This challenge came about after hearing it referenced many times that the Pepin Centurion tasted like a Behike. I dismissed these comments the first couple of times, only to have it keep popping up again, and again. I decided to do a challenge, head-to-head, and decide for myself if there was anything to this urban myth.
First the two contenders. In one corner we have the very first limited edition cigar put out by DPG back in 2007-08, El Centurion. In order for this contender to be in the same weight class as its challenger, we went with the Gurrero, or robusto size. It weighs in at 5" x 50 with a ownership price of around $12.00 at the time of sale.
Its opponent, hails from an island south of Miami, and is a fresh fighter that earned its pro-card with the code of TEU AGO 10. It has an older brother that had a stellar, but short career a few years ago, but only fought in its own house (humidor). This challenger is managed by Cohiba and is the Behike 52, aka BHK52. It weighs in at 4 3/4" x 52, what it lacks in height, it makes up in girth.
Before we begin, lets get a closer look at these fighters during the weigh-in process. First up is standing Toe-to-toe:
And now Head-to-Head:
What they are made of: (Centurion is on the Left)
Side By Side:
Fit and Finish:
As you can see this is a pretty even match-up, pound-for-pound. So without further a due, lets start this battle with the The El Centurion Guerrero.
The Centurion's construction has a rich Nicaraguan Habano wrapper that has a little bit of plume on it due to its age. What is not pictured is a nice and tanned celo that protected this fighter for almost 3 years now. The construction was solid and was nice and firm, save one small soft spot half way down the cigars body, but nothing alarming. The wrapper had small veins and only one medium vein running down the side of the cigar. The aroma of the wrapper was that of earth, leather and a slight sweetness. Upon smelling the foot, I got notes that were sweet and spicy with an earthy tone. Pre-Draw was earthy, with some spice.
I gently toasted the foot with my soft flame and set this ablaze to be greeted with a spicy draw, with lots of earth, white pepper and floral notes.
Once this Centurion heated up after the first inch, notes of leather started to come out as the white pepper settled down relatively quickly. The smoke was more complex than I was expecting as I continued to get more floral notes that jumped around with an undertone of sweetness and honey that developed more prominently toward the half way point.
The burn was spot on as it left a nice, white ash that looked flaky but held strong.
As it neared the half way point it became more rich and sweet to the finish.
Just at the half way point the ash decided it could not hang on any longer and went down to the canvas half way through this bout.
The second half brought a second wind, with some more strength and some new coffee flavors with a hint of cinnamon. The floral notes were still there and the pepper is almost all faded away by now. The burn went astray for a moment right where the soft area was discovered in the pre-light.
It continued to fight on and let you know that it was still in this fight.
The burn issue corrected itself as it went into the final rounds. More of the same flavors were present through the end.
I was surprised in the end when this turned bitter on me very quickly, it clearly was telling me to ring the bell.
It shaped up to be a nice smoke, with some surprisingly complex flavors that kept dancing around from draw-to-draw. This fighter was given to me as a gift from its manager, Jere Kock (Kockroach), and deserves to be mentioned.
So, now we have to see how it stacks up to the challenge of the mighty BHK52. Will it compare, or are they just two worlds apart?
Tune into the link below in the Habanos Review section to find out. PART 2, BHK52
-TG
First the two contenders. In one corner we have the very first limited edition cigar put out by DPG back in 2007-08, El Centurion. In order for this contender to be in the same weight class as its challenger, we went with the Gurrero, or robusto size. It weighs in at 5" x 50 with a ownership price of around $12.00 at the time of sale.
Its opponent, hails from an island south of Miami, and is a fresh fighter that earned its pro-card with the code of TEU AGO 10. It has an older brother that had a stellar, but short career a few years ago, but only fought in its own house (humidor). This challenger is managed by Cohiba and is the Behike 52, aka BHK52. It weighs in at 4 3/4" x 52, what it lacks in height, it makes up in girth.
Before we begin, lets get a closer look at these fighters during the weigh-in process. First up is standing Toe-to-toe:
And now Head-to-Head:
What they are made of: (Centurion is on the Left)
Side By Side:
Fit and Finish:
As you can see this is a pretty even match-up, pound-for-pound. So without further a due, lets start this battle with the The El Centurion Guerrero.
The Centurion's construction has a rich Nicaraguan Habano wrapper that has a little bit of plume on it due to its age. What is not pictured is a nice and tanned celo that protected this fighter for almost 3 years now. The construction was solid and was nice and firm, save one small soft spot half way down the cigars body, but nothing alarming. The wrapper had small veins and only one medium vein running down the side of the cigar. The aroma of the wrapper was that of earth, leather and a slight sweetness. Upon smelling the foot, I got notes that were sweet and spicy with an earthy tone. Pre-Draw was earthy, with some spice.
I gently toasted the foot with my soft flame and set this ablaze to be greeted with a spicy draw, with lots of earth, white pepper and floral notes.
Once this Centurion heated up after the first inch, notes of leather started to come out as the white pepper settled down relatively quickly. The smoke was more complex than I was expecting as I continued to get more floral notes that jumped around with an undertone of sweetness and honey that developed more prominently toward the half way point.
The burn was spot on as it left a nice, white ash that looked flaky but held strong.
As it neared the half way point it became more rich and sweet to the finish.
Just at the half way point the ash decided it could not hang on any longer and went down to the canvas half way through this bout.
The second half brought a second wind, with some more strength and some new coffee flavors with a hint of cinnamon. The floral notes were still there and the pepper is almost all faded away by now. The burn went astray for a moment right where the soft area was discovered in the pre-light.
It continued to fight on and let you know that it was still in this fight.
The burn issue corrected itself as it went into the final rounds. More of the same flavors were present through the end.
I was surprised in the end when this turned bitter on me very quickly, it clearly was telling me to ring the bell.
It shaped up to be a nice smoke, with some surprisingly complex flavors that kept dancing around from draw-to-draw. This fighter was given to me as a gift from its manager, Jere Kock (Kockroach), and deserves to be mentioned.
So, now we have to see how it stacks up to the challenge of the mighty BHK52. Will it compare, or are they just two worlds apart?
Tune into the link below in the Habanos Review section to find out. PART 2, BHK52
-TG
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