Casey Farabaugh Wine Blog: Bacardi Distillery Visit in Puerto Rico!

When I was on Spring Break, a few of my friends and I went on a cruise and one of our ports was San Juan, Puerto Rico. With that said, we found out that Bacardi had its headquarters there and we decided to go on a tour of the distillery as one of our excursions. This was by far one of the coolest experiences that I've had. I have been to many wineries before, so it was really cool to see exactly what went into making the rum versus that of a wine. We learned about the history of the company and how the symbolic logo of the bat came about. Apparently when rum was originally first being made, bats often hung on the rafters because they were attracted to the smell of the mollases Bats were a sign of good luck for fortune, family, and health, so Facundo Bacardi's wife insisted that this be the symbol of their new company.

Fountain in the welcoming lobby of Bacardi

The symbolic Bacardi bat on one of the buildings

We also learned that Bacardi rum is still made today using the exact same process that Don Facundo Bacardi originally used to make his rum in 1862. We learned that Don Facundo Bacardi was the first to use the 4 step process in making rum. The steps consisted of the following: the use of only one strain of yeast, the distillation of multiple rum bases to be blended together, the use of barrels to help develop the unique flavor, and the use of charcoal as a filter to shape his rums. Many of the pioneers during that time drank rum while they were on their respective ships, but we were told that it tasted like straight up rubbing alcohol. When the pioneers got their first taste of the Bacardi rum, they couldn't stay away.

Picture of the pioneers fighting in the main lobby of Bacardi

As we continued our tour, we got to find out a little bit more about the production of the rum and why some steps that Bacardi makes are important to the quality and consistency of their rum. As mentioned earlier, Bacardi identified a single strain of yeast that played a key role in the production. The single strain of yeast was originally found in the sugarcane fields of Santiago de Cuba, and it has now been used for over 150 years. The yeast provides as an element to their rum that could allow them to ensure the same consistency from product to product. Bacardi was also the first to use wooden oak barrels to age his rum, which is essential for purposeful blending. This technique is known as mellowing and it is still widely used for production today. Mellowing helps to develop flavor, aroma, color, and smoothness of the rum bases.

Display oak barrels outside of Bacardi

We then got to move on with the tour and a long line of tiny barrels were mounted on the walls. These barrels hosted the scents of all of the different flavors that Bacardi offers. Some of them smelt very sweet, some were very sour, and some smelt very old-age. My favorite scent was that of the Dragonberry Bacardi. This was a flavor mix of dragon fruit and strawberries. After smelling the all of the barrels, we got to move onto the most fun and enjoyable part of the tour, which was the bar!

The Bacardi Rum bar!

I found this part of the tour to be the most interesting. I found out that a rum and coke is actually different than a Bacardi rum and coke. A Bacardi rum and coke is known as a Cuba Libre, and it is served with a fresh lime. This first came about in the 1900s when a group of American men asked for a Bacardi rum and coke at a bar in Havana. The rest of the soldiers tried the drink, and they all liked it so they each ordered a round for the entire table. They then toasted saying "Por Cuba Libre", which translates to for Cuba's freedom. We also got to learn a little bit about what exactly a mojito was, which was pretty cool as well. Finally, the tour guide had a sample of their rum out for us to sniff directly from the liquid. It smelt very very strong, and I don't think that it would be something that I would like. Finally to end our tour, we got to go to through the gift shop. Some of us bought bottles of their products and others did not (I did not). They had several samples out in the store, some of which I tasted. I was really interested in trying the Dragonberry rum since I liked the smell of it so much during the tour. It tasted even better than the smell. It went down so smooth, and it was definitely extremely fruity and girly. I will probably make a purchase of this at some point in the near future when I need some more alcohol stores. At the beginning of our tour, they gave us a coin that we could use to redeem a free drink at their outdoor bar. Unfortunately by the time our tour ended, the lines were extremely long and our taxi was already on the way so we were unable to get a specialty drink. Overall, this was a great experience and I am so happy that I am able to tell people about my visit to the Bacardi international headquarters in Puerto Rico! Below you can see more pictures of our time at Bacardi!