Responsive - Bacardi Brief - Company Background

___Background Considerations

The Bacardi company was founded by a man called Don Facundo Bacardi over 150 years ago in Santiago de Cuba, and is still run by the Bacardi family today.

What’s more, every drop of BACARDI rum started life in a white oak barrel and has been lovingly crafted by our Maestros de Ron (Master Rum Blenders).The skills and knowledge used by our blenders are passed down from generation to generation and take over 10 years to learn fully.

Not many people know any of this. In fact, that’s part of the problem.

Lots of people wrongly believe that BACARDI is a low quality, industrial spirit that has come out of a tap somewhere nearWigan (not that there’s anything wrong with Wigan of course).

We’ve heard from some people that BACARDI is “a bit dated” and not “cool”; it’s something their mum likes to drink with coke on a Friday night, but apart from that it doesn’t mean much to them.

___Company History

I decided to visit the Bacardi Website to try and find out more information about the history of the compnay. I figured this would be the obvious starting point for me to take to rally get in sync with the companies history and morals.

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BACARDI Superior continues to be the standard bearer of the BACARDI brand globally and is recognized the world over as the premium rum that inspired the cocktails that we know and love today. Its light taste and unique balance meant that it could be mixed with light flavours such as mint and lime without dominating nor disappearing in them. The result was a new style of light, clean, crisp and refreshing cocktails such as the Original Mojito and Daiquirí.

On February 4, 1862, Don Facundo Bacardi Massó purchased the first BACARDI rum distillery on El Matadero Street, in the town of Santiago de Cude, for 3.500 pesos. Here, he pioneered a new way of making rum that would set the standards for future rum production.

Don Facundo realised that early rums were crude and harsh and not fit for the cultivated palettes of Cuba’s emerging middle classes. He set out to create a locally produced spirit that was as sophisticated as the finest Cognacs. To do this he worked hard to control every step of the rum making process and introduced techniques which he observed in the production of European spirits as well as creating a couple of his own.

He began with the highest quality ingredients including a unique strain of yeast which he found growing in the sugarcane fields outside Santiago de Cuba. This proprietary strain of yeast became known as 'La Levadura BACARDI' and continues to be used exclusively to provide BACARDI Rum with its unique flavour profile.

In order to create a light and well balanced rum, Don Facundo distilled two separate spirits. The first was known as 'aguardiente', a characterful rum with a distinct flavour and aroma that provides the backbone for BACARDI; the second he distilled several times to produce a lighter and more delicate spirit called 'redestilado'.

By pioneering charcoal filtration and purposeful ageing in rum, he created tools that our Maestros de Ron BACARDI (Master Blenders) continue to use today to create a range of perfectly balanced rums; each with its own interpretation of the BACARDI flavour profile. These include BACARDI Superior, a light, floral and fruity white rum ideal for mixing; and BACARDI Gold, a rich golden rum with soft vanilla, spice and oak notes.

Eight generations of Don Facundo’s family have sustained his innovative spirit to produce BACARDI, the most awarded rum in the world.

___1890's

During the 1890s, Don Facundo’s third son, Jose, opened a sales office in the city of Havana.

The unique, light balance of BACARDÍ rum inspired simple, thirst-quenching mixers to combat the Caribbean heat.

An American engineer working in Cuba invented the BACARDÍ Daiquiri in 1898. He offered it as a refreshing treat for his copper-mining crews, using fresh-squeezed local lime juice, sugar, shaved ice and BACARDÍ Superior rum.

___1900's

In 1900, American soldiers celebrating victory after the Spanish-American War requested their Coca-Cola® be mixed with BACARDI rum. They toasted to a free Cuba, introducing the Original Cuba
Libre

These and other popular BACARDÍ rum cocktails helped the Company flourish. In 1910, Bacardi became Cuba’s first multinational company, opening a facility in Barcelona, Spain and, soon after, another in New York City.

By the 1930s, Bacardi owned facilities in Mexico and Cataño, Puerto Rico — now the largest premium rum distillery in the world.

___1920's

When the U.S. Congress banned the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol in 1928, the Company had to shutter its New York bottling plant.

But Bacardi did not view Prohibition as defeat. Instead, it kicked off an innovative campaign promoting Cuba as an enticing, tropical island escape from the drinking restrictions back in the USA.

Tantalizing postcards illustrating the allure of Havana nightlife and BACARDÍ rum cocktails were mailed out. And a major airline ad encouraged U.S. customers to "Fly to Cuba and Bathe in BACARDÍ rum."

The strategy paid off. American tourists flocked to the lively Havana bar scene. One of Cuba’s first skyscrapers, Edifico Bacardi, opened its elegant black-and-gold art deco bar to celebrities and entertainers and even the Spanish royal family.

As the family and Company name became more prominent, protecting it was a matter of honor, pride and survival. In 1936, the Company won a landmark lawsuit against New York bars that were substituting other rum to make BACARDÍ cocktails. A State Supreme Court ruled a BACARDÍ cocktail must be made with BACARDÍ. Today, when a customer orders, for example, a BACARDÍ Piña Colada, by law, it must be served only with BACARDÍ rum.

Legendary BACARDÍ rum cocktails are more popular than ever. More than 6 million Original BACARDÍ Cuba Libre cocktails are enjoyed every day around the world.

____Bat Device History

The story of the Bat Device begins in Santiago de Cuba, where the founder of Bacardi, Don Facundo Bacardí Massó began experimenting with the distillation of rum. In order to supply his rums beyond his friends and family, he purchased a small tin-roofed distillery for the price of 3,500 pesos. After entering the distillery, his wife noticed a colony of fruit bats hanging from the rafters. In search of an identifiable emblem Don Facundo employed a Bat as the Trademark for his new rum. He regarded bats as symbols for good health, fortune and family unity. Proclaimed, "Better than any Cognac" BACARDI rum became known as "el Ron del Murcielago" or the rum of the bat.

___Cuban History

___Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus sighted land on his first trip to Americas on October 12, 1492. The land he discovered was San Salvador in the Bahamas.

A few days later he discovered Cuba then modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The following year, on his second trip, he discovered the island of Borinquen, which he named San Juan Bautista, today known as Puerto Rico.

He wrote in his journal: "All the islands are very beautiful . . . but this last one seems to be superior to the others in beauty." Columbus brought with him sugar cane shoots from the Canary Islands.

___Sugar Cane Cultivation

Sugar Cane originated in the Pacific island of New Guinea. The Moors brought it to the Canary Islands and in 1493, Christopher Columbus to the Caribbean.

Puerto Rico's Governor, Juan Ponce de León, was one of the first to cultivate sugar at his farm, ten miles south of San Juan.

In the 17th century sugar production increased when large numbers of slaves were brought from Africa to work the sugar plantations.

A by-product of the sugar manufacturing process, molasses, was what was and is used for the manufacture of rum.

___Pirates of the Caribbean

In the late 16th century, treasure-laden Spanish galleons proceeding from Mexico into the Caribbean were a natural target for privateers - commanders of pirate ships that were allowed by their governments to capture, attack and loot enemy vessels.

It wasn't until 1856 that most European countries declared privateering illegal.Some of the most notorious pirates to visit to Puerto Rico were Captain Francis Drake and Captain François Le Clerc known as "Jambe Le Bois" for his wooden leg. Jambe Le Bois is also known for looting and sacking Santiago de Cuba.

These pirates were known to drink a concoction called "Kill Devil" or "Rumbullion". This brooding and medicinal tasting alcoholic drink was a crude and rough predecessor of today's rum.

___Casa Bacardi

This is the home of Bacardi.

____Website

The first thing that I spotted which was really relevant to my idea was the 150th anniversary of Barcadi which is in this year of 2012. Here is the logo adaptation dating back to 1862.

I then went into the main section of the website and there was videos of a recent advertising campaign which focussing on the history of bacardi starting parties and a series of happenings which wwas first started at a party such as video games, texting, phone vibrate, music downloads, planking and free running. They are all set in a past time which is pretty cool and relevant to my original ideas.

___Past Logos

In these videos i noticed the focus on the logo adaptations again from the traditional original logo of 1862. I took some screenshots of the older logos because I felt that these will be very nessacery to me and my ideas....