Exclusive Interview with Mr. Jay Maltby, President of Hemingway Rum Company (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA)

June 24, 2013

7:00 AM

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Jay Maltby with photo credit

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Jay Maltby with photo credit

Mr. Jay Maltby, President of Hemingway Rum Company.

I’d like to thank Mr. Jay Maltby, President of Hemingway Rum Company (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA) for taking the time to grant us this exclusive interview. We will be dedicating the July issue of “Got Rum?” to Ernest Hemingway, beloved American icon and rum aficionado, since July marks both a celebration of Hemingway’s birth and death (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961).

Papa’s Pilar rums are inspired by Hemingway’s undying spirit of adventure. This interview is part of our magazine’s continuous effort to communicate, educate and inspire consumers and rum entrepreneurs so that together we will be able to create a better rum world.

-Margaret Ayala, Publisher

Q: How did you get started in the rum industry?

A: I actually started in the wine business right out of college. That was in 1973, at the beginning of a serious wine boom in the US. One of my responsibilities was to establish a distributor network in the Caribbean. I quickly learned that each island had a different style of rum and I liked almost all of them. I was also amused at the similarity between rum and wine in that there were different production techniques and traditions with each appellation and that the locals on each island are clannish in their support of their home island rums. With each trip I brought back numerous bottles and had soon accumulated a big collection of rum.

In 1978 I started a marketing job with Bacardi. I was originally tasked with new product development for wines and then became responsible for marketing and sales for Bacardi’s wine division. I then moved over to Sales for both wines and spirits and after several reorganizations and managerial positions in marketing and sales, including National Sales Manager, I served my last few years as CFO, responsible for Finance and Operations. In this role I learned much more about the production of the rum, sourcing of raw materials and various manufacturers.

In 1995 I assumed the role of President and COO of Todhunter International, a public company that owned numerous businesses, including Florida Distillers, which produced rum and bulk alcohol for the beverage alcohol industry. Todhunter had also just acquired the Cruzan Rum Distillery on St Croix, in the USVI. I also assumed the title of Chairman and CEO of Cruzan and together, with a few former friends that had left Bacardi, we repositioned Cruzan rum, built a sales and marketing organization and set about building the Cruzan Rum brand, in the US first and then internationally. Cruzan Rum was a multiple Impact Hot Brand and Adam’s Fast Track Brand winner and one of the fastest growing rum brands for 8 straight years. I am very proud to have helped create Cruzan Single Barrel rum, which was, at the time, a very innovative super premium rum that collected numerous gold medals and high ratings. During those same years, we represented and imported Barbancourt Haitian rums in five countries and I served on the board of directors of Angostura Ltd. in Trinidad, a large producer of rums.

Due to our success with Cruzan, the company was purchased by V+S (Absolut Vodka) in 2006. Together, with a small group of former Cruzan management, we founded Incubrands Spirits Group, which was established to develop new brands and provide early stage marketing, sales, and logistical support. A long the way we partnered with ad agency, Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, Lincoln Henderson and his son Wes and we created Angel’s Envy Bourbon. At about the same time we had begun negotiations with the Ernest Hemingway family, with the hope could develop with them a very special brand of rum. A rum with the imagery and authenticity of Ernest Hemingway was a concept easily grasped and embraced by everyone.

Q: What rum products do you currently produce?

A: We produce two rums, Papa’s Pilar Blonde rum and Papa’s Pilar Dark rum.

Papa’s Pilar Blonde Rum is a light rum but well aged, so it has quite a bit of flavor and color to it, thus the term “Blonde.” It is a blend of column distilled rums, 3, 4, 5 and 7 years old which are sourced from three Caribbean islands, two Central American countries and Florida. The rum is then fractionally blended in a two stage Solera and finished in Spanish Sherry casks. When one sets out to make a light rum from aged rums, charcoal or carbon filtration is necessary to remove the amber color acquired from aging in char red oak casks, in our case once used Bourbon barrels and used Port wine casks. This filtration process also removes most of the flavor and character of the rum. We removed some of the color but left a fair amount, preserving the flavor and body of the rum. We were also trying to replicate the color and flavor of the rum that Ernest Hemingway might have enjoyed in Cuba in the 1930’s. The Papa’s Pilar Blonde nose has citrus notes of grapefruit, mandarin and key lime mixed with vanilla, oak and a touch of crisp almond. The taste is creamy and buttery, vanilla and layered with mango, orange peel and pineapple hints. The finish is nutty, clean and exceptionally smooth…particularly for an 84 proof rum.

Papa’s Pilar Dark Rum is a heavier blend of pot and column distilled rums from three islands and three countries, plus Florida. It is a blend of rums from 3 to 24 years old and we used this inventory of hand selected casks to reverse engineer and replicate a Solera that had been in existence for 24 years. There are very old Soleras in existence but we think this is the only one that is populated with rums from six different producers and includes once used Bourbon barrels and used Port Casks. Not only does this give us great creative control over the rums we produce but it was inspired by Hemingway himself. Ernest Hemingway was not one to research his books in a library, he accumulated real life experiences and friends in his adventures all over the Caribbean and the world. He used those experiences to create realistic stories and characters. We did the same with the sourcing of our rums. Papa’s Pilar Dark rum has a nose of complex notes of vanilla, cinnamon, coffee bean and honey, with hints of sherry and port. The taste includes a touch of spice, bourbon, almond and apricot and the finish is robust and quite velvety for a rum of 86 proof.

Q: You have a very unique look to your bottles of rums, what was the inspiration behind this look?

A: The inspiration for the bottles was purely Ernest Hemingway. One of the world’s great adventurers, he traveled to Spain and wherever the action was as a war correspondent. He was an ambulance driver, was always in the thick of battle and even received a medal of honor from the Italian government. He was an adventurer, sportsman and bon vivant. His hunting expeditions in Africa’s Serengeti and his record breaking fishing expeditions in the Caribbean all portray a man who was never a spectator. The canteen shape of the bottle represents something that was often always close at hand in all these experiences.

The name Pilar was easy. Pilar was the name of his fishing boat and one true companion and the one that allowed him to reach beyond the shoreline, feasting on life and later telling his tales as he sat at his typewriter. Pilar was an exceptionally well equipped fishing rig for its time and included many innovations that are still in use today. Pilar is still in Cuba and rests at Hemingway’s finca.

Q: Is there something unique about your distillery, company and/or your products?

A: I think that was answered above but to summarize. Old and older rums, up to and including some of 24 years of age, sourced from several different Caribbean islands and Central American countries and further aged and fractionally blended in a Solera and then finished in Spanish Sherry Casks. I can add that the rums have already achieved some critical acclaim from the experts. Papa’s Pilar Dark rum just received a Double Gold at the San Francisco Wine and Spirits Competition and Papa’s Pilar Blonde rum won a Gold Medal and Best in Class at the Rum Renaissance in Miami.

Q: Do you have any plans for developing additional rums in the near future?

A: We are still learning about our Solera, as it is a truly unique and complicated process that is totally original. I am certain that we will develop some interesting offshoots and draw some interesting blends from stages within the process. The Solera and the expert counsel of our good friend Lincoln Henderson should make for some great special releases in the future. For now, we are focused on establishing the core rums in the market and making sure that every bottle is the best it can be.

Q: What have been some of the greatest challenges/obstacles you have encountered thus far?

A: The greatest challenges and obstacles have been the sourcing the rums and reverse engineering the Solera. It wasn’t so hard to find the great rums, but they aren’t readily available to anyone. We are fortunate to have long standing relationships with numerous rum producers and were able to choose from some very special old lots. The sheer logistics of transporting the rums in such small quantities from different islands and countries has been interesting. The Solera itself presents numerous challenges but we very much like the results, so embrace the complexity. In a Solera no cask is ever emptied of more than half its contents so the Solera itself continues to mellow and, hopefully, improve with time. It will be exciting to see it evolve over time.

Q: Could you describe to our readers your everyday activities? In other words, how much time do you dedicate to product development , research, marketing, etc...?

A: My day job is running a sales and marketing company as well as being responsible for the creation and production of Papa’s Pilar rums. As you can imagine, between Angels’ Envy, Papa’s Pilar and several other new product concepts we are always thinking about product innovations, business models, emerging markets, categories and niche markets. We look at an average of two to three new product ideas a week. Most are by entrepreneurs but some are from companies in the business but located outside the US. Having Lincoln Henderson as a friend, business partner and resource enables us the opportunity to explore all kinds of ideas and know that we will be able to focus on processes that will result in relevant and achievable outcomes. In other words, we don’t guess much.

Q: If people want to contact you or want to know how to get a hold of your rums, how may they reach you?

A: We have a website: www.papaspilar.com. The website includes where the brand is sold and is being updated to include maps that show store locations. I can be reached through Aaron Brost at Ro-Bro Marketing & PR, Inc., aaron@ro-bro.com or Incubrands Spirits Group, phone number: 561-776-4945.

Q: Are your rums only sold in the United States? If not, where else in the world? If yes, are there plans to sell outside of the USA?

A: We have just launched Florida and will roll-out in 9 more states over the next few months. We will be introducing the rum into a few Caribbean markets but international expansion is a few years in the future.

Q: Is there a particular message or comment you would like to share with our readers?

A: Working with the Hemingway family has been a real pleasure. They are all so interested in the project and they each know so much about Ernest and his adventures. I have had the pleasure of spending some time with Ernest’s sole remaining son, Patrick. He and and his lovely wife are so intelligent, knowledgeable and charming. Patrick has some great recollections of his childhood with his father, growing up in Cuba and Key West, and hunting and fishing all over the world. His recall seems incredible, remembering dates, names and he puts everything into historical context.

It took a little time for them to approve this project but the unifying concept that made it possible was that their share of the profits, paid as royalties, would all go to charity. The Hemingway Foundation, a charitable trust, was established to support charities we jointly agree that Ernest would support. As you might guess, some of these will be environmental and others literary. On our part, we often run promotional events that include a charitable component, so we are coordinating those to increase the magnitude of the Hemingway Foundation’s activities. I think this will be one of the most rewarding aspects of the project. That, and the ability to create great rums.