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Bacardi Goes Green for Earth Day

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spirits, Green

Two new tourist attractions opened in Puerto Rico for Earth Day. Bacardi Rum unveiled the first ever industrial scale wind project on the island, two wind turbines which can be seen from miles away. The turbines are expected to generate enough electricity to power tourism related activities at the Casa Bacardi Visitor Center at their distillery outside of San Juan. Now the quarter of a million visitors who come to the Center each year can truly learn about and enjoy rum guilt-free.

Bacardi is no stranger to corporate responsibility and environmental leadership. "Here in Puerto Rico, Bacardi pioneered and patented the anaerobic treatment of distillery wastewater now used by other companies around the world," said Jon Grey, vice president of global operations for Bacardi. "We use this anaerobic digester technology to treat wastewater which derives energy. In that process, micro-organisms naturally degrade waste materials, creating biogas, or methane, in the process." These natural biogas are fed into boilers which help power the distillery. The process saves roughly half of the energy required to run them, reducing the need for imported gas or oil.

Tags: bacardi, bacardi rum, BacardiRum, green, Puerto Rico primaries vote US statehood, turbine-points, wastewater systems, windmills

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A Great Day in Cocktail History

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Looking for an excuse to celebrate? July 19 is National Daiquiri Day. The drink many people associate with author Ernest Hemingway was in fact invented in 1898 in the small iron mining town of Daiquiri near Santiago, Cuba by an engineer named Jennings Stockton Cox.

He came up with the drink, a simple blend of lime juice, sugar and local Bacardi rum (est. 1862) over cracked ice as a way to boost the morale of mine workers during the sizzling summer months. It was such a success Cox not only received a generous stipend from the mining company but also a monthly gallon of Bacardi.

Hemingway (above, hoisting a daiquiri) later helped to popularize the drink. Of course in Cox's day there was no question of freezing or blending. See the gallery for a traditional hand-shaken daiquiri recipe and some historical images pertaining to this classic cocktail's origins.

Gallery: National Daiquiri Day