Bacardí filtered light rum
Ron ligero filtrado de Bacardí
- Date
- 1862 · confidence high
- Place
- Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
- Credited to
- Facundo Bacardí Massó
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
In 1862 Facundo Bacardí founded in Santiago de Cuba a distillery that perfected a smoother, clearer rum by charcoal filtering and ageing in oak barrels. It established the light rum style of the Spanish Antilles.
The attribution comes from the company itself and the usual historical account; charcoal filtering and ageing were already practised in other distilleries, so priority for 'light rum' is open to nuance. The cocktails have disputed origins.
What it led to
- the light Cuban and Puerto Rican rum style versus dense British rum
- origin of the daiquiri and Cuba libre as cocktails
- a global rum brand after moving its headquarters out of Cuba