Bacardi is the largest privately held, family-owned spirits company in the world. Originally known for its eponymous Bacardi white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels.[4] Founded in 1862, and family-owned for seven generations, Bacardi employs 6,000 people, manufactures at 27 facilities in 16 markets on four continents, with sales in more than 150 countries. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.[5] The company sells in excess of 200 million bottles per year.[6] The company's sales in 2007 were US$5.5 billion, up from $4.9 billion in 2006.
Facundo Bacardí Massó, a Catalan wine merchant, was born in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain, in 1814, and emigrated to Cuba in 1830. During this period, rum was cheaply made and not considered a refined drink, and rarely sold in upmarket taverns. Facundo began attempting to "tame" rum by isolating a proprietary strain of yeast still used in Bacardi production. This yeast gives Bacardi rum its flavour profile. After experimenting with several techniques he hit upon filtering the rum through charcoal, which removed impurities. In addition to this, Facundo aged the rum in white oak barrels, which had the effect of mellowing the drink. The final product was the first clear, or "white" rum in the world.
Moving from the experimental stage to a more commercial endeavour, he and his brother José set up a Santiago de Cuba(a province of Cuba) distillery they bought in 1862; which housed a still made of copper and cast iron. In the rafters of this building lived fruit bats – the inspiration for the Bacardi bat logo.
The 1880s and 90s were turbulent times for Cuba and the company. Emilio Bacardi, Don Facundo's eldest son, was repeatedly imprisoned and was exiled from Cuba for having fought in the rebel army against Spain in the Cuban War of Independence.
Emilio's brothers, Facundo and José, and his brother-in-law Henri (Don Enrique) Schueg, remained in Cuba with the difficult task of sustaining the company during a period of war. The women in the family were exiled in Kingston, Jamaica. After the Cuban War of Independence and the US occupation of Cuba, "The Original Cuba Libre" and the Daiquiri were both born using Bacardi rum. In 1899 US General Leonard Wood appointed Emilio Bacardi Mayor of Santiago de Cuba.
The Bacardi Building in Havana, Cuba
In 1912, Emilio Bacardi travelled to Egypt, where he purchased a mummy (still on display) for the future Emilio Bacardi Moreau Municipal Museum in Santiago de Cuba. In Santiago, his brother Facundo M. Bacardí continued to manage the company along with Schueg, who began the company's international expansion by opening bottling plants in Barcelona (1910) and New York City (1915) The New York plant was soon shut down due to Prohibition, yet during this time Cuba became a hotspot for US tourists.
In 1922 Emilio opened a new distillery in Santiago. In 1930 Schueg opened the Art Deco Bacardi building in Havana and the third generation of the Bacardí family entered the business. Facundito Bacardí was known to have invited Americans (still subject to Prohibition) to "Come to Cuba and bathe in Bacardi rum."[10] A new product was introduced: Hatuey beer.