Drink Rum Like Ernest Hemingway in the Florida Keys

The Florida Keys provide a Caribbean vibe without having to leave the country, and Hemingway fans will feel right at home as they sip a sweet rum cocktail served at a beach-side bar.

At Hawk’s Cay Resort in Duck Key, they’re featuring cocktails made with local Papa’s Pilar Rum at their Pilar Bar.

Papa’s Pilar (named after Hemingway’s beloved boat, Pilar) was created alongside the Ernest Hemingway family as a way to honor the author’s legacy. The family donates a majority of its proceeds to charitable organizations that reflect Hemingway’s passions, contributing millions of dollars to causes and communities that advance literacy, water conservation, reef restoration, and other worthy initiatives.

The Papa’s Pilar Distillery is located in Key West and the location is meaningful as Hemingway made the island his home for three years. All of the rums created by Master Blender Ron Call are molasses-based and use a minimum of six rums from different sources.

Their flagship blends include Dark Rum, Blonde Rum, and a Sherry-Finished Rum, but each year the brand releases a limited-edition expression leaning into the art and science of rum making. Most recently the brand released their 2022 Legacy Edition that contains rare apple-forward characteristics, similar to a fine brandy, and holds AR capabilities that take you on a journey through Hemingway’s experience finishing his beloved novel The Old Man and The Sea.

After a day of swimming with the dolphins, relaxing at a spa treatment, taking a fishing expedition, or just soaking in the lagoon or one of the five pools, guests at the Hawk’s Cay Resort often head to the Pilar Bar for a sunset cocktail or rum tasting.

 

Chilled Magazine sat down with Hawk’s Cay Resort mixologist, Jason Dixon, at the Pilar Bar to sample Papa’s Pilar Rum and discuss the rum’s popularity.

 

 

Which of Papa’s Pilar rums is your personal favorite?

My favorite is the sherry-cask rum. It’s a 23-year aged blended dark rum that they finish in a sherry cask. The sherry soaks into the slats of the barrel and flavors this wonderfully delicious rum.

 

As a whiskey drinker, I tend to order a Manhattan or Old Fashioned. I was impressed with the rum Old Fashioned you made for me. Why do you think that works as a substitution?

It’s the sherry-cask rum that gives it a distinctive flavor. The dark Solara aged rum works well as a whiskey simulator, and has a lot of the same characteristics.

 

What is your recipe for the rum Old Fashioned?

I muddle a cube of orange with two dashes of angostura bitters and two dashes of Regan’s orange bitters, and about a teaspoon of turbinado sugar. Add 2.5 ounces of Pilar Dark Rum, stir, ice, and top with a splash of club soda. Garnish with orange slice and a Filthy cherry.

 

What is your recipe for the Mojito?

Muddle one half of a lime cut in cubes. Don’t over-muddle because the tannins will cause it to be bitter. Muddle each lime one time with 8 leaves of mint, add 2 ounces of Pilar Blonde Rum, and about an ounce of simple syrup. Stir, ice, and top with about an ounce of club soda on top.