Papas Pilar Dark

Fantastic rum if you like really sweet rum. Lots of maple, and some vanilla and spices. I drink it on the rocks. I think it cools down the maple a little bit. Drink it neat, and the maple becomes a little overpowering. Comes in a very handsome bottle and being named after Hemingway’s boat is a great conversation piece.

This is the best run I’ve ever had. I love the maple butter flavor. Dark mixed with light is super smooth to sip. Love it!

There definitely seems to be some spices and added flavors going on here. I’d be willing to bet on it. It’s very aromatic and instantly reminded me of a freshly baked pan of sticky buns.
In the mouth, initial sweetness with cinnamon, cardamom, maple, vanilla, molasses, burnt sugar and fruity notes like plums and dates flowing in.The heavily caramelized sugar reminds me of Cracker Jacks with hints of walnuts or other hard-crack nuts. A slight bitter-sweet undertone, with a delayed arrival, I suspected to be from barrel char but as the development continued, I believe it’s from something more adjunct. Then bam! ROOT BEER soda. Could I be crazy? Well, I had just made a batch of root beer sherbet the week prior so, the flavor was fresh in my mind. I went to my freezer, spoon in hand, for a quick sampling. Yep. Very similar notes. I’ve heard others refer to Dr. Pepper in their reviews but for me, it’s more like Root Beer.
Pilar Dark is complex and has various stages of arrival and development with a nice long finish and isn’t terribly thick or syrupy. I think if this rum wasn’t “slightly sweet”, it wouldn’t taste quite right with all that’s going on. I think the sweetness ties it all together. I like this rum but have doubts that is truly, just a an aged rum. The bottle presentation is nice to look at but completely impractical and rather a PITA to pour from.

This was recommended to me by a bartender and I was skeptical but ended up really enjoying it.

Lo encontré de pura casualidad en Miami. Una vez en casa, la sorpresa fue grande al probar un muy buen ron. Dulce, frutado, algo de cacao y nuevamente nuevamente dulce. Al principio quema un poquito en la boca hasta que los sabores se despliegan en toda la boca. Una grata sorpresa.

I looked this up and can't believe it is under and 8 ranking. It is an amazingly smooth and flavorful rum. Just a delight to drink neat or with an oversized cube. My bottle did not last long on the shelf.

A good rum for sipping or over ice. A little too sweet but still a good rum to relax with

This is the first rum that I drank the whole bottle without mixing with anything. I tried it on the rocks and decided this is where it needed to be. I was disheartened when the bottle emptied last week, so I will have to go get another bottle. This will become one of my staple rums from this day forward.

If you don’t like a sweet rum, this one’s not for you. Initially there was a little bite to it but that faded after some airing. Throw in a lime wheel and a few drops of water to open it up and this is a treat.

Ce duo est vraiment très bon. Un odeur mélanger de cassonade et de caramel. Le 7 est moins sucré et plus fruité. Le 24 est caramélisé et épicé, la finale est longue et complexe. Je recommande a tous, merci à ma sœur.

Great combination of sweet smells and smooth finish but, with enough balls to still be rum.

Very nice sipping rum with strong taste of caramel but not overly sweet. I drink my rum on the rocks and prefer rum thats not too sweet. This rum would be excellent served after a steak dinner or as a “better” dessert

Not bad but I can’t taste the maple taste everyone is talking about

Whoever would have said "Delicious" and "leathery" in the same sentence? This rum is a beautiful deep colour, red, and inviting. In the glass it immediately smells of burnt caramel, and leathery. In a way that is hard to describe. There's some maple in there. More sugar. A bit of oak. Maybe maple syrup. Smooth taste, that lingers at the end. A bit of hit on the back of the tongue, letting you know the alcohol is there. Very complex. Old tasting, but not necessarily "aged". Like it came from a bottle that had been in a saddlebag. Maybe a pony keg. Not dusty though. Very exciting, this is a great tasting rum. I need to have another taste!

A very sweet rum, but a natural sweetness (think maple syrup, molasses, etc). This makes it super easy to sip and enjoy!

starts sweet Blends a lot of flavors. As a side note the Hemingway Family donates the proceeds from the name to charity.

I'm usually a sucker for solera aging, and buying this one was a good choice. My gosh, is the aroma rich! This is a pleaser for those that like their rums sweet (I would put it in the class of "dark" rums, like Gosling's or Blackwell), with plenty of complexity from oak aging (I get caramel, maple, sherry, oak, various fruits). The bottle is really nice too. I tend to prefer drier styles of rum, but this is great every once in a while, and the bottle looks amazing on the shelf. Recommended.

Disons qu'il n'est pas dans mes goûts. La bouteille est super belle. A pars ça, bof.

It's no secret that there is a maple syrup and vanilla explosion when you open this bottle. With a dram 3 feet away in a Glencairn, I can still smell it. No doubt this aroma and flavor profile appeals to many people but it is a bit overly sweetened for me. I also get a smell and taste from this that is almost identical to a medicine I had to take as a child. I had completely forgotten about that medicine for almost 30 years until I tried this rum. That is most likely the reason I find it so unappealing. I will keep this to pour out for friends who like sweeter drinks. I'm sure it will be favorable to most of them, but I just can't drink this one. It is of good quality so I can't rate it too harshly and I will revisit Papa's Pilar again in the future to see if I can get past those flavor memories.

Purists probably won't give 9 out of 10, it's just that this one brings back some beautiful memories. Not memories of rum, but of mocha flavored ice cream. Yes, this rum truly makes me happy...

This rum is good neat or on the rocks. Start to finish it has great flavor. A contrast to other dark rums in the same price range. Worth a try.

After exhaustive research on this site to find another one for my rum collection, this one barely appeared like one that may appeal to me. Everyone who helped in my decisions got votes of approval here, which includes the most popular rums from Panama, Colombia, Martinique, Haiti, and Trinidad. Now with my self imposed $50 per bottle limit, I doled out $38 for this one, well knowing that it was a risky buy for me. Being the most popular rum based in the USA also helped, especially since it is from Key West.

I gather that the goal of the folks at Papa's Pilar was to mimic the very successful model of Plantation Rums by combining rums from all over the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and other places, and then age them one final time elsewhere. Plantation Rums are generally harmonious. This Papa's Pilar Dark is a total clash of complex flavors as stated on the side of this bottle. As others have already stated, it starts off smelling and tasting like maple (or Crown Royal Maple, God forbid!) The bad aftertaste is due to aging in oloroso sherry casks. Of course Papa would be proud of it because he drank like there was no tomorrow and did not have a discerning palate. One day, he would have called it rum the way that it was meant to be and the next day he would have tossed it overboard and called it swill (or worse). To make a long story short, it was an arduous task drowning out the awful flavors over several days with Pepsi sweetened from pure cane sugar.

It is a very nice bottle modeled after the World War II USA Army canteen, even complete with the chain to keep from losing the cap. I had a few of those aluminum canteens as a kid growing up. But the best part of the bottle is the rooster on the neck to remind me of the protected Key West native. Similar to Kauai, these birds crow 24 hours a day for the inconvenience of tourists who have the nerve to complain about them. And no, I did not buy this rum for the bottle. It is a very unique rum, but it is not for me. However, once the bottle was finally emptied, it makes one of the best bottles due to it's low height and wide mouth for storing pre-mixed complex drinks like Zombie Punch or Planters Punch in the fridge or ice chest. Just juices, rums and flavorings with no carbonation.

With the distillery having been opened fairly recently in Key West, hopefully some new and better rums will be released in the future. They just need to not try so hard as they did here. It backfired for me, but has been a huge success for many others who view this as one step above Bacardi.

Tasted this nectar in Key West on New Year Eve at the Rum bar. This is Pilar’s Pilar. Congrats to Hemingway family for creating this awesome rum. All profit from Pilar’s sale will go to AA organization. The bottle is the shape of an Army cantine as a miltary I appreciate the attention.

I like sweet rums and this one is great. Mixed with Cream Soda is my favorite way to have it.