Leonor Abzaradel worked in the wine business for a time, so transitioning to another luxury industry like the cigar world wasn’t difficult. Known as “Leo” in the cigar business, the CEO of Nova Cigars, shared her first cigar with her father and has been living the cigar life ever since. She talked to Cigar Life Guy about the inner peace that can be found when smoking a cigar, using only the finest tobacco, and the joy of people coming together to smoke a cigar.
First Premium Cigar Experience
Cigar Life Guy: Tell me about your first premium cigar experience.
Leonor Abzaradel: My first cigar was with my father when he visited me in New York. My father was an avid cigar smoker, so I took him to Club Macanudo to enjoy his first cigar in NYC. Looking around I couldn’t help but notice that everyone seemed to enjoy their cigars very much, so I decided to light up as well and I had a great time, full of joy and inner peace.
Drawn to The Cigar World
Cigar Life Guy: What drew you to the cigar world?
Leonor Abzaradel: The enjoyment I had with my father and the inner peace. Being surrounded by people from all around the world, being able to disconnect from reality by simply just enjoying a cigar in a relaxed atmosphere made me feel like I want to learn more about the cigars and the cigar industry. That moment opened my mind to new ideas and new opportunities that I wanted to explore.
Cigar Life Guy: What do you want the cigar world to know about your legacy, tradition, and its connection to Nova Cigars?
Leonor Abzaradel: I create my own legacy by following my heart and tradition. After many years in the cigar industry, I decided to take a step further in my career. This is when I joined the Platinum Nova cigar as CEO to continue my growth in this beautiful industry. Platinum Nova Cigar was a brand-new company and I wanted to grow bigger with this new brand name and put all my experience and love into it.
The Nova Portfolio
Cigar Life Guy: Tell us a bit about the Nova Portfolio.
Leonor Abzaradel: In 2019 we launched Platinum Nova Cigar at IPCPR (PCA) with 6 lines of limited edition and 8 regular productions. Nova uses only long-leaf premium tobacco but what distinguished the limited-edition lines from the rest, was the age of the tobacco, which was older than 10 years. We had enough to produce only 500 boxes of each limited-edition line and once they are off the shelves we won’t be able to replicate these amazing vitolas. In the few years since the public debut, Nova’s portfolio has continued to grow and its catalog encompasses 26 lines covering a full range of sizes and flavor profiles.
Cigar Life Guy: Your line is described as ultra-premium and vintage. How do you want consumers to perceive your brand?
Leonor Abzaradel: How do we want our consumers to perceive the brand? We want our consumers to know that we only use the finest premium tobacco available on the market. Our products are formulated without any synthetic ingredients, and we do not cut corners on anything because we do not want to jeopardize the quality of our products. We are beyond happy and proud of what we have accomplished and all the products we have on the market.
Challenges in the Cigar Industry
Cigar Life Guy: What is the biggest challenge facing the cigar industry today?
Leonor Abzaradel: The challenges will always be the same. Make sure there is enough tobacco on the market to support the manufacturing. The cigar industry has been overregulated worldwide, and that is something that we have to learn and adapt to on a regular basis, so we can be in compliance with the law.
Cigar Life Guy: Have we missed anything? Please tell us anything else you’d like the cigar world to know.
Leonor Abzaradel: I don’t think we missed anything. I am enjoying watching the cigar world come together closer and closer to serve the consumer and the new cigar smoker generation by producing different vitolas, blends, and sizes.
Follow Leo and Nova Cigars on Instagram and check out the latest from the Nova portfolio here.
Photo credit: Nova Cigars