The Bacardi Rum Factory in Cataño draws 150,000 yearly tourists, making the facility the second-most visited attraction in Puerto Rico.

By Nassdja Valentin
Latino Reporter

There are few signs pointing the way to the famed Bacardi Rum factory, but more than 150,000 visitors per year find their way to the world’s largest distillery.

The drive takes you past a small town nestled in the countryside to the 127-acre complex overlooking San Juan Bay that is Puerto Rico’s second most-visited tourist attraction.

It’s not surprising. After all, everyone seems to know the Bacardi name. It is the leading premium rum brand in the world, according to company officials. The name Bacardi has almost become synonymous with the word rum.

“I’m not going to lie to you. It’s a fun industry because the products — we make fun products,” said Joaquin Bacardi, CEO and president.

When visitors arrive at the sprawling property in Cataño, about a 25-minute drive from San Juan, they find a modern pavilion meant to resemble a bat in flight and evoke the company’s iconic logo.

Inside the pavilion, where tourists obtain tickets for a free tour of the Bacardi grounds, there is dazzling display of all the Bacardi spirits, everything from Bacardi Apple to Bacardi Razz.

From there, they can go to the 17,000-square foot visitor center, which offers a historical timeline of the company’s beginning and a colorful replica of Emilio Bacardi’s country house in Cuba. Emilio was the eldest son of the founder of Bacardi.

However, the real gem of the complex – the bottling factory itself–  is off-limits to tourists. There, the sound of the assembly lines is almost deafening (ear plugs are required). The organized chaos produces an average of 200 to 450 bottles a minute, depending on the size of the bottle.

The production frenzy is needed because the factory produces 83 percent of the Bacardi rum sold globally. According to the Puerto Rican Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO), Puerto Rico is the leader in rum sales in the United States, with a 70 percent market share.

Those lucky enough to get close enough to one of the warehouses where barrels are stored for fermentation might not need the free drinks offered to visitors — a whiff is all it takes. A strong molasses smell mixes with the faint aroma of the beginnings of rum.

It’s what the rum-makers call the “angel’s share” – a little bit of Bacardi for the heavens.

Bacardi’s Economic Impact on Puerto Rico

• Bacardi is the largest single tax revenue contributor to the Puerto Rico Treasury Department, paying more than $300 million in taxes last year.
• The distillery in Cataño is the largest one in the world, producing 83 percent of the Bacardi rum sold globally.
• Organizations that benefit from the tax revenue include the University of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican Tourism Company.

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