She’s known to her followers as “Cigar Lover,” but her journey from enthusiast to industry insider goes beyond the Instagram handle. What started as a customer request to share her favorite smokes online evolved into a full-time role with Plasencia Cigars and an impactful figure in the cigar community. We sit down with Ibis as she opens up about the cigar that lit the spark, her time behind the counter, and the moments that made it all click.
Do you remember your first cigar?
I actually do; it was a Cuban Romeo y Julieta that I smoked during Christmas with my family in 2007. Well, that was my first “official” cigar. I remember once trying to take a puff from my aunt’s cigar, who was a cigar smoker, and my mom busted me. She ended up grounding me for a while. So, my actual first cigar was that Romeo y Julieta. I was about 19 at the time, I didn’t cough or anything, I guess you could call me a natural.
We first met you when you were working retail at Little Havana Cigar Factory. How did you end up working there?
Yeah, that’s a great story. I mean, going back to when I was a kid, I’ve always loved the smell of cigars. But when I first arrived in Miami I was actually working in the medical field. I was specifically doing ultrasounds and MRIs, yeah, I was licensed and even board certified. I was at Jackson Memorial Hospital every night doing my clinical work, I was getting a second degree in the medical field. And during that time for some reason or another I felt like I needed another part-time job. And one day, I happened to be on Calle Ocho in Little Havana and I ran across this beautiful little cigar shop called Little Havana Cigar Factory. I decided to walk in and I introduced myself to the owner. Long story short, he offered me a job and I thought to myself if I accept this job at most I’ll be here for six months, considering I already had a career. I really didn’t need to work there. And the owner told me something that I would never forget and ultimately became reality. He said, “Everything you learn here is going to change your life.” I was like okay, I mean it’s just retail and I have experience in sales, so I’m like, okay, thank you for the opportunity, but still thinking in the back of my head this is still going to be six months max. I ended up working there for almost five years because I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the tobacco, with the people, the consumers, and more so the history behind the culture. Cigars have so much history most people have no idea. And I’ve always been a nerd when it comes to things I want to know. I need every detail, every side of the story.
You’re obviously an attractive young woman who smokes cigars; but more importantly, you’re a true cigar lover (hence your IG handle.) Was there a particular cigar that took you over the edge from casual smoker to wanting to go deeper into the world of premium cigars?
It was the Placencia Reserva Original. That was my go-to morning cigar for many, many years. I loved that cigar way before I was familiar with the Placencia family. So, when I started smoking this cigar every morning, I said, “Wow, this is amazing.” And then I learned that it was an organic cigar, and to me that made it even better. That led me to wanting to know more about the family who made it, and at a certain point that drove me to want to go work for the company. I wanted to work for this company whose cigars I love and to top it off were made with organic tobacco.
But before that dream came true, you created an Instagram account that became one of the most popular cigar accounts on the platform. In fact your account @cigarlover12 has held the top spot on this magazine’s Instagram Scoreboard for several years. What led you to sharing your cigar journey with the world?
It was back when I was working at Little Havana Cigar Factory. Many customers would wonder why I hadn’t started a social media page. They urged me to start something whether it was Facebook or Instagram or whatever so I could start sharing some of the cigars I was smoking. Many of our customers traveled a lot, so they wanted to follow me since we had similar tastes, that way they could taste and purchase anything new I was smoking. At first, I didn’t like it because I wasn’t too big on the idea of social media. As ironic as it sounds, I’m a very private person and the thought of broadcasting my personal life to the world didn’t sound too appealing. However, they kept at it and convinced me I didn’t have to share my entire personal life. They just wanted me to take a picture of the cigars and share them. So that’s exactly how “cigar lover” started – as a request from my customers. They even picked my IG name – Cigar Lover. They were like, “Oh, you’re a cigar lover. You should call yourself @cigarlover!” I’m like “I’m still not sure guys.” And up until that point, I still wasn’t 100% on board. I finally gave in and ended up doing it under pressure. I only did it because they asked me – I was like “okay, cool guys, you win.” And I remember my first post was a Davidoff Nicaragua. It’s always been one of my favorite cigars. So, if you go back into my Instagram, it was eight years ago. And I called it @cigarlover12 because I was 12 years old when I left Cuba and moved to Miami, so the number 12 has a special meaning for me.
Now let’s fast forward to when you move on from retail and start at Plasencia. With your experience in cigar retail and also having this popular social media account, was your role in sales or marketing or was it a little bit of both?
Definitely a little bit of both. I was the in-house sales rep, and I was also helping with marketing. So yeah, you could say it was a dream come true, and it was an amazing journey – I worked for them full time for six years. It was incredible being part of a team that had input on new blends. To be honest, I feel like everything the Plasencias make is amazing and one of the reasons for their success is the collaboration they have internally as a company. The company doesn’t have a “master blender,” so every time we came out with a new cigar, everyone had input. From the sales team to the office staff, to the factory floor, everyone had input. We would sit together and vote on blends until we reached a consensus. So, in that way they always made you feel like you were part of something bigger. Every decision, from the color of the boxes to the design of the cigar rings, to the feedback for the blends, we were always involved. So that was beautiful and I’m grateful that I was part of it.
Recently, you stepped away from your full-time role at Placencia but you’re still working with them in some capacity, right?
I’ll always be part of the Placencia family because it’s something that is part of my life, but now I’m consulting. I help them with their social media and hopefully everything new that is going to come out. I was invited to help them on the campaign for the new Alma del Cielo, which is a great cigar.
In addition to Plasencia, you’re also consulting with Oscar Valladares Cigars. What are you doing for them?
I’m mainly focused on their social media and helping out with some of their marketing. I love Oscar Valladares Cigars, and I love Honduran tobacco. People need to know that the tobacco that they’re growing in Honduras is of amazing quality. And Oscar Valladares has great factories and farms, and it is an honor to help them with their brands.
In addition to Instagram, do you also share content on the other social media platforms?
I have a Facebook account that I should be using more but I have built something so beautiful on Instagram, I mean, that’s my baby. But I’ve never given @cigarlover12 100% of my time, so that’s what I’m doing right now, trying to help companies that I support and I believe in, because I have to truly believe in what I’m sharing. I don’t share anything that I don’t believe in. I have built so many friendships through the platform, my followers are the best. They trust me when I recommend something. For me, one of the best gifts is when someone says, “Because of you I smoked an Alma Fuerte or Leaf by Oscar and now it’s my favorite cigar.” So, it’s those everyday messages that tell me that I’m doing something good and helping people because for me this isn’t a lifestyle, this is part of my life.
Anyone who follows you knows that in addition to cigars, you also have a passion for whiskey, so for the final question: if money wasn’t an object and you could pick any pairing of a whiskey and a cigar, what would you have?
Oh, beautiful. That’s easy. It would be Macallan 25 with Plasencia Alma Fuerte Salomon. Because I have done it and it’s freaking amazing. It’s really good, it’s one of those pairings that are perfect. The Macallan 25 is ultra smooth, and the Alma Fuerte is more of a medium to full body with full flavor cigar. So, they both balance beautifully. It’s like perfection, it’s a match made in heaven.
