Never a Dull Moment

At C.A.O.,Tim Ozgener focuses on innovation and creativity, from blending new cigars to bringing them to the market

James Suckling
From the Print Edition:
Dennis Haysbert, Nov/Dec 2006

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It's not surprising that Ozgener is happy. The Toraños have an impressive operation in both Nicaragua and Honduras. The two factories are as well organized as any cigar factory I have seen in Latin America. Moreover, the Olivas, the Nicaraguan family in charge of both operations, are extremely serious and focused on quality. The patriarch of the family, Fidel Olivas, says he wants one day to be Nicaragua's top tobacco man. He has a few hurdles to get over considering he has such neighbors as Orlando Padrón of Padrón Cigars and Nestor Plasencia, among others. But strong ambitions often equate with eventual success.

The Ozgeners and Toraños have a strong relationship. "Both families have a definite passion for cigars," says Charlie Toraño, who was traveling with Tim in Central America at the time. "And then there is the blending. For example, our premier cigar, Exodus, has tobacco from four different countries. It's our personality also to blend. And so I think there is a synergy with C.A.O."

C.A.O.'s best cigars are still yet to be made, and perhaps they will end up with a range of tobaccos from all over the world. "We are establishing a brand and the brand is based on quality, but it is also based on innovation," says Ozgener. "That is very exciting. Through our products, through our packaging, through our advertising, through everything that we do, we are trying to create different colors of the palate, almost like a painter, just utilizing a wide variety of colors to paint the landscape. And I think that is great. I mean, if we were to produce the same type of cigar and just stick with it every year, that would be boring."

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