The Keeneland was created for a client who lives on a tropical island off the coast of China. He didn’t say whether he has it all to himself. He did say the sun is strong.

He wanted a special style. One he could wear to the club for lunch or to Hong Kong for a meeting. Elegant without being formal. A style that would look good with a cigar.

After some discussion, we agreed on a Monte Carlo crown. After some experimentation, we agreed on a relatively short Aficionado brim. As soon as we saw the combination we knew it was a winner.

Fortunately for Andy, he’s not my size. If this hat had been my size, I would have been sorely tempted to start on a new hat for Andy. The moment I stepped back from the finished hat to take a look, I wanted to put it on and go watch thoroughbreds thunder down the home stretch at Keeneland on an Indian Summer afternoon perfumed by horses, bourbon, and burgoo. But that’s just me. Andy probably took it out of the box, put it on, and went to the beach.

Specs:

• Brim: 2 ¾ to 3 ¼ inches (after curl)
• Crown: 3 5/8 to 4 inches
• Sizes: 21 to 25 1⁄8 inches (53.3 to 63.8 cm)
• Sweatband: standard for this style is fine leather
• Ribbon: standard ribbon for this style is 1 1/16 inch black

Prices: (Learn why one Panama hat costs more than another.)

• Premium: $550, $650, $750, $900, $1100, $1500
• Super-premium: $2000, $2500, $3000, $3500, $5000
• Rare Treasures (extremely limited availability): $7500 to $25,000

It’s Friday and it’s cold here, so I want tropical cocktails. One of my absolute favorite rum drinks of all time is the Cuba Libre — it’s simple, it’s classic, and it works for just about any occasion (just like a fine Panama hat! Ha ha!), consisting of ice, rum, cola, and lime.

The origins of this drink are somewhat shrouded in mystery, but it was first sipped in Cuba sometime around the turn of the 20th century. In the US, the Cuba Libre has morphed to become the more pedestrian and significantly less appealing rum and Coke. If you have never had a proper Cuba Libre, with all haste try the following:

Into a highball glass, put several ice cubes and 1 1/2 oz of rum. Traditionally, this drink uses a light rum, but I have to say that I prefer it with dark rum. You’re just going to have to try both. My choices for rum are Kraken (pictured above — a dark spiced rum) or Mount Gay Special Reserve (an aged light rum); to really get a little crazy, you might try Deco’s ginger rum. Add the juice of half a lime, then fill the rest of the glass with true and proper cane sugar sweetened Coca Cola. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Goes well with a Havana Fedora and a lazy, sunny afternoon.

Pictured above: vintage postcard from Havana, Cuba; found and submitted by Roff Smith.