Rum Journal: A Very Special Rum from Papa’s Pilar

A great rum should be more than a rum. It should be an event. 

That’s true of any luxury product — whether a bottle of wine or a fine cigar; it should move you, make you feel special, that the moment is something extraordinary. 

That brings us to the newest release by Papa’s Pilar, the Ernest Hemingway-inspired rum brand that continues to be among the most creative and cool rum brands on the market today. 

Pilar, named after Hemingway’s prized fishing boat (and partially owned by the Hemingway Estate, which donates its proceeds to conservation-focused charities), is a blend of rums from across the wider region, stretching from Florida in the north to Venezuela in the south — including rums from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Barbados to boot. 

And for years, it’s been releasing a continued wave of very fine rums, from its signature dark expression to its always-delightful sherry-cask finish. 

The new expression is something different, though. 

It’s called Papa’s Pilar Legacy and it’s a first for the rum industry — a premium rum finished in rye whiskey barrels, under the stewardship of master blender Ron Call. 

It begins with Pilar’s World War II-era canteen shape, with a bronzed plaque, clothed in a rather lovely leather wrap around the bottle.

So what is it like? 

The aroma is marked by toffee, key lime, oak and confectioner’s sugar. 

The flavor profile includes notes of oak, the slightest hint of fennel; a whisper of cardamom; orange peel; and then there’s the rye, which is ever present but never overbearing — it adds a wonderful glow, rounding off the rum but also adding a different personality, too. 

The finish is endlessly smooth, with a bit of vanilla. 

It’s a rum that gets better with each sip, the more you try it, the more you understand it. 

There’s a romance about this rum; it’s a rum that takes you somewhere, starting with the moment you unscrew the chained cap and pour it in your glass. 

That’s a welcome departure from an all-too-unhappy trend in the rum world, where rum brands clothe their bottles in labels that reduce themselves to mere chemistry, reminding more of prescriptions than sugarcane spirits. 

Legacy, on the other hand, is what a rum bottle should look like.

Papa’s Pilar gets it — that rum is something different, that rum is about romance — romance of the sort you just don’t find in other spirits. 

As it turns out, Legacy is more than just an event — it’s an adventure. 

Rum Journal Review: 96 Points 

— CJ

The post Rum Journal: A Very Special Rum from Papa’s Pilar appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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What Does Contingent Mean in Real Estate?

In the spring of 2021, a number of news outlets reported that homes were selling faster than ever in the U.S. What is amazing about this is that this record was set despite the fact that both mortgage rates and home prices were on the rise.

If you’re a home seller, this is great news. However, receiving several offers on the first day doesn’t necessarily mean that the length of time between accepting the offer and closing on the deal will move any faster. That is unless you accept a cash offer with little to no contingencies.

Most people purchase homes using financing from a lender. This means that there are a number of steps that need to be taken in a specific order as you move towards the closing. When you’re searching for homes as a buyer, you’ve likely seen listings that have a “contingent” status.

What does contingent mean on a house? What is the difference between a status that says “contingent” and one that says “pending”? Let’s dive into everything you need to know.

What Does Contingent Mean on a House?

If you are like most homebuyers, you typically spend a little time (ok, a lot of time) looking at home listings online. You might notice that next to the listing price, some homes might say that they are “contingent” or “pending” rather than “for sale.”

There can additionally be other information listed here. You’ve probably seen listings that say they are “pending, taking backups” or “contingent, continue to show.”

What does contingent mean on a real estate listing? It means that an offer has been accepted by the seller of the home. However, this offer had at least one if not more conditions or contingencies that need to be met in order for the sale to go through. Until the contingency is met, the listing will still technically be active.

Once the contingencies have been met, the status of the home will switch to pending.

What Does It Mean When a House Is Contingent Vs. Pending?

As opposed to “contingent,” pending means that both parties are moving forward with the sale after the offer has been accepted. This means that you likely won’t want to put in an offer on the home, as the process has moved to the next stage.

The period of time between the resolution of contingencies and the close of the sale is when the transaction is pending. Essentially, the deal is as final as it’s going to be before the money and keys exchange hands.

What Are the Types of Contingent Offers?

There are a number of different contingencies in the world of real estate. However, some of them are far more common than others. Let’s take a look at some of the most common types of home contingencies.

Home Inspection Contingencies

It is common for there to be an inspection contingency when an offer is made on a home. Lenders often require this contingency to ensure that the property is worth the amount of money they will be loaning. This type of contingency means that the parties can’t move forward in the buying process until an inspection has been completed.

Inspections can turn up a number of issues. These can include structural or foundational issues, insect infestations, or issues with asbestos or mold.

Appraisal Contingencies

For people who are using a mortgage to buy a house, it is typically required that an appraisal be done to the property. This is so that the mortgage lender can make sure that the house is at least worth the price of the offer that was accepted.

The appraiser will look for any high-value features, add-ons, or damage that will detract or add to the value of the home. You can end up running into issues if the property is appraised for a lower value than the offer.

Financing Contingencies

If you are going to take out a loan to buy a house, a financing contingency can be a good idea to include in your offer. This offers a way for you to walk away from the deal if you aren’t able to obtain a loan. It can be quite difficult to work with mortgage lenders, and they can deny your request for a loan if anything major has changed since your pre-approval.

Without a financing contingency, you could still be contractually obligated to purchase the home even if you aren’t able to get financing.

Home Sale Contingencies

This is an agreement between the seller and the buyer. In this agreement, the seller agrees to remove the home from the market for a certain number of days. During this time, the buyer will try to sell their own home.

This can be a risky contingency offer and is therefore not as common as the others. In a seller’s market, it is common for sellers to accept offers that don’t have a home sale contingency over one that does. This is because the deal won’t go forward if the buyer isn’t able to sell their own home within a set period of time.

If the buyer isn’t able to sell their own home for any reason, the seller is left back at square one. They likely also missed valuable time on the market during the height of the selling season.

Types of Contingency Status

Real estate agents can mark the status of a contingent deal in a number of ways. Here are some of the indicators you might see on a listing site and what they mean.

Contingent: Continue to Show

This also might be marked as a “CSS” status. Buyers can choose to go this route during the contingency period if they have concerns about the home sale going through. In this instance, buyers can still view the home and make offers.

Contingent: No Show

When a seller is more confident that the offer they accepted will go through, they might choose to stop showings. This also indicates that other offers won’t be made, as showings are typically a necessary step before making an offer.

Contingent: With/Without a Kick-Out Clause

A kick-out clause means that there is a contingency deadline that is in place. This means that the requirements of the deal need to be met within a certain period of time. If there isn’t a kick-out clause, it means that there isn’t a set timeline within which the contingency period is moving forward.

Short Sale Contingent

Short sales are a method for homeowners to sell homes that have a mortgage that is underwater. This means that they are choosing to accept an offer that is less than the amount they still owe on the home loan. This can be a very lengthy process, as the bank is much more involved.

What Are the Types of Pending Sales?

There are also a number of different types of pending sales when it comes to real estate. Let’s take a look at some of the most common ones.

Pending – Taking Backups

If you see this status, it means that the seller does not have total confidence that the offer they accepted will go through. They might be concerned that the buyer is having financing issues or other problems. During this time, you can still place an offer on the property that the seller can accept if their current deal doesn’t end up working out.

That being said, the seller can’t just walk away from the current agreement in favor of a backup offer that is higher. The deal has to fall through on its own for a seller to then go to the backup offers they have.

Pending – Short Sale

When you see this next to a listing, it means that the home is under contract but it is still waiting for approval from the bank. A short sale is a tactic used by property owners to avoid foreclosure. However, each portion of the sale needs to be approved by the bank.

This process is much slower than a conventional sale. It can take a particularly long time for banks to approve each part of the sale. It is common for these deals to fall through during this stage, as the buyer has ample time to find a property that they can close on much sooner.

Pending – More Than Four Months

If a listing has had a pending status for more than four months, the MLS system automatically flags it with a “more than four months” status. The might mean that the listing agent never changed its status to sold. However, it could also mean that the deal is taking much longer than expected to come to a close.

Can You Make an Offer on a Home That Is Listed As “Contingent”?

The best time to make an offer on a house is when there aren’t any pending sales or contingencies. That being said, you can technically make an offer on a home at any point until its status is listed as “sold.”

The second-best opportunity you have to make an offer on a home is when the status states that the sellers are accepting backup offers. For properties that have a non-backup contingency or a pending status, it’s most likely not worth your time to try and make an offer. You can keep an eye on the property to see if the status changes and in the meantime look around for another property that suits your needs.

How to Reduce the Risk of Your Home Sale Falling Through

Selling your home can be a lengthy, stressful, and overwhelming process. First, there is the period of time when you are preparing your home for sale. This might mean repainting, landscaping, making repairs, decluttering, staging, and more. Next, there is a period of time where your house has to be kept in perfect condition for showings and open houses.

(If you’re wondering how to sell your house fast, check out this article.)

Finally, the day comes: you receive an offer! Unfortunately, you are only a few paces down the road to turning over the keys and receiving the check, though.

The mortgaging process slows down how long it takes to sell a house in a major way. However, if you sell your home to a cash buyer, you don’t have to deal with any of these hassles.

Cash buyers, by definition, aren’t working with a mortgage lender. They also commonly buy homes as-is, which means that you don’t have to spend time and money sprucing the place up and making repairs.

Some cash buyers will still want to do an inspection and an appraisal, while others might not. Either way, selling your home to a cash buyer can be a remarkably faster process than selling to someone who is receiving financing. There is also less of a chance that the deal will fall through, as you can verify that the buyer has the funds to make the deal happen.

If you’re interested in learning more about cash buyers, check out this article on iBuyers.

Are You Selling Your Home?

If you’re selling your home on the open market, it can be a bit of a research project. It’s worth learning the answers to questions like “what does contingent mean on a house?” and “what should I expect from an inspection?”

There are few things as stressful in life as waiting for a real estate deal to go through. When you are selling your home, you likely have many other aspects of your life riding on the outcome that the house is sold within a reasonable timeline. If there are issues during the contingency process, it can be disheartening and leave you starting over from square one.

Are you interested in selling your home to a cash buyer to avoid all that nonsense? If so, find out how much your home is worth to an iBuyer today.

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Puerto Ricans helped build Fort Bragg — this woman is telling their story.

… learned about how some Puerto Ricans described their experience there. … of Labor began recruiting Puerto Rican laborers in an effort … workers, Black workers and Puerto Rican/Cuban workers. She … because maybe some people in Puerto Rico, maybe they don’t …

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Rum Journal: Bacardi’s New Sherry Cask Finish Rum

For year’s there’s been a leader in the world of special cask-finished rum: Martinique’s Rhum HSE, which was ahead of the global curve in finishing its rums in a variety of different casks and remains the standard-bearer. 

In the world of molasses rum, it’s a trend that largely began with Dos Maderas, a brand that has a special place in the hearts of many rum lovers. 

Dos Maderas, or “Two Woods,” sent a big message to the rum industry more than a decade ago with its 5+5 rum, combination of Guyanese and Bajan five-year-old rums that was then sent to Jerez for another five years at Williams & Humbert for aging in ex-sherry casks. 

In the decade to come, more and more molasses rum companies began finishing their rums in specialty casks, from Abuelo’s series of XV cask finishes in sherry, port and cognac casks to the continued diversification by Foursquare in everything from ex-Zinfandel to ex-port. 

But now the Caribbean’s largest rum company has entered the fray. 

Bacardi’s newest release is a sherry-cask finish of its Reserve Ocho rum, the one that’s always been Bacardi’s signature aged rum — the one that for years (and in certain American markets, remains) just about the only aged rum you could find on a shelf in an American bar. 

Bacardi’s aged portfolio has since expanded — first with the premium Facundo collection and, more recently, with the addition of the Bacardi 10, part of what we hope is a continued push in the premium aged rum category. 

And that’s in large part because Bacardi has more power than any other rum brand to change the perception of rum in the marketplace. 

The average American consumer still thinks of Bacardi or Captain Morgan when you ask them about rum — and the more Bacardi gets into aged expressions – and markets them — the better it will be for rum’s growth as a premium drink in the United States market. 

The Sherry cask is part of what Bacardi says will be a five-year collection, with new cask-finish release every year through 2025. 

The company says it’s a blend of rums between 8 and 12 years old, initially aged in American oak barrels with a final three-month stint in Oloroso sherry casks. 

So what’s it like? 

The aroma has notes of stone fruit, orange peel, dried apricot and a hint of almond. 

The flavor profile is marked by dried cherries, a hint of anise; the slightest note of marzipan and some nuttiness and toffee on the finish. 

It’s a velvety, almost voluptuous rum, much fuller bodied than the Reserve Ocho; the sherry finish does manage to round off some of the edge that exists in the regular Ocho. 

Interestingly — and happily — there isn’t an overly strong note of sherry on this rum, particularly on the finish. That’s a welcome development, diverging from the unfortunate style of a number of sherry-finish rums that have far too strong a sherry character, losing the rum in the process. 

It’s a nice, well balanced rum, and a decided improvement on the Ocho. 

Rum Journal Review: 90 points

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