A Rum That Gives Back to Key West
Hemingway’s great-grandson is making a small-batch, family-namesake rum with much of the proceeds donated to charities
On July 21, a small town at the southernmost point of the continental United States celebrated the birthday of Ernest Hemingway.
Hemingway Days is an annual weeklong event that takes over the tiny, 4-square-mile city with a footrace, fishing tournaments, and readings. Each year, hundreds of men sporting white beards, pot bellies, and red berets converge on Key West’s most popular bar, Sloppy Joe’s, to participate in the Papa Hemingway lookalike contest and to drink the spirit most closely connected with Hemingway: rum.
A mere two blocks from this scene, Patrick Hemingway, the author’s great-grandson, made an appearance at the Hemingway Rum Company. When asked about whether Ernest would approve of the festival devoted to his legacy, Patrick said he thinks he’d be amused. “Even if it was a bit over the top in his eyes, I doubt he would sit out the party.”
Patrick pictured a scenario where his great-granddad would actually out-Hemingway the Hemingways…
