Before joining the cigar industry, Aaron Paoletta did it all. Whether touring with his band, running a record label, or cooking at Five Diamond resorts, everything he did before prepared him to create his own cigar brand. Paoletta, founder of LaVega Cigars, is ready for whatever life throws at him. He talked with Cigar Life Guy about his love for the creative process, the fellowship of the cigar community, and how LaVega began with the taste of beef jerky.
First Premium Cigar Experience
Cigar Life Guy: Tell me about your first premium cigar experience.
Aaron Paoletta: I’ve got to go back in time for this one. I’ll be 42 years old this year, so we’re going back to 2002. There was a local shop– which is still there under different ownership- in downtown Sharon, Pennsylvania. I went in there when the original owner, George, owned it. I remember it was an Arturo Fuente, Chateau Maduro. I smoked it. I could not believe the flavor, the profile, all the old-timers sitting in the lounge. That’s what drew me in.
Life Before the Cigar Industry
Cigar Life Guy: You have been a chef, a musician, and owned a record label. How did you get involved in the cigar industry?
Aaron Paoletta: I’ve been smoking cigars since I was eighteen. Being a chef in Las Vegas, I didn’t really have a lot of time for enjoyment or time to go to different lounges. I went, but not as often as I do now. When I moved back to Pennsylvania in April of 2017, I had more time because I wasn’t in the industry anymore. My band was on its way out the door. I found myself smoking more cigars, and the more I smoked them, the more I enjoyed them. I had the privilege of being at an event because I had a video podcast-we did four seasons. I was at an event at the Grand Resort in Warren, Ohio, and the Casa Cuevas guys were there, Alec Cuevas and his father, Luis Cuevas Jr. Alec had released the Sangre Nueva, and he was walking by, and I had snipped a cap. I took a “try draw” and told my buddy Evan, who was with me, “Dude, this tastes like beef jerky”. Then Alec came walking by, and I said, “Alec, can I stop you for a sec?” and then I said, “How did you get this to taste like beef jerky?” He looked at me and said, “I can’t believe you figured that out.” I told him my story. Three hours later, Alec, his father, and I shook hands, and La Vega Cigars was born.
That’s literally how fast it came together. That was September 22, 20022 and we officially went to market on May 11, 2023. It is actually my grandmother’s (who passed away) birthday.
Cigar Life Guy: How have those other endeavors helped inform your work in the cigar industry?
Aaron Paoletta: They’re huge. La Vega is the culmination of my life. La Vega is literally Las Vegas without the “s”’s. I dropped the “s”’s, I smooshed the word together, and kept the “L” and the “V” capitalized to symbolize that. Without everything I learned in both the culinary field, the music industry, my recording studio, and touring, I would not be able to function with LaVega. Being a chef in all those Five Diamond resorts and restaurants taught me how to properly prep and plan. Inventory- that’s a big thing. That all came from the culinary experience and being able to project what’s coming, so I could inventory. I’m on an eight-to-ten-week turnaround with my cigars, so I can’t just call and get them now. I learned how to look to the future because of all the banquets that we did. We were constantly prepping for what’s to come. We’re cooking today’s food, but we’re prepping for weeks from now.
In the music industry, planning tours translates to how we plan for all the routes that we have to do, all the lounges that we have to visit, and all of the events we attend. Culinary also helped with events because I did live-action stations. I was a private chef, so I was doing private parties. My experience being in front of people from both the culinary and music sides helps me at cigar events. It taught me how to talk to people and relate to people. You could feel the vibe of the room change with one word. If it weren’t for both of those industries, I wouldn’t be able to adapt on the fly. Being able to change at a moment’s notice is essential. You just never know what’s going to happen. You land a meeting with lounges that might cancel at the last second, and you have to be able to pivot and go to the next lounge. Both of those industries taught me what I needed to do in the cigar industry.
The creative aspects are a big part too. Creating different artistic dishes, creating music and writing records, I can now create artistically with my cigars. The blends, the bands, the promo, everything involved with the image of La Vega comes from those careers.
The LaVega Brand
Cigar Life Guy: What is the most important thing to convey about a brand? How do you want the cigar world to perceive LaVega Cigar Co?
Aaron Paoletta: I think that answer is subjective, just like the taste of a cigar is subjective. When you smoke a LaVega cigar, you’re literally smoking something that took me forty years of my life on this earth to get to. You’re smoking the passion, not just for this industry, but for the previous industries where I spent over a decade. You’re smoking something that I deeply care for. Just like my food dishes, I’m trying to create the best cigar blend I possibly can. Are my cigars for everybody? No. But the big thing I want people to know is that with LaVega, my tagline is, “Where every smoke creates a memory”. I don’t care if you’re smoking a LaVega or if you’re smoking a Padron or if you’re smoking a Fuente. Enjoy yourself! Create memories with those around you because memories are what you have when you get older. Everything that I’ve done has brought me to this point. That’s the experience you are getting when you smoke a LaVega cigar.
Fellowship in the Cigar Community
Cigar Life Guy: What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started in the cigar industry?
Aaron Paoletta: I wish I knew how much it was going to cost (laughs). I knew it was going to get expensive, but the kind of guy who doesn’t look back. I wouldn’t go back in life and change anything because if you change one thing, I wouldn’t be where I am today. The best thing that I can tell you is that I open my eyes every day with zero expectations other than “I just wanna have a good day”. Whatever life throws at me, I’m ready for it. I’m going to enjoy myself. I’ve lost too many family members and friends over the years, so stressing about the little things is just not worth it. Whatever is coming is coming.
Cigar Life Guy: What is your favorite aspect of the cigar community?
Aaron Paoletta: Fellowship. I cannot stress that enough. It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, brown, Democrat, Republican, religious, or non-religious; nobody cares. When you sit down in a lounge, specifically in my lounge, because I hold to this standard, the only thing we should be talking about is the cigars in your hand and how you and your family are doing. That’s all that matters. The fellowship in this community amongst the brothers and sisters of the leaf is intoxicating, to say the least. It’s the one place we can go and not be judged. Sure, we jape, and we jest at each other- “Oh, you’re smoking an infused cigar” or “Oh, you’re smoking a fifty-dollar cigar,” but at the end of the day, it’s all for the love of the leaf.
Cigar Life Guy: You seem to have a lot of talents beyond cigars. What is another one of your passions? What is something people wouldn’t know about you?
Aaron Paoletta: People would be surprised that I could really stand on my own in my shop building and creating. Whether it’s woodworking or leatherworking, I can just be content. Put me on a mower with my headphones and my music, and I’m a happy camper. It’s not that I don’t love being around people, but I like solitude where I can just do my thing. I think a lot of that comes from all those years I spent in Vegas, where I was around thousands of people a day. It just gets to be overwhelming, which leads me back to what I love about the cigar industry. When you go to a lounge, you’re not surrounded by thousands of people. You’re surrounded by a couple of dozen dedicated, passionate people. It’s that quality of fellowship that I enjoy.
Follow Aaron on Instagram and check out the latest from LaVega here.
photo credit: LaVega Cigars