Aaron Paul Visits House of Robb in Monterey to Talk Cars, Caviar, and Mezcal
Aaron Paul’s searing performance in the hit crime drama Breaking Bad put the Idaho-born actor on the map. But as Robb Report’s acting editor-in-chief Josh Condon uncovered in a House of Robb panel discussion at Monterey Car Week, the actor finds fresh inspiration in everything from mezcal and caviar passion projects to classic cars.
It’s not often when co-stars enjoy a strong bond far beyond day-to-day involvement in television production, but Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston maintained their friendship following their on-screen relationship in Breaking Bad. “He’s my son’s godfather, he’s truly my best friend in the world,” Paul says. “Bryan always says, ‘If he and I played golf [after the show ended], we would’ve never started a company’; we needed a reason to see each other.”
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The pair cofounded the mezcal brand Dos Hombres three years after Breaking Bad wrapped. The production of mezcal involves a process that requires craftwork, strategy, and patience. As the audience sampled the six-year-old Dos Hombres Espadin, Paul also referenced his Dos Hombres Tobala, an extremely limited-edition expression that Paul explains “is made from the top agave and takes 25 years to be mature enough to harvest. We only get one batch of 400 bottles per quarter because of how precious these plants are.” Paul describes mezcal as “. . . the finest spirit out there. It’s so clean and pure. It has 70 calories per ounce, it’s gluten and sugar free. We like to say it’s almost irresponsible not to drink it.” He also cites responsible entrepreneurship with these endeavors, including, with Dos Hombres, building a state-of-the-art water filtration plant for the village where distillation takes place, and for The Only caviar, returning 3 percent of all profits towards the cleanup of oceans, rivers, and lakes.
Paul’s follow-up project later emerged from a chance meeting at Monterey Car Week. “I’m proud to say The Only Caviar was birthed here last year at Casa Ferrari. I met this brilliant human by the name of Diego [Sabino], a world-class chef with multiple Michelin stars under his belt who also runs the food and beverage program for VistaJet. He presented me with, hands down, the greatest caviar I’ve ever had in my life.” The assembled Robb Report audience were invited to judge for themselves with tastings of Dos Hombres mezcal and The Only Caviar.
It wouldn’t be Monterey Car Week without car talk, and the Need for Speed actor cites a childhood gift of a toy 1965 Shelby Cobra in blue with a white racing stripe as a goal-setting totem. “That was my pinnacle. I said, ‘Someday, I’ll get that.’” And he eventually did, purchasing a full-scale example identically spec’d as his childhood miniature. Though he is a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz and daily drives an electric EQS sedan, he cites a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL gullwing as his holy-grail car. “I love and appreciate the newer cars,” he says, “but my heart’s in the classics.”
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