Big Wave Surfing Pioneer Greg Noll Honored with Limited-Edition Rum
Nowadays, anybody who's anybody is the face of a booze brand.
For Jay-Z, it's cognac. Snoop's got wine. George Clooney has tequila.
Same in the surf world. Shane Dorian's repping wine. Kelly Slater's promoting tequila. Nathan Florence and Rob Machado helped launch a beer company. And now, there's a rum on the market inspired by a surf legend whose legacy transcends the grave.
Related: Big Wave Surfer Kai Lenny Reveals 'Trick' to Surviving 60-Foot Waves
And that's legendary shaper and big wave pioneer Greg "Da Bull" Noll, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 84.
Yesterday, Papa's Pilar Rum, the rum brand "inspired by legendary novelist Ernest Hemingway," launched its Legacy Edition 2023 crafted in honor of Noll, the first person to surf Waimea Bay and Pipeline's third reef.
Only 3,000 bottles were released, with a price tag of $109.99, according to PR Newswire.
Each one comes with a coaster made from wooden surfboard remnants sourced from the Noll Surfboards shaping room and is finished with his "iconic black stripe design."
"He started at 11 years old shaping wooden surfboards out of his parent's garage. He's probably most well-known as a big wave surfing pioneer," says Noll's son, Jed. "In 1969, he surfed Makaha on the biggest swell that had ever hit the Hawaiian Islands."
So why rum? And why now?
"It felt like a seeker's rum, felt like a traveler's rum. It felt like it connected with his trying to go to the best places, go do the best things," says Steve Groth, founder and CEO of Papa Pilar's.
Since Noll was born on February 11 (sharing a birthday with Kelly Slater), Papa's Pilar decided that launching in February made sense.
What can you expect in a bottle? According to the press release:
"The artisanal crafted blend featuring rums from the Caribbean and South America aged up to 7 years and blended in Bourbon barrels and Spanish Sherry casks, and expertly finished in Apple Brandy French Limousin oak casks. A small amount of the rum is also finished in apricot and orange bitters casks."
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