Work was plentiful in Santiago and the two Bacardi brothers quickly amassed enough money to open a general store. Reports that this was a boomtown initially persuaded Facundo's two older brothers, Magín and Juan to immigrate to the new colony in search of their fortunes. Ships regularly left the harbour for the port of Santiago de Cuba on the Spanish colonial island of Cuba. It is an unforgettable memoir.The story of Bacardi starts with Facundo Bacardi Massó, the son of an illiterate bricklayer who grew up close to the harbour of Sitges, near Barcelona. There lies the abiding beauty of the book - that out of tragedy can come decency, out of injustice renewal. Still, he endures, emerging from the humiliations of his immigrant life in the United States (and that of his mother) to thrive academically, and eventually capture his story and those of the larger-than-life characters who surrounded him.
Bacardi eximo tv#
When the Revolution unfolds and the TV screens are filled with the executions of dissenters rather than cartoons, the fear of what the future holds overtakes his every thought. Life for Carlos generates constant reasons for escape, often into the world of American movies, comics, and baseball cards. Of course, not every young Cuban has a father who believes he is Louis XVI reincarnated, nor a mother whom he refers to as Marie Antoinette. Set against the anticipation of the deep societal changes that were to come, the boy’s risky, fear-laced exploits - daredevil games with firecrackers and ammunition, discoveries of maggot-ridden carrion and a backyard pool filled with sharks, escapes from the clutches of sexual perverts - seem all the more weighty and profound.
The retelling has all the inventiveness of a novel, in style and detail - a boyhood to glory in, one to intensely lament at its loss. Yet his life would be defined by the rich pastiche of his boyhood on the island. His father he would never see again.Ĭarlos Eire, who eventually became a professor of history and religion at Yale, would never again set foot in Cuba. Years would pass before his mother would be reunited with her sons. His privileged life as the son of a judge had been torn away, and at age 11 he was boarded onto a plane for Miami, send off without his parents, as were his brother and 14,000 other Cuban children, in an operation known as Pedro Pan. His outlawing of Christmas became a symbol of all the young Carlos had lost. So is Christmas and Castro’s decision to ban religion and the celebrations that went with it. The Cuban Revolution is at the core of Carlos Eire‘s memoir. Fortunately for Bacardi, some years earlier it had established itself in Porto Rico and Mexico, as well as the Bahamas, where it had moved some assets and the ownership of its trademarks. The company’s exit from Cuba followed Castro’s rise to power and the Cuban Revolution of 1959, after which all private property was banned and bank accounts confiscated without compensation. Neither location is one the Cuban founder would have expected of a Bacardi. It is made up of rums blended together in the Bahamas, where it is aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon American oak barrels, before being shipped to Mexico, where it is reduced to 40% abv and bottled. Like the other three premium sipping rums of the Facundo Rum Collection, Eximo honours the legacy of Facundo Bacardi Masso. Today Bacardi is the largest privately owned spirits company in the world, with over 200 brands in its portfolio.
The history of Bacardi goes back to Facundo Bacardi Masso, who emigrated from Spain to Cuba and in 1862 founded the company, which, through innovative distilling processes, was able to produce a distinctively smooth, light-bodied rum. Exudes a warm spicy richness, perfect complement to Christmas cake before an open fire. Semi-sweet dark chocolate, with a smooth oak-cut of fire. On the nose is vanilla, caramel, cinnamon - spice-rich fare that continues on the taste buds. It pours dark walnut from its heavy glass decanter. But finding a reading counterpart was challenging, not unlike waiting for snow in Havana. The premium rum proved to be a perfect accompaniment to a snowy Christmas season. The Book: Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire
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