It’s Ernest Hemingway’s birthday on July 21, which is reason enough to raise a glass to the late literary legend who chronicled epic bouts of drinking in books like The Sun Also Rises.
The Hemingway-est way to celebrate is with Papa’s Pilar rum, an artisan-crafted spirit rolling out to new markets including New York, Chicago and California just in time for the big event that reflects rum’s “gutsy roots”.
Inspired by the larger-than-life author and named after his beloved fishing boat, it comes in Dark and Blonde varieties from the Caribbean, Central America and the U.S.A. chosen for their age, character and maturity.
The spirit is aged and blended in a unique process using American oak bourbon barrels, port wine casks (dark only), and finally Spanish sherry casks.
Papa’s Pilar Dark, a “bold and complex” sipping rum, was named is both pot and column distilled and is a blend of hand-selected rums up to 24 years old with a long, velvety finish. Papa’s Pilar Blonde is “crisp and nuanced” and includes column stilled aged rums 3-7 years old.
Papa’s Pilar was developed in conjunction with the Hemingway estate and each bottle bears his iconic signature. “Two of my Dad’s favorite rituals were hunting buffalo and enjoying rum, especially a Papa Doble”, aka the Hemingway Daiquiri, notes Patrick Hemingway, the author’s second son of Ernest.
The Papa’s Pilar bottle is meant to evoke a WWII-era canteen and features a cool etched metal compass cap closure that reflects Hemingway’s adventurous exploits on land and sea.
This year Papa’s Pilar plans to break ground on a new distillery in Key West, Florida, just down the road from where the author himself lived for many years.
We bet he’s sorry he didn’t live to see it.