Facundo Bacardi

Facundo Bacardi i Massó (* 1814 in Sitges, Spain, † 1887 in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba ) was the founder of Bacardi Limited, the largest spirits company in the world in private ownership.

Life

Facundo Bacardi emigrated in 1830 with his brothers in the Spanish colony of Cuba and settled in Santiago de Cuba.

At that time there were in Cuba only immature and bitter rum, called aguardiente (' burning water ' ), whose quality and marketing opportunities Bacardi wanted to improve by refining the distillation process and a subsequent filtration and storage. On February 4, 1862, he bought for this purpose in 3500 U.S. dollars a small rum distillery in the Calle Matadero No. 5 in the harbor of Santiago and founded the company Bacardi & Co. The new process for manufacturing premium white rum with a soft and mild flavor brought the family in the following years, several awards and great economic success, so that Facundo Bacardi in Cuba also known as " El Rey de los Rones " ( the King of the Rums ') was known.