I can't imagine coming to Puerto Rico and not embarking on this very interesting history lesson.
Facundo Bacardí Massó, a Spanish wine merchant (born in 1814), emigrated to Cuba in 1830. During this period, rum was cheaply made and not considered a refined drink, and rarely sold in upmarket taverns. Facundo began attempting to "tame" rum. Needless-to-say, he was incredibly successful.
We wanted to learn more about his success and the craftsmanship behind the world’s most awarded rum so we joined the Historical Tour. For $15 each, we had the opportunity to enjoy a cocktail at the scenic waterfront Bat Bar Pavilion before joining our guide, Cassandra, for an informative 45 minute tour.
The entire time we were on the tour, we kept proclaiming how glad we were that we actually were doing this.
AND what fun it all was!
This was the cutest "Caution Wet Floor" warning cone ever!
So why the bat logo? We had to know. Moving from the experimental stage to a more commercial endeavor, Facundo and his brother, José, set up a Santiago de Cuba distillery they bought in 1862, which housed a still made of copper and cast iron. In the rafters of this building lived fruit bats – the inspiration for the Bacardi bat logo. This logo was pragmatic, considering the high illiteracy rate in the 19th century, as it enabled customers to easily identify the product.
Bacardi Corporation was established here, in 1936. The current facility was built in 1958, on 127-acres in the town of Cataño. Baptized as The Cathedral of Rum, it is the largest premium rum distillery in the world.
BACARDÍ has earned over 550 awards and is the number one rum in the world. We found it pretty darn tasty and this tour was the perfect way to kick off our morning!
"Drinking Rum before 10 AM makes you a Pirate,
not an Alcoholic."
– Earl Dibbles Jr
[the photo above was taken at 9:19 AM... ARR!]
Lunch was on the porch of Restaurante Don Tello, for some comida criolla. I'm not quite sure what we ate but it was delicious.
Actually we had a very tasty treat of Mofongo, a dish with fried plantains as its main ingredient. Plantains are picked green and fried then mashed with salt, garlic and oil in a wooden pilón, a kitchen device also known as mortar and pestle. The object is to produce a tight ball of mashed plantains that would absorb the attending condiments.
Chores have to happen, no matter where we are, so how appropriate that we did our laundry in Sierra's Laundromat as we have traveled from the Sierras. Great day # 4. We're ready for one day more.
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2 comments:
What! A drink before the tour? I would have then had to make a pee stop on the tour :) Or maybe my bladder wouldn't have even been awake at 10am. LOVE the banana "wet floor" sign. I'm impressed with all your "change of clothes" so far. I'm keeping track!
Hola.
Creole food is a combination of European food (from Spain) and Latin American food. Basically Spanish food made with local ingredients. So, eat it while you can!
The Bacardí facility is gigantic, and modern. What a fun day! You two make the BEST pirates! I wish we were there to plunder and pillage with you! And drink rum before 10:00...
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