It started with an adventurer.
Papa’s Pilar, the rum model half owned by the Hemingway Property and crafted in a spirit of journey, gets its name from Ernest Hemingway, the good American novelist, explorer and champion of journey. It’s a rum that has been expertly mixing high expressions from across the Caribbean Basin, married with a narrative and a picture rooted in journey.
It’s a model we’ve extolled in these pages during the last decade.
Lately, Papa’s Pilar has been upping its sport additional, with a variety of smaller-batch expressions, some with thrilling cask finishes (the latest Rye end was a selected hit) and, most just lately, the “Ernest,” which was one of many world’s greatest rums on the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth final yr.
For the final three years, the model has been producing a particular annual launch: Legacy, with the concept of honoring “Hemingway and people he impressed,” selecting a special inspiration annually.
It’s a limited-edition expression (this yr with simply 3,000 bottles), this yr celebrating the legendary surfer Greg Noll, the person they referred to as “Da Bull” who made a profession browsing not possible waves and, in a second life, crafting longboards.
This yr’s Legacy is the results of a fusion of Caribbean and South American rums, with a mixture of expressions blended in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks.
The most important innovation? The ultimate mix is completed in former French limousin oak casks that previously held apple brandy, an exceptionally uncommon end within the rum world.
So what’s it like?
The Legacy 2023 has a mellow, fruity nostril with hints of pineapple, candied apple, key lime and mango. The flavour profile is marked by nougat, marzipan, millefeuille, custard, tropical fruit and a whisper of white pepper.
The end has a heat glow, with the type of perfectly-timed edge you’d anticipate from a rum honoring a surfer.
It’s been thrilling to see the evolution of Pilar over time, and it’s a rum that has developed a faithful following amongst rum lovers. It’s not arduous to see why: the product is excellent, the bottling is gorgeous and the story and the character are simply, effectively, cool. It’s a enjoyable product and one which embodies one other legacy: the romance and journey that makes rum what it’s.
Rum Journal Evaluation: 95 Factors