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Bacardi

Distilled in : Bahamas* / Mexico / Puerto Rico
Website : www.bacardi.com
Slogan : "Welcome to the latin quarter"
Available Rums : "Bacardi 151, Bacardi 1909 Superior Heritage Limited Edition, Bacardi 8, Bacardi Añejo, Bacardi Black / Select, Bacardi de Maestros de Ron, Vintage, MMXII, Bacardi OakHeart, Bacardi Oro / Gold, Bacardi Reserva, Bacardi Reserva Limitada, Bacardi Solera, Bacardi Superior, Casa Bacardi Gran Rerserva, Havana Club by Bacardi, Bacardi Flavours: Bacardi Apple, Bacardi Coconut, Bacardi Dragon Berry, Bacardi Grand Melón, Bacardi Limón, Bacardi O, Bacardi Peach Red, Bacadri Razz, Bacardi Torched Cherry"
Origin : The turbulent story of Bacardi dates back to 1814 with the birth of the Catalan Don Facundo Bacardí Massó. Emigrating from Spain to Cuba in 1830, Don Facundo and his family worked hard establishing themselves as business owners in Santiago de Cuba. Despite being forced to return to Spain due to a series of earthquakes and an outbreak of cholera, Don Facundo continued to persevere as a Cuban business man, even enduring the closure of his first business in 1855. However fortune soon smiled in several ways for Don Facundo:
  • Cuba had become the largest producer of sugar in the Caribbean
  • The Spanish Crown had in 1796 overturned a previous Royal Decree that had banned the production of early rums and were now actively promoting the production of hard liquor to satisfy the tastes of the elite of the Spanish Empire
  • Clara Astié, the godmother of Amalia Bacardí passed away, leaving her estate to Don Facundo's wife.
Not only did they inherit the house, but also its tenant, the French Cuban José León Boutellier who ran a small distillery there producing cognac and boiled sweets. After agreeing a new rent arrangement with José, Facundo was granted use of the pot still and together they began to experiment with the methods of Rum distillation. The results of their exploits in charcoal filtering and aging in American oak barrels was a more refined and palatable form of rum.
In 1862 they bought their own distillery in Santiago and called it ""Bacardí, Boutellier, y Compañia"". The distillery contained a copper and cast-iron alembic used for the distillation of rum. It was also home to a colony of fruit bats that lived in the rafters, which at the suggestion of Amalia, would come to be the symbolic logo of the company. By 1874 Don Facundo and his sons bought out Boutellier's stake and renamed their distillery ""Bacardí y Compañia"".

With the new business flourishing, Don Facundo handed the reigns over to his sons Emilio and Facundo, who became company president and Master Distiller respectively. Facundo, having been given the secret rum formula by his father continued to perfect his father's experimentations in rum production and created several blends of his own.
During the 1880s Emilio and the Bacardí family gave their support to the growing independence movement, resulting in Emilio serving four years in a Spanish prison. The Cuban War of Independence came to an end three months after the destruction of the USS Maine in 1898, which had resulted in the Spanish-American War. During the American occupation of Cuba, the popularity of Bacardí had grown, especially after the inventions of the Daiquirí and the original Cuba Libre, by the American Mining Engineer Jennings S. Cox and the U.S. Signal Corps in Havana, respectively.

In the following decades Emilio Bacardí expanded the Company, building bottling facilities in Spain and New York, although American Prohibition soon caused the closure of the New York plant. During the time of Prohibition, Cuba had become a popular destination for American tourists and by the 1920s Facundo was inviting those same tourists to come to Cuba to beat the Prohibition.
With the death of Emilio in 1922, Emilio's brother-in-law Enrique Schueg took over the running of the Bacardí Company and during his time he diversified the company, opening production facilities in Mexico in 1931 and Puerto Rico in 1936, as well as the New York City based imports company in 1944. While Enrique may not have lived to see the good fortune of this diversification, having passed on the mantel to his son José M. ""Pepín"" Bosch in 1949, it was this decision which saved the company after the Cuban revolution.

Despite initially supporting Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolutionaries, the newly formed Cuban totalitarian regime seized the Compañía Ron 'Bacardi' S.A.'s assets in Cuba. Moving to the production facilities in Mexico and Puerto Rico and then in turn expanding to build new facilities and offices in the US, the Bahamas and Bermuda, the Bacardi Company has grown to become one of the most recognisable rum brands in the world.

Today Bacardi produces and sells at least a dozen different rums internationally, as well as a multitude of flavoured rums and other rum based drinks, such as the Bacardi Breezer. The Bacardi Superior brand is so well known in itself, that some people will not even realise that they're drinking rum. After several acquisitions, the company's brand portfolio now tops more than 200 brands and labels including Grey Goose vodka, Bombay Sapphire gin and Martini vermouth.

Having become the world's largest privately held spirits company, Bacardi's fortunes appear all positive. However, the origins in Cuba still cause the company issues, with all Bacardi in America being labelled with ""Case fundada en 1862"" and all references to Cuba being played down, whereas elsewhere in the world Bacardi promote their Cuban heritage so much that many people believe that the rum still comes from Cuba, with all bottles labelled with ""Casa fundada en Cuba - Estd 1862"". Whether Bacardi will ever occupy the Bacardi Building in Havana again is debatable, but there is no denying that the Bacardi Company has grown from its humble beginnings into one of the most recognisable brands in the world.
Bacardi 151
Type : Spanish Caribbean Ron
Grade : Overproof Rum
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Country of Origin : Puerto Rico
Strength : 75.5% / 151 Proof
Availabilty : United States
Bottle Blurb : "Warning Flammable Liquid"
Comments : Barcadi's strongest rum isn't to be triffled with, it's a drink that packs a serious punch. It's mostly used for adding an overproof float to cocktails, such as the Rum Runner or, despite the warnings on the bottle to the contrary, it is used for flamming drinks.
Bacardi 1909 Superior Heritage Limited Edition
Type : Spanish Caribean Ron
Grade : Silver / Blanca
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Country of Origin : Mexico
Strength : 44.5 Vol / 89 Proof
Availabilty : United Kingdom, United States and other Worldwide locations
Bottle Blurb : "This limited edition bottle of Bacardi Superior Rum is based on the original design from 1909. It was produced by Bacardi Y Compa"
Bacardi 8
Type : Spanish Caribbean Ron
Grade : Premium
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Age : 8 Years Old
Country of Origin : Bahamas
Strength : 40% Vol / 80 Proof
Availabilty : United Kingdom, United States and other Worldwide locations
Bottle Blurb : "Casa Fundada en 1862"
Bacardi Añejo
Type : Central American Ron
Grade : Premium
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Age : Aged up to 3 Years
Country of Origin : Mexico
Strength : 40% Vol / 80 Proof
Availabilty : United States, Mexico and the Caribbean
Bottle Blurb : "Hecho en Mexico"
Bacardi Apple
Type : Spanish Caribbean Ron
Grade : Flavoured
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Country of Origin : Puerto Rico
Strength : 32% Vol / 64 Proof
Availabilty : United Kingdom, United States and other Worldwide locations
Bottle Blurb : "Spirit with Bacardi Rum and Apple Flavouring"
Bacardi Black / Select
Type : Spanish Caribbean Ron
Grade : Dark Rum
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Country of Origin : Puerto Rico
Strength : 40% Vol / 80 Proof
Availabilty : United States, Europe and other WorldWide locations
Bottle Blurb : "Over a century ago, when rum was harsh and unrefined, a wine merchant in Santiago, Cuba produced the world's first smooth tasting rum - Bacardi.

Since Don Facundo Bacardi perfected rum in 1862, his heirs have maintained the family's tradition of quality, making Bacardi Rum the most widely appreciated distilled spirit in the world."
"Bacardi Select is the richest spirit produced by the Bacardi distilleries. It is a blend of selected aged rums which are charcoal filtered for smoothness before mellowing in oak barrels, thus retaining the rich flavor and full body of the original blend without any harshness in taste."
Bacardi OakHeart
Type : Spanish Caribbean Ron
Grade : Spiced Rum
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Strength : 35% Vol / 70 Proof
Availabilty : United Kingdom, United States and other Worldwide locations
Bottle Blurb : "Smooth & Spiced Spirit Drink of premium rum with flavours & spices.
Straight from the Heart of charred Oak barrels for a hint of smokiness.

Bacardi OakHeart is a tribute to the legendary and modern day adventurer. It honours their core essence of loyalty, bravery and determination. These timeless qualities, backed by over a century of Bacardi tradition, are reflected in the robust taste of OakHeart; smooth & spiced with just a hint of smokiness."
Bacardi Oro / Gold
Type : Spanish Caribbean Ron
Grade : Gold
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Country of Origin : Bahamas
Strength : 37.5% Vol / 75 Proof
Availabilty : United Kingdom, United States and other Worldwide locations
Bottle Blurb : "Casa Fundada en Cuba"
Bacardi Reserva
Type : Spanish Caribbean Ron
Grade : Gold
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Country of Origin : Puerto Rico
Strength : 40% Vol / 80 Proof
Availabilty : United Kingdom, United States and other Worldwide locations
Bottle Blurb : "Casa Fundada en Cuba"
Bacardi Reserva Limitada
Type : Spanish Caribean Ron
Grade : Premium
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Age : Up to 12 Year Old
Country of Origin : Puerto Rico
Strength : 40% Vol / 80 Proof
Availabilty : Puerto Rico and Limited Availabilty in United Kingdom and United States
Bottle Blurb : "Founder's Blend with aged rums up to 12 year old"
Bacardi Superior
Type : Spanish Caribbean Ron
Grade : Silver / Blanca
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Country of Origin : Puerto Rico
Strength : 37.5% / 75 Proof
Availabilty : United Kingdom, United States and other Worldwide locations
Bottle Blurb : "Casa Fundada en Cuba"
Casa Bacardi Gran Reserva
Type : Spanish Caribean Ron
Grade : Premium
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Age : 6 Year Old
Country of Origin : Mexico
Strength : 40% Vol / 80 Proof
Availabilty : Mexico
Bottle Blurb : "Ron Casa Bacardi
Fieles a la sabia elaboración del mejor ron del mundo desarrollado desde 1862 por Don Funcundo Bacardi, colocamos en su mano uno de nuestros más finos y exquisitos productos: Casa Bacardi."
"La experiencia de más de 142 ańos nos ha llevado a crear una combinación única de distintos rones para dar como resultado un ron sabio y maestro contenido en una botella magistral"
Translated : "Faithful to the aging developments of the best rum in the world, first created in 1862 by Don Bacardi Funcundo, you can see his influence on one of our finest and most exquisite products: Casa Bacardi."
"The experience of over 142 years has led us to create a unique combination of different rums to result in this complex aged rum presented in a magestic bottle."
Havana Club by Bacardi
Type : Spanish Caribean Ron
Grade : Silver / Blanca
Base Ingredient : Molasses
Country of Origin : Puerto Rico
Strength : 40% Vol / 80 Proof
Availabilty : United States
Bottle Blurb : "Havana Club Rum is a premium rum distilled and crafted in Puerto Rico using the original Arechabala family recipe. Developed in Cuba circa 1930, this finely crafted spirit uses black strap molasses, a slow fermentation and white oak mellowing to create a velvet smoothness that is clean and round to the palate."