Initial Thoughts
I’ve seen this Papa’s Pilar Rum on shelves at liquor stores over the last few years and I’ve always been intrigued! Luckily, I was able to obtain a sample bottle of their latest expression, Special Edition Sherry Finish release that totals 8,400 bottles. I’m ecstatic to open it up and give it a pour. First off, I highly suggest you go and check out the distiller’s website. It’s very cool and has a lot of great information on their 2 lines of rum and what makes them special. I’m going to take a stab and make sure that I can communicate how they actually get to the final product for this Special Edition Sherry Finish rum.
They source their sugar cane from multiple locations primarily Florida, Central America and the Caribbean. Then they focus on a slow fermentation before it goes into a copper pot for distillation. This is similar to many whiskey and bourbon processes. They want a slow fermentation to let the yeast really pull those great natural flavors out. As opposed to some vodkas and clear spirits that go for faster fermentation. Now the most unique part about this Papa’s Pilar Rum is their aging process. It’s called a Solera process where the rum starts in bourbon barrels and moves through other barrels and racks in the aging warehouse until it’s finally finished in Spanish Sherry casks. I think it’s safe to say this rum has taken quite the journey from start to finish. All along the way it picks up unique flavors which we’ll talk about now! Now this new expression takes that entire journey and adds another step to it. They age the rum in Spanish Oloroso Sherry Casks for another 30 days to give it a little more something at the top level of the flavor profile. So does all the time in the barrels pay off? Lets jump in and see!
Nose
I’m using my wonderful NEAT tasting glass for this review. I poured this Papa’s Pilar Rum neat because it’s not overly hot in terms of proof I figured I didn’t need to add any ice or water to it to calm it down like I typically do with bourbon. Right out of the gate I pick up a nice dose of vanilla and toffee. That sweet molasses scent that I pick up with most aged rums is present. What I love is that you can also pick up on on some very distinct wood notes off the bat. Probably because it’s finished in those Sherry casks it leaves a lot of flavors right on the surface level of this aged rum.
Palate
On the palate this rum sits very nicely offering some distinct notes vanilla and cinnamon. What was interesting to me is that I picked up a sweet nutty taste very similar to almonds which I have never noticed in a bourbon or any other spirit. I actually really enjoyed that addition to the flavor profile. Overall, as you would expect it has a very deep sweetness flavor that thick molasses taste to it that really acts as the backbone of the rum.
Finish
The finish is fantastic with an excellent mouth-feel to it. That thick coating texture aligns perfectly with the flavor profiles mentioned above. It creates a seal that locks in the flavors from the depths of the rum and lets the flavors sit a bit longer in your mouth to really enjoy the robust profile.
Overall Thoughts
As you can probably tell, I’m a big fan of this Papa’s Pilar Rum. The flavor is fantastic and way to easy to enjoy. I can’t wait to pair this with a spicy cigar and see how the flavors work together. So my recommendation would be to go out and track down a bottle of this new special edition Sherry Finish Papa’s Pilar Rum, you won’t be disappointed.
