Do you know the secrets behind Bacardi's iconic bat logo?
Have you heard about Bacardi's bitter feud with the Cuban government?
Here's a few things you should know before you buy more Bacardi.
In the world of liquor, coconut and rum is one of the great flavor pairings.
But according to Bacardi family lore, the coconut tree is important for another reason,
too.
When Don Facundo Bacardi opened his first distillery in Santiago de Cuba, he and his
son Emilio planted a coconut palm that they affectionately called El Coco.
In the years to come, El Coco — and the Bacardi family itself — would be tested
by a series of disasters both natural and man-made.
Still, El Coco stood tall, and the family business survived.
The Bacardis tied their fate to that of their beloved tree: they felt confident that so
long as El Coco persevered in Cuba, so would they.
Unfortunately, the tree died before its hundredth birthday — and whether it was destiny or
not, the Bacardis were soon chased out of the country by Fidel Castro in 1960.
Bacardi continued production of their rum abroad, and each time a new distillery was
opened, a new coconut tree would be planted in honor of El Coco.
According to the Bacardi company, Don Facundo moved from his home country of Spain to the
colony of Cuba when he was 15 years old.
He reached adulthood, launched his business, and raised his family on the Caribbean island,
and the family came to consider themselves Cuban rather than Spanish.
In the 19th century, when Cuban revolutionaries fought to shirk their colonial status and
become their own independent nation, Emilio Bacardi joined the cause.
Then, in the 1950s, when a new set of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro attempted to overthrow
the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, the Bacardis threw their support behind them as
well.
Shortly after Castro came to power, however, the highly successful company suffered a tremendous
betrayal: The new government seized all of their assets, forcing them to flee.
While the business survived thanks to its holdings in other countries, the bad blood
remained: José "Pepin" Bosch — a Bacardi by marriage — actively worked with the United
States government to oust Castro, even financing one of the many CIA plots to assassinate him.
The Bacardi brand has survived for 160 years, thanks to a number of savvy business decisions.
Even while supporting revolutionary movements in Cuba, they had the good sense to move their
most important asset out of the country, just in case things didn't go well: their unique
strain of yeast.
Bacardi yeast was first discovered by Don Facundo Bacardi, and it's responsible for
the rum's iconic, smooth flavor.
The company destroyed every last bit of the isolated yeast strain in Cuba before being
forced to flee the country in 1960.
That way, the Cuban government could never successfully replicate Bacardi rum, which
would have made them boatloads of money.
Bacardi factories cacross the world still rely on this yeast — the oldest Cuban rum
yeast in the world.
While Bacardi yeast may be the most important ingredient that goes into making the brand's
best-selling rum, it's not the only one.
In addition to being the first to isolate the Bacardi yeast strain, Don Facundo also
invented a unique, parallel distilling process to produce his rum.
Rum, like other spirits, is made from a batch of raw materials called "mash."
Most spirits are made from one type of mash, but Bacardi Superior Rum is actually distilled
from two.
The final product is actually a combination of a light rum, "Redistalado," and a fruitier
dark rum, "Aguardiente."
The two types of rum are aged side-by-side in separate wooden barrels until they reach maturity.
Once they're ready, the two batches are blended together to make one superior spirit.
That's how Bacardi keeps its distinct taste, while also being easier to drink than other rums.
"That Bacardi flavoring certainly makes a difference, doesn't it?"
"Oh, yeah.
Nine times out of ten."
The Bacardi brand has had a contentious relationship with the Cuban government ever since the mid-20th
century, when they and the Arechabala family, owners of the Havana Club rum brand, fled
the island.
At the time, Cuba's newly installed government, led by Fidel Castro, launched a campaign to
seize Cuban rum companies' assets and make them government property.
Havana Club eventually became a subsidiary of Bacardi, but the Cuban government still
insists it has a right to sell rum under the Havana Club name.
The rivalry escalated relatively recently: in 2021, Bacardi filed suit against the United
States Patent and Trademark office over who gets the rights to the Havana Club name.
The lawsuit describes the Cuban government's use of the name as, quote, "a moral outrage."
The iconic Bacardi logo consists of a black bat in a red circle.
Why the bat?
There's actually both a personal story and a cultural reason behind the choice.
Don Facundo's wife, Doña Amalia Bacardi, spotted fruit bats in their original facility
in Cuba, which had been drawn to the sweet aroma produced by the molasses used to make
Bacardi rum.
There's also a greater symbolic meaning to the bat though: the animal holds cultural
significance in both Spain and Cuba.
In Spain, the bat is seen as a bringer of fortune.
The history behind this dates back to the 13th century, when, according to legend, a
bat landed on the flag of King James the first before his battle to reclaim Valencia from
the Moors.
They were successful, and the bat is now part of Valencia's coat of arms.
The bat is similarly seen as a symbol of protection in Cuba.
With the introduction of the logo, Bacardi became referred to by Cuban locals as "El
Ron del Murciélago," or "The Rum of the Bat."
Bacardi is one of the world's top-selling rums for a reason.
The brand has won an astounding 1,000 awards in its 160-year history, claiming the title
of the most-awarded rum in the world.
Bacardi's winnings include awards earned at prestigious European competitions such as
the Monde Selection, the International Wine and Spirit Competition, and the World Spirit Awards.
Bacardi rum has also earned titles exclusive to the states, such as the San Francisco World
Spirits Competition and the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition.
The brand also issues awards of its own to its various facilities for internal accomplishments.
In an effort to achieve a 50% reduction in their global emissions by 2025, Bacardi created
the Good Spirited Award, an annual prize given to employees or facilities that make significant
strides toward their environmental goals.
While it all started with Bacardi rum, the now-global Bacardi Limited spirits company
owns a handful of other liquor brands.
Famous names under Bacardi's corporate umbrella include Martini, Grey Goose, Dewar's, Bombay
Sapphire, and Patron, among others.
Bacardi Limited's brands contribute to the company's long tradition of quality by winning
awards and accolades of their own.
Dewar's Double Double line of aged whiskies, for instance, has won awards like whisky of
the year at the International Whiskey Competition.
Grey Goose and Martini were also Women's Choice Award winners in 2015.
The next time you take a trip to the liquor store, take a look around and see just how
much of what's on the shelves is the property of Bacardi.
Casual drinkers and mixology enthusiasts alike have long been searching for the holy grail
of alcohol: the perfect cocktail.
When it comes to making drinks, any experienced bar professional will tell you that it's all
about the ratios of the ingredients, and according to Bacardi, that extends to the exact number
of ice cubes that go into the glass.
The perfect Bacardi rum cocktail must have no more and no fewer than six cubes of ice.
"The lady'll have a Bacardi… on the rocks."
Bacardi probably knows what it's talking about, considering the company owned one of the first
ice plants in Cuba back in the day.
Anyone who bought a full case of Bacardi rum would receive one free ice token to redeem
at the distillery.
It was a great boon for bars at the time, as they could boast that they served chilled
cocktails — a luxury not everyone could enjoy at the time.
It's extra efforts like these that helped make the Bacardi brand as popular as it is today.
Bacardi prides itself on being the rum that has helped spawn some of the world's classic cocktails.
Remember how Emilio Bacardi fought for Cuban independence from Spain?
The rum company attests that it was this period of liberation that inspired the Cuba libre
cocktail, which literally translates to "free Cuba."
When American troops came to Cuba to help the colony fight for independence, they brought
Coca-Cola with them to the Caribbean island.
It was only a matter of time before the American soda was combined with the local Bacardi rum
to make a delicious beverage.
According to Bacardi, Captain Russell of the United States Army made the toast, "Por Cuba libre!"
with a Bacardi rum and Coke with lime.
Bacardi also takes credit for the invention of the frozen daiquiri, often known in the
U.S. as a daiquiri.
Global SVP of Marketing Ned Duggan says that the company's status as one of the first ice
plants in Cuba ties it to the birth of the cold drink.
He also claims that the original recipes for the mojito and the piña colada necessitate
Bacardi rum.
So if you want to make any of these cocktails the right way, do it with Bacardi.
"Do it.
Bacardi and cola.
Do it.
Do it."
If song lyrics are to be believed, Bacardi is one of the favorite liquors of the wild
world of music — and only partially because it rhymes with "party."
Bacardi is up there with Hennessy and Jack Daniels as one of the most name-dropped liquor
brands in music.
50 Cent wanted to sip Bacardi like it's your birthday, while Lil' Kim wanted to buy a round
of rum for everyone in the bar to enjoy.
Bacardi has certainly embraced its connection to musical culture.
In 2021, the company announced a partnership with Grammy award winning producer Boi-1da
to put the spotlight on female producers by auctioning off tracks by artists Bambii, Denise
De'ion, and PERFXN as NFTs, or non-fungible tokens.
The company is one of numerous companies getting in on the NFT trend, along with Budweiser
and Stella Artois.
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