Angel’s Envy Co-Founder Aiming High Again With Hemingway Whiskey, Papa’s Pilar Rum

As one of the co-founders of Angel’s Envy, now part of the Bacardi portfolio, Steve Groth already has an established track record in the drinks business. For his latest project he’s partnered with the family of Ernest Hemingway to market Hemingway Whiskey and Papa’s Pilar rum, two spirits brands honoring the legacy of the famed writer. The company recently partnered with Shaw-Ross International to bolster its distribution throughout the country, and is aiming for strong growth this year.

Papa’s Pilar is expected to do about 100,000 cases in 2024 across a portfolio that includes a dark rum ($39) and blonde rum ($29) as well as sherry- and rye-finished bottlings, all of which are molasses-based and undergo a Solera blending process. The range has also included limited editions like last year’s Ernest, a 100-proof blend of South and Central American rums that sold for $600 a bottle. Papa’s Pilar currently skews about 65/35 off-premise versus on-premise, Groth tells SND.

Hemingway Whiskey, the most recent addition to the portfolio, led off with a rye expression retailing at $79, and it’s been well-received out off the gate, with volume expected to be north of 20,000 cases this year, skewed toward the on-premise. “The response to the whiskey has been staggering,” says Groth. “We’ll do more in revenue in our first year with the whiskey than Angel’s Envy did in year three or four.” The brand has been lauded critically as well, landing among Whisky Advocate’s Top 20 Whiskies of 2023.

“Right now our whiskey is made in Indiana and Kentucky,” Groth explains. “The Kentucky whiskey was made by master distiller Jacob Call when he was at Green River Distilling.” Call now owns the newly opened Western Kentucky Distillery, which has capacity of 60,000 to 70,000 barrels, and will be supplying the Hemingway brand moving forward. “We’re coming out with a Cask Strength whiskey at the end of the year, and we have a whole series of products that we’ll bring out under our Ghost Writer series,” Groth adds.

Hemingway’s great-grandson, Patrick Hemingway Adams, tells SND that the spirits brands satisfy a need for further connection with the writer for his legions of fans. “These people consume all this work that he did, and it’s prolific, there’s piles of it, but you can reach the end of it,” he explains. “And people are so hungry to engage with his world and his vision. So these spirits are another channel, an avenue for people to do that.” The two brands also preserve Hemingway’s legacy by devoting a dollar from each bottle sold to causes he favored, such as literacy efforts and conservation initiatives like reef restoration and maintaining fisheries.—Daniel Marsteller

Tagged : Hemingway Whiskey, Papa's Pilar

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