perhaps one that even tastes good, then why should the factory also commit fraud and sell you a cigar not true to it own blend that they advertise?

Cheers! -Piggy

[Hurltim]

1 hour ago, PigFish said:

You know, I liked this post, but I must admit I see two sides of it.

One side of the post represents 'truth in tasting.' When you pay for one of these overpriced marvel cigars, do you get what you want in taste?

Yet on the other hand there is the marketing and the cost. And, marketing is part of the cigar! They charge you for it. So representing that a cigar contains certain tobaccos, when it perhaps does not containing the tobacco advertised is fraud! And fraud is fraud.

If you are not wiling to buy a 'fake' BigHillbilly, made outside of a factory, perhaps one that even tastes good, then why should the factory also commit fraud and sell you a cigar not true to it own blend that they advertise?

Cheers! -Piggy

^^THIS!!! I would try ONE--just to see what it was like. I will not try one with skyrocketing prices that doesn't even have in it what is being billed. 

I would love to sit down with a bottle of Lafite Rothschild just to establish a reference point for Bordeaux's--ONCE. At least I know what I am getting for that price. The Behike promotes cordovan leather seats but supplies...not cordovan. Not cool IMO.

[PigFish]

27 minutes ago, Hurltim said:

^^THIS!!! I would try ONE--just to see what it was like. I will not try one with skyrocketing prices that doesn't even have in it what is being billed. 

I would love to sit down with a bottle of Lafite Rothschild just to establish a reference point for Bordeaux's--ONCE. At least I know what I am getting for that price. The Behike promotes cordovan leather seats but supplies...not cordovan. Not cool IMO.

Buy 3 or 4 (or more) PCs instead! I have smoked a few, all a waste of my money. Take my opinion for what it is worth! -Piggy

[john007]

I love the BHK, I don't care what leaf they put into it. It taste good to me and that's really all that matters. Now with with regards to price, at the end of the day if you spend 5 dollars or a hundred on a cigar it all just goes up in smoke. 

[RijkdeGooier]

10 hours ago, Fugu said:

Thanks SC, there goes another one of your "spot on" posts!

Apart from that, I'd like to add, Medio Tiempo is nothing new nor an invention for BHK. Has been used for years in other ligero-laden blends. It is nothing less and nothing more than simply a strong ligero leaf from the very top of the plant (Corona), which is not developing on every plant and under all conditions. Availability ("rarity") and strength seem to be the main drivers of the marketing hype, not particularly its aromatic subtlety.

And - I'd venture to guess it has not been a lack of ligero (MT) that drove the BHK hiatus.

This is correct. In older books Medio Tiempo is described as the smallest Ligero leaf on the top of the plant (corona). As it is the smallest and topmost leaf catching a lot of sun it would be relatively strong  

I was told that in times past it was usually cut from the plant so it could develop it's other leaves properly. 

The lack of BHK is attributed to many factors in many stories by many people. Who really knows?

[BarryNY]

4 hours ago, PigFish said:

Buy 3 or 4 (or more) PCs instead! I have smoked a few, all a waste of my money. Take my opinion for what it is worth! -Piggy

  5 hours ago, Hurltim said:

^^THIS!!! I would try ONE--just to see what it was like. I will not try one with skyrocketing prices that doesn't even have in it what is being billed. 

I would love to sit down with a bottle of Lafite Rothschild just to establish a reference point for Bordeaux's--ONCE. At least I know what I am getting for that price. The Behike promotes cordovan leather seats but supplies...not cordovan. Not cool IMO.

 

You guys are both spot on.

I'll open with I have never tried a BHK and I'm new to investing in CC.  But I've tried lots and lots of fine wines/spirits as I was in that business professionally for over 15 years. The secret to learning about wines/spirits and establishing taste memory is to do a vertical tasting of each variety from "weak/lower" quality to "strong/higher" quality to get a feel for the what makes the difference. When I was being trained sometimes we'd taste 13 different Cabernet's or Bordeaux's or Burgundy's in a 2 hour session.  It's all about determining price/value when dealing with a consumable type product.  When I go out with friends, I'm always asked to "pick the wine" from the list because I know about wine.  It's easy and a no-brainer to just pick a $200 bottle of Cali Napa or an Italian Amarone as anyone can do that - it takes skill to pick a $75 bottle of wine that will deliver everything that the $200 bottle does.  Don't you just love when a sommelier suggests a lower priced bottle to your selection and it's dynamite?

I'm starting to find out that the cigar category is very much similar.  I don't want to spend $30, $40, $50 for a 1 hour smoke.  I want to spend $10-$20 (even lower) for my every day pleasure.  I think the skill is in trying to find those sleeper products that can deliver the taste/pleasure that the "expensive" products deliver.  You may need to smoke 1 or 2 of the expensive products to establish a taste memory...and if you like then the hunt is on for the product that will deliver the taste you seek for a price you can afford on a regular basis.  A case in point was my brother-in-law (a big smoker) loving the Ashton ESG so on his recco without even trying one - i bought a $450 box.  Shame on me.  I really don't love them...they're a fine well constructed cigar but for $18/stick I just didn't get the price/value.  Compared to an Oliva V Melanio which I shopped hard down to an avg. price of $8/stick...for my tastes they just blow away the ESG....so my brother-in-law wins and I'm a great guy for throwing him one every time we smoke it up....LOL.

So my goal now is to try a multitude of different brands/blends/sizes and try to find one that I connect with.  If I fall in love with the big budget item well then now the hunt starts to find the everyday stick that can do the same job.  I read the reviews here with an eye to using everyone's experiences with many different sticks which hopefully has them doing a lot of that hunting for me.  

Thanks to everyone here for giving such great advice and offering such great insight into the many items available.

[watches_whiskies_cigars]

21 minutes ago, BarryNY said:

It's easy and a no-brainer to just pick a $200 bottle of Cali Napa or an Italian Amarone as anyone can do that - it takes skill to pick a $75 bottle of wine that will deliver everything that the $200 bottle does.  Don't you just love when a sommelier suggests a lower priced bottle to your selection and it's dynamite?

Bingo!! I love going to less popular wine regions to discover gems that aren't the Screaming Eagles of the West. I'm sure you are intimately familiar with Washington wines, but it was a very pleasant surprise to me when I tasted some splendid wines there.

[subport]

6 hours ago, PigFish said:

Buy 3 or 4 (or more) PCs instead! I have smoked a few, all a waste of my money. Take my opinion for what it is worth! -Piggy

^ Agreed ^

 

I smoked 52 original release. Decent cigars, but overpriced. Have a box of 54... never was and will ever be my favs... would not buy them again myself. Just find my review in the cohiba review comp mate.

[Saxman]

Likely a coincidence but I saw a YouTube video posted within the las week showing cigar prices in Cuba and they seem to have the BHK in all sizes. Either way so be it. I'm not spending $100 on a stick


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[rootsrock]

I'm no experienced smoker by no means, but I've always enjoyed bhk52 more than I enjoyed any cigar so far.


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[subport]

2 hours ago, rootsrock said:

I'm no experienced smoker by no means, but I've always enjoyed bhk52 more than I enjoyed any cigar so far.


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I feel sorry for you

[David88]

I have had a behike and thought it was a great cigar. Sadly part of the enjoyment (for me) is knowing that you are smoking a shockingly expensive stick. I'm personally not convinced that, if it came to a blind tasting, I would prefer this over the regular production cigars that I currently enjoy. 

I would consider buying a box of 10 52s for special occasions but I couldn't see myself wanting them in my regular rotation. 

[Fosgate]

I still have some left from a 2013 box. They are good but they don't wow me like other much lower priced cigars do. 

[Fugu]

5 hours ago, subport said:

I feel sorry for you

Well - just shows how little else he has smoked so far. The BHK 52 is a nice and certainly a good quality cigar, no question about that (whether this is due to MT and whether the price is justified is a diff kettle of fish).

[Bohn007]

5 hours ago, Hutch said:

The first few months production of 54s were superlative, and much more attractively priced than recently. I'd put them in my top 10. Unfortunately quality has gone down, while prices have risen...never a good combination  

Just had a BHK 54 the other day and while it was a great smoke, was it 5X better than a Connie #1, I am not sure but I will admit that it is part of my collection when I am in the mood for something different. 

[Fugu]

3 hours ago, Bohn007 said:

Just had a BHK 54 the other day and while it was a great smoke, was it 5X better than a Connie #1, I am not sure but I will admit that it is part of my collection when I am in the mood for something different. 

....but, who said there was a linear relationship between price and pleasure-ness?