Carlos Nodal, founder of Ultimate Cigars, grew up in the cigar industry; his father, Rafael, founded Aging Room. Carlos drifted to the hospitality industry for a time, but ultimately returned to cigars, where he learned from some of the best. His father casts a long shadow, but Carlos is steadily making a name for himself in the cigar world. Nodal talked to Cigar Life Guy about his unforgettable first smoking experience, moving away from traditional tobaccos in his blends, and the best advice his father ever gave him.
First Premium Cigar Experience
Cigar Life Guy: Tell me about your first premium cigar experience.
Carlos Nodal: My first premium cigar experience was in Nicaragua. I was about ten years old. It was a long time ago, but I believe it was me, my dad, Plasencia, Carlos Torano, and a few other guys. We were in an office. I’ll never forget it. I think it was my dad who gave me the cigar to try. I started smoking it, and like anyone else who’s trying a cigar for the first time, I accidentally inhaled. I remember just coughing and coughing and turning blue(laughs). The funny thing was, I looked up for someone to help me, and all those guys were just laughing. Nobody helped. So that was the first experience I had with a premium cigar– an experience I’ll never forget.
Cigar Tradition and Big Shoes to Fill
Cigar Life Guy: You come from a cigar industry family. What inspired you to go out on your own?
Carlos Nodal: Good question. I feel like growing up, I’ve always worked with my father, and I’ve always loved what I’ve done. Throughout the years, I learned a lot from him and many others around me. I think the main reason for going out on my own was to be able to experience the entire process. Going from nothing to growing it little by little. Also, I’ve always been “Rafael’s son”. So, another one of the things I wanted to accomplish by going out on my own was to be “Carlos Nodal”. If you know what I mean. I’ve got big shoes to fill, but I’m on my way there.
Cigar Life Guy: You have a deep familiarity with the cigar world and cigar traditions. How do you blend tradition with innovation?
Carlos Nodal: This is also one of the aspects of going out on my own: to be able to do things differently. Starting from the beginning, the idea was to use what I learned from my family and everyone else around me. I learned the blending, but this is where I think I was innovative. I moved away from the traditional with the tobacco that I chose to work with. When I had the cigar club, I was working with great tobacco, but they were not very common tobaccos. Costa Rican. Brazilian. African. Experimenting with these tobaccos was an innovative way of blending. I created new blends that I think can be something different on the market.
Cigar Life Guy: Your father, Rafael, is the founder of Aging Room. What is the best advice he gave you, whether related to the cigar business or beyond?
Carlos Nodal: The best advice my father gave me was, no matter what it is, whether you’re tired, depressed, happy, sad- we work. We work hard and always push forward. I think that has motivated me to always push forward. In good times and in bad times. As long as you keep at it, things will work themselves out. So work hard. That’s huge in my family. That’s definitely the best advice he has ever given me, or at least what has stuck the most. Work hard.
Cigar Subscription Service
Cigar Life Guy: What gave you the idea for a cigar subscription service?
Carlos Nodal: I was actually smoking cigars with my dad when I had the idea. We were sampling out some new blends that he was working on. At this time, I was making my way back into the cigar industry. I had been in hospitality and was working in restaurants. I had planned on opening a restaurant, but I started helping my dad in South Florida as a brand ambassador for Aging Room. Through that, I made my way back to cigars. I decided that cigars are what I want to do with the rest of my life. As we were talking, the idea for a subscription came about. I told him I really enjoyed blending tobacco and I wanted to learn that part of the trade. The subscription would allow me to make all these different blends and to really be able to experiment and learn how to blend tobaccos. So the idea came about outside in the pool, smoking a cigar with my dad. We continued forward, and I was running Ultimate Cigars Club.
The experience I gained from that work is what has allowed me to be able to release Batch N 10. I’ve stepped away from the online subscription to focus solely on the wholesale and distribution of Ultimate Cigars.
The Cigar Community and Giving Back
Cigar Life Guy: What is your favorite aspect of the cigar community and the cigar life? What makes cigar smokers so unique?
Carlos Nodal: What I’ve seen in the cigar community, even with all these manufacturers, they are competitors, but they’re always there to help each other. It’s a very respectful community. As for the cigar life, something as simple as a cigar has so much meaning. What makes a cigar smoker so unique is that you can go to any cigar lounge and sit next to any person and have the greatest conversation. We use the cigar to connect.
Cigar Life Guy: What is one of your passions outside of cigars? What would people not know about you?
Carlos Nodal: One of my passions that I don’t think people know is that I do a lot of community service. I do a lot of volunteer work with people who struggle with drugs and alcohol. I go to treatment centers every week, sometimes twice a week. It’s something that I really enjoy doing. I enjoy helping others. I don’t think a lot of people know that. I am passionate about helping others whenever I can. It’s a great feeling.
Follow Carlos on Instagram and check out the latest from Ultimate Cigars Club here and here.
Photo credit: Carlos Nodal