Bacardi is the world’s top-selling rum with annual sales of 20 million cases in more than 150 countries. But it does not sell a drop in Cuba, where founder Facundo Bacardi first opened a tin-roofed, dirt-floored distillery on Matadero Street in the eastern city of Santiago in 1862.
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With thorough reporting and an eye for rich, often quirky detail, veteran National Public Radio correspondent Tom Gjelten traces the story of the Bacardi family, whose product helped shape Cuba’s soul until Fidel Castro nationalized the company’s facilities in 1960.

The Bacardis took communist Cuba to court to preserve their international trademark and eventually built a rum empire using operations in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil and the Bahamas. “We just didn’t think to register the Bacardi trademark, so we lost it,” Castro said years later. “We had the factory that produced the real Bacardi rum, but we couldn’t keep the name.”

The Bacardis opposed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista and supported Fidel Castro. They even granted some workers leave to join his rebel forces, and the company’s chief executive, Jose (Pepin) Bosch, accompanied Castro on his first trip to the United States after Castro took power in 1959. Bosch ducked out early, however, already afraid of where Castro was leading the government.

After nationalizing Bacardi, Cuba began producing Havana Club rum, a brand it usurped from the Arechabala family, Bacardi competitors who did not fight to keep their trademark.

Bacardi eventually bought the naming rights to Havana Club from the Arechabalas and began selling its own version of Havana Club in the United States, touching off legal battles with Cuba that have yet to be resolved.

The case is complicated but, as Gjelten notes, its underlying issues are simple: “When could Cuban rum be sold in the United States, by what company and under what label?” Like so many facets of U.S.-Cuba relations, answering those questions is far from easy.

Original Source: WILL WEISSERT

THE CARIFORUM Rum industry is investing euro13.5 million in projects that will improve waste disposal methods and will generate renewable energy from sugar cane by-products and biogas. These investments are supported by the European Union (EU) funded Caribbean Rum Sector Programme which became operational in 2003.

Dr. Frank Ward, Chairman of the West Indies Rum & Spirits Association Inc. (WIRSPA), said the significant investments by the sector are recognition of the need to meet international best practice in effluent treatment and to reduce the use of expensive fossil fuels which are a major cost element for regional producers. These projects, most of which have been approved in 2008, he said, have been delayed by the need to undertake feasibility studies and seek regulatory approvals.

The projects are quite varied and include: bio gas digester; steam and electricity co-generation projects; the utilization of waste oil to fire boilers; deep water marine outfalls; the use of effluent as a fertilizer in sugar cane cultivation; and the capture of carbon dioxide generated during fermentation for use in making fizzy drinks. The co-generation projects use bagasse, the by-product of crushing cane, in boilers to generate steam for the distillation process and to generate electricity for the distillery as part of an integrated, energy-efficient operation. Companies operating biogas digesters will not only be able to treat their effluent but the methane gas produced by the biogas plant will be able to supply a significant proportion of their energy requirements.

Under the Caribbean Rum Sector Program, some ¬70 m has been provided by the EU with a matching ¬70 m to be invested by the sector. The objective of the Programme is to modernise production facilities, upgrade waste treatment systems, energy conservation and to build export markets for participating brands. The Program is implemented by the West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers Association Inc. (WIRSPA) on behalf of CARIFORUM member states.

According to Dr. Ward, some ¬euro100 million in investment projects have been approved and being implemented by 23 companies to date. Of this, approximately 42 million will be provided by grants from the EU. It was a clear demonstration, he said, of the sector’s commitment to modernise and operate according to international best practice and a concrete example of success arising out of a partnership between the European Union and the Caribbean. Early investment studies had indicated the need for some euro200 million to be invested in the sector to enable it to improve its competitiveness and continue to grow as a significant foreign exchange earner and generator of jobs.

In Barbados, the industry is investing over euro22 million, almost ¬9 million of which will be in the form of grants from the Programme. Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Kitts-Nevis, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago.

The BACARDI Store - highlighting the world’s number-one selling premium rum - officially opened its much anticipated retail store on Bay Street in downtown Nassau, Bahamas on July 31st. The grand opening featured the international The first-of-its-kind BACARDI concept store, under a trademark license agreement with the Bacardi trademark owner, is owned and operated by the Bacardi Nassau-based distributor Bristol Group of Companies Limited.

The BACARDI Store provides an unparalleled experience for spirits consumers - with its premium, sleek design in keeping with the Bacardi image - featuring the Bacardi portfolio of products at duty-free prices and for the first time, a variety of high-end BACARDI branded accessories including hats, shirts, gym bags, umbrellas, towels and other items not available for purchase in any other retail store in the world. Also available at this one-of-a-kind store are premium spirits and branded items from other products in the Bacardi portfolio including Grey Goose vodka, Bobmay Sapphire gin, Dewar’s Scotch whisky and Cazadores tequila.

The BACARDI Store, just steps away from the cruise ship port and historic Nassau Straw Market, is expected to bring new excitement to the tourist district of Bay Street which is currently experiencing a revitalization effort.

“For many years, I have dreamed of being an active participant in the revitalization of Nassau and in particular Bay Street,” said Juan Bacardi, owner of Bristol Group of Companies Limited. “With the grand opening of The BACARDI Store, I am very excited to lead the charge of the revitalization of the Bay Street business and tourist districts with such a high-end offering. With the clout of the BACARDI name and its international appeal, we’re confident this store will serve as a ‘gateway’ to the east end of Bay Street.”
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Billed as the first spirit made in the Cayman Islands using locally grown sugarcane, the Seven Fathoms rum will be launched at the end of this month.

The spirit, to be marketed in the super premium category, will be initially available exclusively in the Cayman Islands. In addition to being the first spirit of any kind made in the Cayman Islands, Seven Fathoms is also employing a very unique “underwater maturation process”.

“By aging our spirits underwater, we are able to take advantage of the kinetic properties of the ocean tides and currents to create a very unique flavour profile and a remarkably smooth rum,” said Walker Romanica, one of the co-founders of Seven Fathoms rum.

The Seven Fathoms team, having recently attended the annual American Distillers Institute (ADI) conference in Louisville, Kentucky, has begun to garner industry attention and recognition of the unique spirit.

Noted rum connoisseur Louis Ayala, of Rum Runner Press, explained the Seven Fathoms Kinetic Maturation Process:

“This concept is now being applied to rum, for the first time ever, by the production team at Seven Fathoms. Their product, Cayman Islands Premium Rum, is not only revolutionary, carefully distilled and well packed, it is also quite tasty.”

Seven Fathoms rum is distilled in small batches and will be available in stores following the company’s launch party, scheduled for later this month.

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