This is a rum we like.
Papa’s Pilar, the rum named after Hemingway’s fishing boat and partly owned by the Hemingway family, has a likable story and a decidedly likable taste.
The latter led us to name the brand’s dark rum Best New Rum in the 2013 Rum Awards, and it’s what made us very excited to get our hands on the company’s newest product: a limited edition variety with an extra finish.
The 24-year rum (a blend of Caribbean and Central American rums) is already solera aged in American oak bourbon barrels, port wine casks and finished in Spanish sherry casks.
Now, the new edition sees the rum re-barreled to aged in bourbon barrels for an additional 120 days.
So what’s it like?
The rum has a very nice aroma marked by what is Pilar’s signature — the note of key lime, along with caramel and brown sugar.
The flavor profile includes brown sugar, caramel, key lime, candied fruit, a whisper of oak and a bit of cacao, too.
The finish is extremely smooth (it’s bottled at 43 percent ABV), and it’s still, well, delicious, marked by a finish that feels different, a bit more complete.
This is a great rum that just got even better.
– CJ