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THE MOST ICONIC OF HABANOS’ BRANDS HAS STOOD OUT IN THE WORLD OF ASSEMBLÉES DUE TO ITS QUALITY, EXCLUSIVENESS AND DIVERSITY OF ITS VITOLA PORTFOLIO

Cohiba has been one the greatest brands of Habanos since day one. Its conception, making and marketing were surrounded by the enchantment of original vitolas, the selection of leaves from the five high-quality tobacco plantation in San Juan y Martinez and San Luis, in Pinar del Rio, as well as an additional aging process applied to the raw material and the exquisite choosing carried out by cigar makers. All those elements favor the sublime quality of this product.
That’s the reason why Cohiba became the most sought-after brand of habanos. It’s presently the only brand that features four lines and embraces three of the five tasting ranges: Línea Clásica and Maduro 5 are mild-to-strong, Línea 1492 is mild and Línea Behike is strong-tasting.
Both love and perfection had never been so wisely combined in the realm of habanos, so in its 50th anniversary Cohiba represents the pride of the Cuban cigar-making culture.
Its four lines and many vitolas are marked by authentic peculiarities. Therefore, their pairing proposals are also meant to be unique.
Cohiba blessings
Right from the onset, this brand was shrouded by a drape of blessed mysteries: an old mansion, a selective group of female cigar rollers and a fine making process for each and every vitola.
These elements are complemented by high quality standards and the fact that it’s the only brand of habanos in which three of the four leaf types used in the rolling process –seco, ligero and medio tiempo- endure an additional fermentation process in white-oak barrels.
Many families of distilled spirits can be paired with Cohiba’s vitolas, but undoubtedly rum –specifically Cuban light rum- is the perfect match for a habano. They have been longstanding soul mates and guidelines of the nation’s identity.
However, this fact doesn’t mean that in Cohiba’s extensive and exclusive vitola stock there’s no room for all preferences, especially when it comes to pairing these cigars and spirits within premium, ultra-premium and even prestige ranges.

Cohiba-rum pairings
Its first line, named Clásica, was developed somewhere between 1966 and 1989 and it’s made up of half a dozen vitolas. Lancero was, just as its name indicates, the “spearhead”, with Robusto and Espléndido following suit with class and style, and Coronas Especiales and Panetela rounding out the pack.
Lanceros is a masterpiece, only produced by the most seasoned cigar makers. This long-and-thin habano is powerful, with spicy and chocolate notes, highly recommended to go along with such aged rums as Santiago 11 Years or Mulata 12 Years.
Robusto and Espléndido are flagships of Línea Clásica. The first one paved the way for future short-burning habanos, with perfect sizes, dried fruit notes and delicious woody notes. So, Robusto can pair perfectly with Havana Club 7 Years.
Espléndido, the most beautiful cigar of the line, is an exceptional and well-shaped Julieta, delivering precious woody notes, fresh herb notes and roast notes with humus playing the leading role. It’s ideal with such rums as Caney 12 Years, or Mulata 15, which are both light, yet with a long-lasting and complex aftertaste.
Línea 1492 or Línea Siglos, rolled out in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, came out initially with five vitolas, which were joined by Siglo VI in 2002, the most spectacular vitola of the Cohiba brand at the moment, characterized by an irresistible persona of its own.
Cañonazo, Siglo VI’s factory vitola, was penciled in as the perfect puff. The new habano, ring gauge 52, features intense tastes, with cedar and pepper notes, and it’s highly recommended with Havana Club Unión, the latest gem of Havana Club’s Colección Icónica. It’s a voluptuous rum and very seductive when paired with Cohiba Siglo VI.
On the other hand, Línea 1492 delivers an interesting experience when its Cohiba Siglo IV, a Gran Corona, meets Havana Club Reserva Rum, which runs lightly and silkily in the mouth.
Línea Maduro 5 was put out in 2007, with three new vitolas: Genios, Mágicos and Secretos, with short-burning sizes and a wrapper that underwent a five-year aging process, a reason why these habanos boast such signature hues and colors.
As for pairings, Genios stands out in this line, with intense taste, a complex final aftertaste, and a body that oozes out smoked, earthy and high-roast taste –as well as tannery notes- that clinch a delightful puff.
The pairing with the recently-launched Santiago Siglo y Medio is superb, with its aged structure and suggestive aromatic and taste proposals. It’s an “assemblée” of habano and rum that is nearly perfect.

Pairings with behike
The rollout of Línea Behike back in 2006, within the framework of Cohíba’s 40th Anniversary, engulfed a whole revolution in terms of its high quality and limited output, so it became the brand’s most exclusive line.
Behike was the first one to introduce medio tiempo in the blend of its three vitolas, a scantily-sprouting leaf collected from the top foliage of the sun-grown tobacco plant and which gives this line exceptional character and taste. BHK 52, 54 and 56 are vitolas with superb taste and smell that invites patrons to put the most exclusive aged rums on the table.
BHK 52, the smallest one in the trio, is also the most powerful one, with intense seasoned notes, combined with refined woody and earthly notes, as well as delicate cacao and coffee notes. It’s exquisitely enjoyed with Havana Club Selección de Maestros, a kind of rum with profiles of crystallized orange, balanced, intense woody notes, bitter chocolate and coffee, with voluptuous aftertaste.
BHK 54, the most balanced of the three and featuring a fancy draw, boasts liquored and smoked notes, remarkable taste richness, coupled with coconut and bitter cacao notes. When it comes to pairing, Havana Club Máximo is the one, the masterpiece of Havana Club’s Colección Icónica, a result of blending all of the oldest rums, a tribute to the Cuban rum-making culture, rich in scents, where vanilla, wood, coconut and toasted coffee notes bring out an irresistible spicy aftertaste. It’s actually an out-of-the-way pairing.
Last but not least, BHK 56 –Laguito No.6 is the factory vitola- shows off intense vegetable notes, where wood is aromatically ingrained with complex bitter tastes, dried fruit and delicate tannery notes. The draw is quite even and the final third is very pleasant.
It matches splendidly with Santiago 25 Years, voluptuous, rich in aromas, in which toast and delicious sweet notes stand out, and both wood and eau-de-vie provide a well-balanced, silky and longstanding taste. It’s indeed an enthralling match to taste.

Other classic cohiba
Due to its enduring hallmark and nonstop innovation, Cohiba was Habanos S.A.’s first brand to launch a Reserve in 2002 and a Grand Reserve seven years later, in 2009. Both have been rolled with tobacco leaves that were aged during three and five years respectively, so they are perfect to be paired with San Cristóbal de La Habana 480 Aniversario Rum, a limited production of full-bodied spirit featuring apple and dried fruit notes, exceptional character. This is a kind of collection-oriented rum.
Launched in 2013, Cohiba’s Pirámides Extra is the last frontier of single torpedoes, an impeccably-made habano, very aromatic, which reminds smokers of tea leaves and toasted nuts, a pyramid of body and personality. It goes great with aged Isla del Tesoro rum, with harmonic and lasting aftertaste, as well as balanced, so they come together in a very enjoyable relationship of intensity.
The list is topped by the last gem of Cohiba’s crown, Robusto Supremo Edición Limitada 2015, a habano that has had huge acclaim among habano enthusiasts, with its gorgeous aged wrapper, perfect rolling. With ring gauge 58, this is by far the thickest one in Habanos’ vitola portfolio. It packs a wallop with its dazzling taste richness, skin notes and powerful bitter aftertaste.
It’s a rebel habano, with body, tremendously enjoyable with Havana Club 15 Years, which follows the classic style of old spirits, harmonious, silky in the mouth, with complex and long-lasting end. It’s a friendly clash between two powers. A superb finale awaits.