A visit to Puerto Rico would be incomplete without a trip to Casa Bacardí. Bacardí is the world’s largest privately-owned spirits company. The Bacardí spirit family includes Bacardí, Grey Goose, Patrón and Bombay Sapphire, to name a few. Bacardí is not just a brand name – it’s a family name. Bacardí was founded in 1862 by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó in Santiago de Cuba. In the 1930’s, a distillery was built in Puerto Rico. Just shy of the company’s 100th anniversary, the Bacardí holdings in Cuba were seized by the government. Luckily, the family had moved the company’s trademarks and yeast strain out of Cuba before their assets were confiscated, and Bacardí continued operations in other countries, including Puerto Rico.
Casa Bacardí, located in Cataño, Puerto Rico, just outside San Juan, is the world’s largest premium rum distillery. Visitors to Casa Bacardí can opt for a mixology class, a rum tasting tour, or a heritage tour. We were guests at the rum tasting tour.
The tour began with hopping a trolley to the Pavilion, where you can select a rum cocktail. I chose the Bacardí Tropical Sunrise, a mix of passionfruit juice, white rum, orange and grenadine.
We were then back on the trolley to ride over to aging warehouse, where our guide explained the aging process and the blends produced. Wander too deeply into the warehouse and you may feel a bit loopy as the angels were taking a generous share.
Then back on the trolley to the tasting room. We were offered tastings of four different rums, including Bacardí Anejo Cuatro (4 years aged), Bacardí Reserva Ocho (8 years), Bacardí Gran Reserva Diez (10 years), and the Bacardí Special Reserve, exclusive to Casa Bacardí and available nowhere else in the world. You can pick up a bottle in the gift shop for a very special gift to yourself or someone back home.
For more information on tours at Casa Bacardí, visit the company’s website here.
More posts on our trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico can be found here.