Rafael Nodal is the Cuban-born founder of Aging Room and Boutique Blends, and vice president of product capability at Altadis U.S.A. / Tabacalera USA. He came to Miami as a teenager (Mariel-era exile), worked in health-care finance, and entered cigars with his wife Alina and partner Hank Bischoff by taking over Habana Cuba Cigar Co. (Oliveros) in 2002. After a hard education in flavored and broad-market cigars, they renamed the company Boutique Blends and bet on small-batch Aging Room with Jochy Blanco at Tabacalera Palma.
That boutique success is why Altadis hired him in 2017 as a product liaison while also taking on Aging Room distribution. He still owns the marca. Inside Altadis he is the public blender face of Nicaraguan heritage projects with A.J. Fernandez (Montecristo Nicaragua / 1935, Trinidad Espiritu, Romeo San Andrés) and of Aging Room's own Quattro Nicaragua and La Boheme lines at San Lotano. The dual hat matters on this map: corporate product chief and independent brand owner, not the same as Altadis owning Aging Room.
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