54 TOBACCO BUSINESS | MAY / JUNE | 22 Master blenders are not born; they aremade. That’s what Manuel Inoa says of the title that most people in the cigar industry refer to him as. As La Aurora’s master blender, Inoa is the man in charge of coming up with the blends that keep the Dominican Republic’s oldest cigar factory relevant and at the top of mind for cigar smokers across the world. The title “master blender,” however, is something earned, not awarded. It comes from years of working in the cigar business and is validated by years spent studying all areas of tobacco, from how it’s grown from seeds to how it’s harvested and combined to create a final blend. Being a master blender, Inoa explains, requires an open mind and willingness to always learn something new and explore all areas of the tobacco business. Inoa was not born into the tobacco industry. His occupational background is actually that of an industrial engineer. Many years ago, Inoa had a friend that worked at General Cigar, where Inoa got an internship. At General Cigar Dominicana, Inoawas in charge of improving the company’s production processes and reducing its costs. Once his internship was complete, Inoa continued to work at General Cigar on a part-time basis while he finished his schooling. As time went on, Inoa worked in different areas of General Cigar’s factory. He began working more with the actual tobacco, specifically with the factory’s rollers and those who were responsible for overseeing the curating and aging processes. It was during this time that Inoa was offered the opportunity to learn how to blend cigars, which deepened his appreciation for the world of tobacco. In the 1990s, Inoa was ready for a change and received an offer to work with La Aurora. Now that he had experience with blending cigars, he was immediately named as the company’s new master blender and worked closely with the company’s then-president, Fernando León. His task sounded far more simple than it really was: He would be responsible for crafting blends that needed to use tobacco from perfect harvests, and he had to make as few mistakes as possible while doing so. Working at General Cigar and later La Aurora gave Inoa two of the best mentors he could ask for: Benji Menéndez and Fernando León. “I’m grateful to them because they taught me a lot about the tobacco world,” says Inoa. “Being close to them made me aware of the importance of high quality in products. They were very passionate in that area and oriented to what the consumers were looking for.” Today, Inoa relies on all of his experiences in the cigar industry and the lessons from his two mentors to continue to make exceptional cigars. He’s involved in the development of every blend that comes out of La Aurora. This involves finding and working with only the best-quality tobacco possible. Among his biggest challenges are maintaining consistency and developing alternatives that add to La Aurora’s long legacy of being one of the top premium cigar makers in the Dominican Republic. He describes his typical day as being really intense. There’s always something in development and a need for the company to work toward the future. When he’s not working on a new blend, Inoa is searching for ways to improve the production process behind La Aurora’s current blends. Inoa reveals how he approaches cigar blending and why every cigar La Aurora puts into the market is the product of a complex process. He also discusses why cigar blending is almost always a collaboration, involving many different skill sets and professionals that each have an important role to play in creating a cigar that encapsulates the passion and dedication of and love for tobacco held by many in the Dominican Republic. Mastering the Process Creating a good cigar begins with the best tobacco to use in the blend. What exactly does this mean? Inoa defines it as being tobacco leaf with good qualities that comes from an accurate region of harvest. At La Aurora, the cigar blending process begins with a companywide focus on properly harvesting tobacco. Once that is done, Inoa and others on his team set out to discover the properties of the tobacco leaves and soil that the tobaccowas harvested from. This is done in order to identify the aroma M Visitors to La Aurora’s factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic, learn about the company’s history with tobacco via an interactive educational display.
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