Smoking Moses from Venice
What’s your story?
My name is Aldo Puncioni, but most of the people call me Smoking Moses, because years ago I wrote a small guide for beginners and the title was “The 10 Commandments of Cigars”, and of course because I have a big beard... I have been smoking cigars since I was 16 years old, and I love to try everything, without any prejudice, with an open mind. Cigars are part of my life, I'm not able to remember a happy moment of my life without a cigar in my hands.
“I was a biomedical engineer for a German company.”
I left this job just to be able to work with cigars, and transform a passion into a job. Someone told me that if you love your job you'll never work a day in your life, and it's true. My mission is trying to help people become better smokers, understanding their preferences and knowing better the market.
What does a great cigar experience look like for you?
A cigar is not only a cigar... A cigar is an experience, made of smoke (of course), but also of all the things that are with you while you smoke: atmosphere, music, drinks but most of all other smokers. Cigars connect people, this is the real magic part of our passion, and a great cigar experience is the one where you are able to smoke and share opinions with other great people, learning new things or simply enjoying the moment. I met most of my friends in this wonderful way, people with the same passion are fated to tune in.
Do you have any unusual habits when it comes to enjoying cigars?
I usually don't pair any spirit or alcohol or other drinks during the smoke... I enjoy all those things when the cigar is finished, and I'm not smoking anymore. This is something unusual, but the reason is easy, I prefer not to change the taste and the aroma of my cigar till I am smoking it, and not to alter the perception of my palate or nose.
What made you become an ambassador of Light ‘em Up GO?
This is really a good question. Probably Reinhard recognized that I have something to share with other smokers, and gave me the opportunity to do it...
Do you get asked a lot “Where can I smoke”, or “Where can I buy”?
Yes, those are common questions. Unfortunately there are no proper cigar lounges where I live, so answering the first question is quite easy... But the second one is also very interesting. I think that the pleasure of a good smoke starts in the shop were you buy your cigar, that's the reason why this aspect is so important, and I'm not only talking about humidity level or variety of vitolas available, I'm talking about the competence and culture of the seller: he has part of the responsibility to make you fall in love with this passion.
Who should know about Light ‘em Up GO?
All smokers of the world. Smoking a cigar is almost every time sharing the wonderful experience with other smokers. All of us need to know where to smoke and where to buy our beloved sticks.
You already had a look behind the scenes, what are you hyped about?
I see a big passion, and a great team: enormous competence but most of all a real friendship. We'll do big things together.
Thank you Aldo for joining us on this venture. We couldn’t agree more!
Find out more about Aldo on his social channels:
Interested in becoming an ambassador yourself? We’d love to get to know you!