From Santiago de Cuba to the world: 160 years of family history
Bacardi Limited is now the world's largest private spirits group – and the company has remained in family hands. Founded in 1862 by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó in Santiago de Cuba, the story began with a small distillery and a decisive idea: to transform rum into a clearer, smoother spirit through charcoal filtration and aging in oak barrels. The bat logo, which still adorns every bottle today, was created in those first years – in Cuba, the bat is considered a symbol of good luck, and an entire colony lived under the roof of the distillery. Seven generations of the Bacardí family have carried the company forward since then. After the nationalization of the Cuban operations around 1960, the family left the island and rebuilt the business internationally. In 1992, Bacardi Limited was founded as a holding company; the company headquarters are now in Hamilton, Bermuda. Today, Facundo L. Bacardi, a direct descendant of the founder, leads the group's fortunes as Chairman of the Board – it has never been a publicly traded company.
Procurement, biogas, and botanicals: How Bacardi produces
As large as the company is, its production principles are just as concrete. The rum is based on three ingredients: molasses from sugar cane, a proprietary house yeast culture, and pure spring water. The sugar cane for the Caribbean rum is sourced exclusively from Bonsucro-certified suppliers – Bacardi has been a founding member of Bonsucro, the international certification organization for sugar cane, since 2008. In the rum distillery, a wastewater treatment system generates biogas that covers over 60% of the facility's energy needs; 95% of the condensate produced during distillation is recovered. For the botanically-driven brands in the portfolio, a dedicated Global Botanicals Center in Geneva coordinates the procurement of all plant materials. The Bombay Sapphire distillery operates in a converted historic paper mill in England, powered by biomass and hydroelectric power.
A portfolio between rum, gin, vermouth, and aperitif
Under the umbrella of Bacardi Limited, more than 200 brands and labels are gathered, which could hardly be more different. The eponymous Bacardí Rum – from the soft-mild Carta Blanca to aged Añejo bottlings – remains the heart of the business. Added to this are Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin with its characteristically bright, floral style based on ten botanicals, the classic vermouth from Noilly Prat, aged for generations in the Camargue using traditional methods, as well as the entire Martini range: dry vermouths, Spumante wines, and the non-alcoholic Vibrante line for occasions without alcohol. The portfolio is complemented by vodka, tequila, whiskey, and cognac from all over the world. In the Vinoscout range, you will find a curated selection of these – from Bombay Sapphire to Martini Vibrante to Noilly Prat Original Dry, the basis of every proper Dry Martini.
