Bacardi Limited: 1862 Cocktail Bar

Planning Factory

Short description

Bacardi Limited, the world’s largest privately-held spirits company, was founded in 1862 by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó. Facundo’s wife Doña Amalia suggested the bat as the symbol of BACARDÍ rum after noticing a colony of fruit bats in the distillery and recognizing their importance to the Spanish and Cuban Taíno Indians as symbols of good health, family unity, and good fortune. Seven generations later, the company remains family owned and proud of its Cuban origination story.

Bacardi Limited unveiled an achievement in architectural and bar design, as well as a unique brand experience while paying tribute to its family heritage: 1862 Cocktail Bar. Situated in the heart of the Bacardi Limited global headquarters in Bermuda, the entire portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels are displayed for the ability to appreciate the breadth of the portfolio stemming from one family’s achievement. This space is a living monument, honoring, and expanding upon, two primary aesthetics: 1920’s Art Deco and Nouveau from the original Edifico Bacardi in Cuba, as well as the forward-thinking concept by renowned architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe as “office without walls”.

A portrait wall of the Bacardi family Founding Fathers is flanked by rotating installations of artifacts. The Bacardi signature is utilized in wood inlay and metallic embroidery. Pillows are covered in fabrics recreated from an archival scarf. A multitude of Bacardi bat devices are displayed including railing finals and purse hooks. A family lure oil painting is displayed leather-bound cocktail lists.

The light fixtures, columns, and diamond motif from Edifico Bacardi are visible on coasters with ‘20’s photography, inviting patrons to explore the visual clues that encourage comparison but also, immersion. While in 1862 Cocktail Bar, you are part of the celebration of the Bacardi family heritage and the company’s purpose to Make Moments Matter.