SMOKE: Have you always been involved with cigars?

NODAL: Originally I’m from Cuba. My family had been in tobacco for four generations - not as cigar producers, but as growers. At that time in Pinar del Rio, most people were growers. Then I came to the United States in 1980 during the Mariel boatlift and I went directly to New York where I played classical piano and violin - I studied music since I was very young. Three years later I moved to Miami, but found it was very difficult to make a living as a musician - Miami had no symphony orchestra or professional classical groups. So, I started working in a hospital - first as a custodian and then worked my way up into finance. Eventually I moved up to an Assistant Director for a psychiatric company. That’s where I met my future business partner, Hank Bischoff who worked in management. Hank was a big cigar smoker. One day he asked me to meet a friend that that he said reminded him of me. That friend was Nick Perdomo, and that was my introduction into the cigar world - it was actually in Nick’s old office in Little Havana I started smoking cigars. That’s what brought me back to what my family had done for a long, long time.

SMOKE: How exactly did you get into the cigar business?

NODAL: Hank and I decided to set-up an internet cigar retail company - it was mostly a hobby - we still kept our day jobs. But this was a hobby that allowed me to meet many people, mostly the manufacturers and distributors down here in Miami. After doing work with cigar retail for a while, eventually we started working as consultants for Oliveros cigars. Then when they closed, we took over the company. From there, we decided to open a new factory in the Dominican Republic - a small factory by all means - but one that we take a lot of pride in. At the time we took Oliveros over, they only did flavored cigars; we expanded the company into regular premium cigars as well.

SMOKE: Is anyone from your family also involved in the company?

NODAL: I am the President of the Company and Bischoff, my partner and co-founder from the beginning, is the Vice President. And also my wife Alina, who is a psychiatrist, also is a part-owner and very involved in some of the operations of the company.

SMOKE: You just got back from Honduras. Are you looking to expand your production beyond the Dominican Republic?

NODAL: Well, yes. One of the things that we did when we took over Oliveros was recognizing that we needed to have a little more control of our production - centralizing the production, the processing of the tobacco. We built a new building in the DR four years ago and it has been a work in progress - we just added a second floor - and we basically put all of our production there. However, we have also, as of last year, started working in Honduras for the Oliveros Eight-Zero, which debuted in 2007 in honor of the brand’s 80th anniversary. Usually we would buy tobacco from Honduras and bring it to the Dominican, but we decided to produce it there with someone else for many factors including access to a great amount of very aged tobacco needed for that particular release. This year we have a release called King Habano - it’s all-Nicaraguan and it’s being produced out of what is called the Tobacco Cathedral. If tobacco was a religion then that factory would be the cathedral, because from the outside, it definitely looks like one.

SMOKE: Nicaraguan puros can be quite strong - is this a powerful blend?

NODAL: It’s an all-ligero cigar. It’s one of the fullest bodied cigars on the market right now. We’ve done actual taste tests and have confirmed it is one of the most full-bodied cigars on the market. It is very well-aged and well-balanced cigar.

SMOKE: With so many products and so much competition out there, how do you make your cigars stand out?

NODAL: Well, I think it has to be a comprehensive approach. Most importantly we pay a lot of attention to the blending and are very picky with the type of tobaccos we choose to create the best cigar for the best possible price. You’re right, the market right now has some great cigars - it’s a great time to be a cigar smoker because all of the cigars available. So yes, there’s competition. But you try to differentiate with a comprehensive approach to the marketing, the packaging. But specifically, pay tremendous amount of attention to the blending - we’ve created fuller, more-complex blends, which is definitely what the market is going for.

SMOKE: How involved do you personally get with the blending?

NODAL: Very, very involved! This is a process that starts at the factory level with me but also involves other people in the factory, our people at the office, our sales people, and even many of the stores. We are in the process of creating a panel which is going to be a test group of consumers that will be able to take the different blends to different people from different geographical areas and have them test new blends. We just started to do that and I think it’s going to be something that is very helpful to us.

SMOKE: Fidel Castro has stepped down as Cuba’s president and his brother Raul stepped up. If the U.S. were to end the embargo, is there any chance you would go back to Cuba to do business?

NODAL: I became a citizen of the United States only about four years ago, because I always thought of going back to Cuba whenever there was a possibility. I’ve been here for 28 years now - seems only like a couple days ago - but actually it’s actually been 28 years.

The name of the company is Habana Cuba Cigar Company because we always thought of going to back Cuba. I have family there, so we certainly have the relationship with growers. We definitely would like to go back. And as a matter of fact, we have a cigar called Habana Cuba Premier Selection - we trademarked that three years ago and it’s definitely a cigar that we have prepared to put to the market when we are able to have access to Cuban tobacco. It’s a reflection of what we want to do when the Embargo ends. Of course, the end to the embargo is when the situation in Cuba changes and becomes a democratic Cuba. The Embargo itself might end and things will continue to be the way they are, but once it becomes a democratic country, then we definitely want to be involved there.

SMOKE: What cigars do you smoke personally these days? Do you smoke the stronger ones we were talking about earlier?

NODAL: What we produce is a reflection of our personal taste. I started with mild-to-medium cigars, and now I continue to develop into more strong cigars. We started with the Oliveros Classic Collection, which is mild-to-medium cigar, then later we produced the XL which is certainly medium- to full-bodied. Then we created the Eight Zero, which is medium- to full-bodied as well and a lot more complex and a lot more flavor. Then we did a special limited edition called Oliveros LTD, which is certainly stronger than what we had made at the time with all Dominican and Peruvian tobacco. And now we introduced the King Habano which is also a very full-bodied blend. As we mature, we’ve developed new blends that reflect our taste. Personally, I smoke a lot of other cigars - not only my products - but I certainly do try to smoke other manufacturers. I’m in the cigar industry because I love cigars. I recognize that many, many manufacturers make great cigars, so I do enjoy them.

SMOKE: Let’s also talk about your flavored cigars - that’s how Oliveros started, right?

NODAL: Yeah, when we took over, the company was making an Oliveros flavored cigar and that’s where Oliveros really became known in the cigar pool. The flavored cigars are certainly very special to us. As we continue to grow in the regular premium market, we continue to develop the flavor side as well. And it’s an important one because the process we use is very unique - a little bit more expensive, a little bit more time consuming - but we definitely believe it shows in the final product. We age the tobacco leaf with molasses then ferment them in wine and that fermentation process produces a sweet substance that we age the tobacco leaf with. And then we apply some flavors, some vanilla, chocolate, things like that. Then once it is aged and the cigars are rolled, then we apply again the wine and molasses and honey on the outside of the cigar and then set them aside to age a little bit longer and then they are ready to go out to the market.

SMOKE: With flavored cigars, does the quality of the tobacco really make a difference or is it really more about the flavors?

NODAL: That is something the Oliveros family really put a lot of emphasis on because most of the flavored cigars that were out on the market at the time - and many that are still out - use very inferior tobacco they masquerade with flavor. Our philosophy is that the tobacco has to be as well-aged and from the best selection to make sure that the flavored cigar’s quality is equal to any premium cigar. The market for flavored cigars - although it has grown dramatically - is still very small compared to the premium cigar market overall. That’s why we made that decision - not only because it was my passion to smoke regular cigars as well - but because certainly there’s a bigger market for premium cigars.

SMOKE: Where do you see the flavor market going?

NODAL: I think it continues to develop and I think it’s an entrance to the marketplace for many new smokers that have quit smoking cigarettes - certainly it’s an entrance to premium cigars. The flavoring is easier for new smokers. And I think it continues to expand as the market (the United States certainly) has many anti-smoking campaigns - people are trying to quit cigarettes and the flavored cigars is a good alternative for those smokers.

SMOKE: What’s ahead for Habana Cuba?