Planning a trip? No need to get your passport ready because here in Puerto Rico passports are not required for US citizens. When spending time on this lush tropical island it’s important to immerse yourself in the local culture, seek new places, taste unique foods and explore the natural beauty – and not forget about the local rum, Bacardí.

Seeped in history and tradition, Bacardi is the most famous rum in Puerto Rico. When the Bacardi family discovered fruit bats living in the rafters of their first distillery they decided to feature the bat on the label of their award-winning spirit. For the family, it was a sign of good luck, but for the rest of us, it’s the sign of a fabulous tasting rum.

Bacardí Rum: Where to Try it in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico takes the title “Cathedral of Rum” seriously which is why I recommend visiting Casa Bacardí in Cataño. Participate in a mixology class, indulge in a rum tasting, or embark on a fascinating historical tour.

Since 1862 the Bacardí family, led by Don Facundo Bacardí Masso, made their own unique blends in Cuba with a revolutionary rum-making process using charcoal filtration. The result? It changed the historically harsh unrefined grog into a smooth, light bodied spirit. After the move from Cuba to Puerto Rico in 1936, Don Facundo’s talent for refining the quality of the family’s rum set the standard, catapulting Bacardí toward achieving over 550 awards and making Bacardí the number one rum in the world.

The Casa Bacardí Welcome Center

The Bacardí oceanfront pavilion is in the shape of the wings of a bat.

The Casa Bacardí tours and classes all have a fun vibe, there’s space to hang out, opportunities to try different rums, and relax. It’s a great way to spend the afternoon. Whether you attend a historical tour, a rum tasting or a mixology class, you’re greeted at the oceanfront pavilion with a welcome cocktail in a commemorative Bacardí cup.

Guests receive a refreshing welcome cocktail with every tour or class. This mojito is a combination of white rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water, and mint. The combination of sweetness, citrus, and mint flavors complement the rum.

Bacardí Mixology Class

We were given everything needed to make three fantastic cocktails; Cuba Libre, daiquiri, and mojito!

As a rum lover, I wanted to be sure I returned home with the skills needed to make the perfect Cuba Libre, daiquiri, and mojito for my friends and family. I attended the mixology class, which didn’t let me down. With my own bar set up and the direction of a highly skilled instructor, I used jiggers, shakers, and stirrers, learned how to “season” the ice, smack and muddle the mint, and mix three perfect cocktails using Bacardí white and gold rums. 

My perfect Cuba libre!

The mixology class, however, proved to be so much more. The fascinating historical tour and distillery visit provided me with an understanding of the long-standing relationship between Puerto Rico and rum and an appreciation for what it takes to make over 132,000 liters of this spirit a day. 

At the factory, you get to see the impressive fermentation vats.

Did you know some say pirates helped launch the popularity of rum?

In the 16th century when sugar production became the heartbeat of Puerto Rico’s economy, sugarcane juice (guarapo), extracted and boiled at a high temperature, yielded molasses. When molasses is mixed with water and fermented, the result is, you guessed it, rum!

Some say the popularity of rum was due to pirates!

The Caribbean was at the center of major trade and exploration routes. This attracted pirates who used rum not only for drinking but for currency too. It was the Royal Navy’s job to fight the pirates. The rum they confiscated from captured pirate ships became so popular that they included in the daily rations of the seaman. Rum’s popularity spread to colonial North America, Europe, and Australia.

I am the proud recipient of a personalized Bacardi mixologist certificate.

The historical tour and the mixology class were great fun. With my personalized honorary Bacardi mixologist certificate in hand, I made my way to the retail shop where I purchased a stirrer and muddler.

The gift shop is also where there’s a unique opportunity to fill a personalized bottle with Bacardí’s Special Reserve Rum. Decide what to engrave on the bottle, then fill and seal with their signature red wax, personalize the label with your name, and record your name and bottle number in the Casa Bacardí registry. You will receive a special padded box to preserve the bottle along with a photo of you holding a bottle in front of the barrel it came from. It’s a fun way to commemorate your visit to Bacardí and makes a superior gift for someone special!

When in Puerto Rico I highly recommend you visit Casa Bacardí and attend one of their tours or classes. There are three to choose from.

Bacardí Tours & Classes

Bacardí Rum: Where to Try it in Puerto Rico.

The Bacardí tram transports visitors during the tour.

$15 Bacardí Historical Tour 

Includes:

• Visitor’s Center Historical Tour: Learn about the past, present, and future of the Bacardí brand and how it evolved from being a small rum manufacturer in Santiago de Cuba to becoming one of the largest rum producers today.
• Commemorative Bacardí Cup
• Bacardí Special premium “Welcome” rum cocktail for adults at the waterfront pavilion.
• Access to the retail shop and self-fill experience where you fill your own bottle of Special Reserve Rum.
• Complimentary Wi-Fi

$50 Bacardí Rum Tasting

Includes:

• Rum Tasting: Guests learn about the attributes and taste of the 5 finest rums within the Bacardí portfolio including Bacardí’s Legacy rum, which is only available at Casa Bacardí.
• Guided tour where visitors discover how premium rums are made, the craft of the barrels and blending, and the history of the family-owned company.
• Commemorative Bacardí Cup
• Bacardí Special premium “Welcome” rum Cocktail for adults at the waterfront pavilion.
• Access to the retail shop and self-fill experience where you fill your own bottle of Special Reserve Rum.
• Complimentary WiFi

$60 Bacardí Mixology Class

Includes:

• Guests learn how to prepare 3 legendary cocktails behind the bar with everything needed to make three classic cocktails: Cuba Libre, daiquiri, and mojito
• Guided historical tour and distillery visit where visitors learn about the rum making process.
• Commemorative Bacardí Cup
• Bacardí Special premium “Welcome” rum Cocktail for adults at the waterfront pavilion.
• Personalized honorary Bacardi mixologist certificate.
• Access to the retail shop and self-fill experience where you fill your own bottle of Special Reserve Rum.
• Complimentary WiFi

Is it 5:00 yet?  It is somewhere, which means it’s time for some rum.

Passionate, warm, and welcoming, I encourage you to visit the island and when you do, make Casa Bacardí your first stop. Let us raise our glasses to all the pirates from days gone by and to those at Bacardí who make the spirit of rum possible.

Casa Bacardi

Carretera 165, Catano, 00949, Puerto Rico

+1 787-788-8400

 Monday                     Closed

Tuesday – Friday       9:00am to 4:30pm
Saturday & Sunday  12:00am to 4:30pm

 Rum Cocktail Recipes

My mixology tour at Casa Bacardí was complimentary, but all views are my own and did not influence the outcome of this article. 

Sandy Ruyack is the owner and writer of the popular and award-winning adventure travel blog, Boulevards and Byways. Her stories and photographs reflect her love of travel to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean – providing travel guides, destination tips, and vacation inspiration. Through transformative travel experiences she encourages readers to step out of their comfort zones and take the road less traveled. Boulevards and Byways has provided content for an array of hotels, tour companies, and travel publications.

On the agency side, her company Write Choice Marketing, is a direct response marketing and digital/social media/online management firm specializing in travel industry and nonprofit sectors. She provides account and content management for some of the best brands and charities. As a nonprofit direct response expert and writer for some of the largest fundraising organizations in the United States, she uses her years of expertise to execute strategic plans for online and direct mail appeals for nonprofits, and assists the travel industry with growth and monetization through engaging content strategy and storytelling.

A native New Yorker, she lives with her husband and 20-year-old cat Titan, and splits her time between Brewster, NY and Luquillo Puerto Rico

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For more things to do in Puerto Rico, check out

Self Guided Walking Tour of Old San Juan

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There’s nothing better than rum punch on the beach.

As a by-product of the sugar making process, for rum production in Puerto Rico became a major industry in the 16^th century. Sugar cane juice (guarapo) is extracted and boiled at a high temperature. The process yields a syrup called molasses, which when mixed with water and is fermented, produces the distilled spirit rum.  This is just a taste of Puerto Rican  rum history and here are two places you can visit to learn more.

Don Q Rum & the Serralles Castle in Ponce

A Taste of Puerto Rican Rum History

A refreshing mojito is my favorite rum drink.

If you’re interested in the history of rum production in Puerto Rico, the Serralles Castle museum in Ponce is an interesting place to start.  This elaborate summer home of the family of Juan Serralles, the founder of the Serralles Rum Distillery, is the producer of the very popular Don Q Rum which is known for its distinctive flavor.   Build in the 1930’s, the mansion sits high on a hill with stunning views of Ponce and the Caribbean Ocean from its elaborate gardens and terraces.  Tours are offered of the mansion, which contain many of the family’s antiques, and includes information about the history of sugar cane production and rum distillation.   You unfortunately do not get any rum samples to taste here, this is strictly Puerto Rican rum history.   The rum is produced at the Serralles distillery in town, but they do not give tours.

You can purchase a ticket to just visit the castle or you can buy a combination ticket which will also include the Cruceta del Bigia and the Japanese Gardens which are across the street.  The Cruceta del Vigía or the Watchman’s Cross is a 100-foot-tall cross used by early Spanish settlers in the 1800s as a look-out for invaders and pirates.  This ten-story vertical tower with a horizontal sky bridge provides amazing views of the city of Ponce and the Caribbean Sea.  A Japanese garden was built on the grounds near the cross with the purpose of encouraging spiritual peace and harmony by the means of nature and Zen music. The garden features small lakes, rivers, bonsais, and bridges.

Hours for the Castle: Thursday through Sunday 9:30-5:50. Admission can include the museum only, the museum and gardens, or the museum, gardens, and crucifix.
Address: #17 Sector El Vigia, Pso De La Cruceta, Ponce
Phone: 787.259.1774
Web: Museo Castillo Serrallés or castilloserralles.org

The Bacardi Factory in San Juan

At the Bacardi factory you will learn how to make delicious rum drinks.

The Bacardi Visitors tour in San Juan is a popular tourist destination devoted to the history of Bacardi Rum.  The company actually began in Cuba and moved over to Puerto Rico in 1936 before Fidel Castro took power. The Bacardi brand’s fermentation process gives Bacardi rum its clear color and distinctive taste.

There are three tours:

• $15 History Tour Includes: Learning about the past, present, and future of the Bacardi brand and how it evolved from being a small rum manufacturer in Santiago de Cuba to becoming one of the largest rum producers today.  This informative tour takes you through the history of sugar production and rum making and includes a movie about the Bacardi family and their rum production business. You receive: A commemorative Bacardi cup, a Bacardi special “welcome” cocktail for adults, and refreshments for children.
• $45 Rum Tasting Tour includes: All of the above and PLUS guests will learn how to prepare a cocktail and learn about the attributes of the finest rums within the Bacardi portfolio. A  Distillery Tour and access to the Cathedral of Rum with an assigned Brand Specialist is also included .You receive all of the above, plus an  Honorary Certificate of Completion.
• $45 Mixology Tour Includes: All of the above PLUS a class on how to prepare three legendary cocktails: Cuba Libre, Mojito and Daiquiri.

Hours: Monday to Saturday from 9:00am to 4:30pm
Sunday from 10:00am to 4:30pm

Address: Carretera 165, Catano, 00949, Puerto Rico

Phone: +1 787-788-8400

Website: casabacardi.org

Ron del Barrilito Rum

Ron Barrilito rum is a local favorite.

I would be remiss if I didn’t write about Ron del Barrilito, Puerto Rico’s oldest rum brand, and one highly esteemed, it is often called a “cult rum”.  Lauded for its deep, almost whiskey-like complexity, the two-star rum rests for three years, and the three-star is a blend of six- to ten-year-aged rums. Barrilito only exports to Spain and a few states.

As the story goes, in 1871, Pedro Fernández took over the property where his father was running a sugarcane plantation.  He had been producing small amounts of rum for guests. Fernández developed the secret rum formula, aged in Spanish sherry barrels that his family still uses today, and produced a smooth and mellow rum.   The small family run factory in Bayamon is not seeking endless growth. They only want to make excellent rum.

It’s 5:00!

Time for a Pina Colada.

It’s 5:00 somewhere, so it’s time for a taste of Puerto Rican rum history. Cuba Libre, Mojito, Pina Colada, and coconut rum are some of my favorite rum drinks. Which one should I have today?  Which one is your favorite? The history of rum and its long-standing relationship with Puerto Rico must be tasted to truly understand The culture.

Read more here:

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5 Things to do in Puerto Rico

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