The Story of Papa's Pilar

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short story writer, and journalist. He is known for his economical, understated style, which significantly influenced later writers of the 20th century who admired his adventurous lifestyle and public persona.

Most of Hemingway's works were created between the mid-20s and the mid-50s of the 20th century, during which he published seven novels, six collections of short stories, and two works of nonfiction. Three of his novels, four collections of short stories, and three works of nonfiction were published posthumously. Many of them have become classics of American literature and in 1954 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Hemingway grew up in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he worked for a few months as a reporter for The Kansas City Star and then went to the Italian front to enlist as an ambulance driver in World War I. In 1918, he was seriously injured and returned home. His war experiences formed the basis for his novel A Farewell to Arms (1929). In 1921, he married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives. They moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of modernist writers and artists from the expatriate community “Lost Generation” of the 1920s. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.

Hemingway became famous for his unique writing style, characterized by brevity and minimalism. Among his most famous works are novels such as "A Farewell to Arms" (1929), "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1940), and "The Old Man and the Sea" (1952), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature. His works are often associated with themes of war, adventure, and human compassion.

He loved fishing his whole life; it was his hobby. He preferred to sail the seas with his boat Pilar. Along the way, he enjoyed sipping good rum.

Ernest Hemingway struggled with depression and alcoholism and ultimately committed suicide on July 2, 1961, at the age of 61. His death was a great loss to the literary world, but his work lives on and inspires generations of writers around the globe.

Papa's Pilar Rum is inspired by Ernest "Papa" Hemingway and his beloved boat Pilar.
Papa's Pilar is a rum designed to combine the artistic form of blending various international rums with the science of distillation and barrel processing, capturing the essence of its namesake - Ernest Hemingway.

"Ernest Hemingway - also known as Papa - was a man of many things. He was a writer, a free thinker, an adventurer, an athlete, and a bon vivant. But one thing he did not engage in was savagery. This rum was created to embody this mindset," says Jessie Behar, Director of Consumer Strategy and Engagement at Hemingway Rum Co, the company that produces the rum.

Key West, where the company is based, was Hemingway's home for many years. A place that reflected his love for adventure and the sea, it is the source of the rum expressions Papa's Pilar, which come from hand-selected rums from the Caribbean and are blended using their own solera process into one drink with fresh Florida rum.

The rum expressions are then further complemented and refined in bourbon barrels, port wine barrels, and Spanish Oloroso Sherry casks. Papa's Pilar rums consist of a molasses base and, according to Behar, are designed to be slightly overproof, as this is what master distiller Ron Call believes creates the best expression of the distillate.

"Most rums have an 80-proof concentration (40% alcohol by volume). Rums Papa's Pilar have an overproof content of 84 and 86 proof, with some special editions exceeding 90 proof," he explains.

In the case of Papa's Pilar, it's not just about rum, but also about a story. Hemingway's family works closely with the brand to ensure that Hemingway's legacy lives on through the spirit itself.

"We worked very closely with members of his family to ensure that the brand and product capture his true essence. Hemingway's family continues to be involved and generously donates most of their earnings from Papa's Pilar to charity," says Behar.

Papa's Pilar and their partners support access to restoration, which falls into these key categories:

Research and propagation of corals from existing coral fragments - it has been found that transplanting fragments instead of larger corals can dramatically shorten growth time. What previously took decades, 25 to 75 years, can now be achieved in just 2 to 3 years.
Permits - obtaining permits for cultivation in designated areas.
Planting - building and deploying trained divers/planters to plant and monitor planting fields.
Awareness - informing everyone about what is happening, its immediate impact, and how they can help.

The best way to reach a wide audience is through the production of a range of exceptional quality rums. Master distiller Ron Call is a seventh-generation distiller veteran with over 45 years of experience in the industry, and his distilling heritage dates back to 1780.
The expressions Papa's Pilar - Blonde, Dark and Sherry Cask-Aged - are crafted from rums sourced from various origins that Call has handpicked for their unique flavor and aging profiles. The sources include Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela, and Florida. Call carefully blends and finishes each type of rum to showcase its best characteristics.

Since the brand's inception, the Hemingway family and Papa's Pilar rum have collectively contributed millions of dollars to causes that support literacy, water conservation, reef restoration, and other worthy initiatives that Hemingway would be proud of.