It was my pleasure to attend the Papa's Pilar National Debut Event on Sunset Pier in Key West last evening. It was a real gala event with themed cuisine and cocktails celebrating the adventures and life of Ernest Hemingway. The new line of rums that are made with the robust taste with the great adventurer in mind. The Blonde and the Dark rums are absolutely exquisite and deserve your time to taste them.The event centered around industry people getting to know about these fine rums and the programs that it supports. The rum is fully supported by the Hemingway family with their royalties from the project being given to the Hemingway Foundation and distributed to it's many Charities. Last night there was a check in the amount of $30,000.00 given to the International Game Fish Association, one of the foundation charities and an association that was founded by Ernest Hemingway to protect, further the needs of and keep the records of international fishing.
The entire team that made the project possible was in attendance for the event and they were having a great time seeing the project officially out in the limelight. This has been a nearly seven year project that was finally debuted here in Key West, a fitting place considering the tie with the Hemingway family and the famed 38 foot fishing yacht called Pilar. The coordinating of the Hemingway family, the rum and getting everything just right to have such a great product with so much prestige attached was a monumental project. On hand for the event were Patrick Hemingway, Ernest's middle son, his wife Carol and J
ohn Hemingway, son of Greg Hemingway and Ernest's grandson. The combination of great rum and a very famous family makes for a really fun event. This is a rum that I feel will be around for a long time, they are in the process of setting up a new plant here in Key West where the Solera aging and blending operation will be conducted in the very near future. Key West is a natural tie for the entire program, considering the tie with rum, Ernest Hemingway, and of course Pilar who's registry is still Key West. 
It was a real honor for me to have some time to talk with Patrick Hemingway last evening about some of the things that I had the pleasure of visiting in San Francisco de Paula and Havana last fall. Patrick's memories of the many adventures of and with his father are absolutely amazing to listen to. His memory of the places in Cuba, Bimini, and Key West as well as all over Africa are amazing. He told of a Rolliflex Camera that was given to his father when he went to China just before WWII that he received as his first camera ass a child and how he enjoyed photography. I would love to be able to spend more time with him just to further the knowledge of Ernest and the stories of Patrick who is quite the protege of Ernest. Patrick shares the love of fishing and hunting with his father as well as a love of all the exciting places and things he and his father shared.I would like to thank all of the people from the Papa's Pilar organization for the invite to the debut, and best wishes for a very successful fun with these wonderful rums. ;o)
