COMPANY REPORTS: A SPONSORED SECTION
Bacardi Limited
Building brands with a rich heritage for more than 150 years Bacardi - nurtured by seven generations of the Bacardi family - is a vibrant, family-owned spirits company, as well as the world's largest privately held spirits company. From its enviable portfolio of premium brands pre-eminently positioned in the spirits industry, to landmark structures that have won worldwide architectural acclaim, Bacardi has constructed a legacy on perseverance, quality, prestige, innovation and creativity. The exclusive emphasis on quality began in Santiago de Cuba where on February 4, 1862, Don Facundo Bacardí Massó purchased a small distillery and revolutionized rum making. After careful and systematic experimentation with a variety of ingredients, aging and blends, Don Facundo created a new, smooth, light-bodied spirit - BACARDÍ rum - what the world now knows as premium light rum. The new BACARDÍ rum blend was a delight to the residents who were accustomed to the local "ron" that was crude and harsh. Cuba's emerging middle class welcomed the taste of smooth, light-bodied, aged and mixable rums branded with an elegant, intriguing black bat on the label. It was this innovation by Bacardi that revolutionized the spirits world, enabling the establishment of an entire cocktail category and culture that remains vibrant today with its legendary creation of the first mixable rum. Don Facundo’s quest and that of his descendants for unmitigated excellence has consistently manifested itself throughout the Company's more than 157-year history. Since then, the Company has grown to include an impressive portfolio of premium spirits with more than 200 brands and labels which includes BACARDĺ rum, PATRÓN tequila, GREY GOOSE
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vodka, DEWAR'S Blended Scotch whisky, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin, ERISTOFF vodka, CAZADORES tequila and MARTINI vermouths and sparkling wines. Bacardi has operations around the world, cemented by the enduring quality of its products and the reputation. The Company sells in more than 170 global markets and operates more than 20 production facilities - for bottling, distilling and manufacturing in 12 countries. The Bacardi Building in Bermuda, the global headquarters for the Company, was originally designed in the late 1950s by renowned German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe to replace the offices in Santiago de Cuba, but this masterpiece “office without walls” would never be built in Cuba. On October 14, 1960, revolutionary government forces illegally confiscated all Company assets in Cuba - a devastating heartache for a business just shy of its 100th anniversary. The Bacardi business and family were forced into exiled and moved to Bermuda in 1965. The Mies van der Rohe designs lived on, thanks to Cuban architect Ricardo Eguilor who was hired to design a permanent home for the company in Bermuda. Using Mies van der Rohe’s original
plans, Eguilor chose to create a building with a strong foundation by employing a highly sophisticated method of constructing sidewalls from solid glass. The Bacardi Building, with its unique architecture, sweeping lawn and colorful fountain, has been a visual gift to the people of Bermuda – the adopted island home of Bacardi – for more than 50 years. Bacardi has long recognized the importance of fostering positive connections with the local communities and broader societies it touches. Bacardi and its employees benefit through a greater social connection and therefore a sense of fulfillment in communities. Bacardi has a long history of contributing to the betterment of Bermuda and regularly supports local arts, sports, education, health and welfare, heritage and cultural endeavors. From its portfolio of premium brands to its award-winning architectural landmarks, including the design inspiration for its global headquarters building in Bermuda, the legacy of perseverance, quality, prestige, innovation and creativity, which is the hallmark of Bacardi, lives on. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.