“What would that bottle cost?” John asked.
We were at the Tropicado Mojito Bar, located inside the same building that, in April 1928, while arriving aboard a ferry from Cuba, would have been Hemingway's very first glimpse of downtown Key West. It was a view he later referenced in two short stories that became parts of his 1937 novel, To Have and Have Not, and was the same view we too had witnessed by boat earlier in the day: the seven-story La Concha Hotel rising up from the island.
We were determined to have a drink there.
Perched in the corner of the bar’s lighted top shelf was an elaborately-boxed bottle of rum—one we both noticed by the name “Ernest” emblazoned across its front, in Hemingway’s distinctive handwriting-style.1[i] The friendly, dark-haired bartender pointed to the bottle, and replied, “About a thousand bucks.”
With that exceeding our price range, we instead ordered two Signature Mojitos made with Papa’s Pilar blonde rum, named after the celebrated boat Hemingway purchased in 1934.2[i] The Hemingway Rum Company distills this distinct Key West spirit at the corner of Simonton and Greene Streets[ii],3 close to the establishment that has become synonymous with Hemingway and his near decade on the island: Sloppy Joe’s Bar.
When our drinks arrived, garnished with the standard slices of lime and sprigs of mint, we were intrigued by the addition of oddly colored sticks protruding from each glass. “That’s sugar cane,” said the bartender, as we each took our first sip. “It’s a bit too sweet for me,” John whispered to Sharon, removing the sugar cane and setting it to the side. Sharon found the flavors and sweetness were nicely balanced, but also removed her length of sugar cane so the drink wouldn’t get any sweeter.
1 A concoction of three different rums, in 2023 the Hemingway Rum Company released 400 bottles of the special “Ernest” rum, listed at a price of $599.00 per bottle. The rum sold out in under five hours.
2“Blonde” rum is a unique creation of the Hemingway Rum Company.
3 The distillery sits inside what was once a tobacco warehouse, built in the 1870s.