Bacardi Global Travel Retail has launched two sipping rums – Bacardi Reserva Limitada and Bacardi Gran Reserva 8 Anos Ron – at selected premium airports, for a limited time and in numbered bottles.
The new launches, which follow the spring 2014 launch of Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro De Ron, “add further depth to the Bacardi strategy to inject new dynamism into the rum category”, the company said.
Created in 1862 by founder Don Facundo Bacardí Massó, Bacardi Gran Reserva 8 Anos Ron (RRP: £32.99 for 1L) remained in the private reserve of the Bacardi family for seven generations until 1988 when it was released in selected domestic markets. It is now being offered in global travel retail in an exclusive gift box presentation.
Bacardi Gran Reserva 8 Anos comes from a selection of barrel-aged reserve rums. According to Bacardi, the Maestro de Ron (Master Blender) shapes its flavour and character using a blend of charcoals to remove or reduce any dominant flavours and create balance and smoothness, orchestrating the development of multiple layers of flavour that are experienced when the rum is sipped.
Bacardi Gran Reserva 8 Anos Ron is also known as “˜OCHO’, the brand’s abbreviated name said to be used by leading bartenders. Its presentation box includes a wood-finish interior and incorporates a side-sliding opening. The tone of the box is complemented by black and gold features, including gold foil and embossed text and the iconic Bacardi bat logo.
On the palate, Bacardi Gran Reserva 8 Anos Ron offers complex, layered, deep and mellow flavours of dried fruits, spices, toasted nuts, butterscotch, vanilla and oak. Serving suggestion is neat or over ice but the rum can also add depth of flavour to popular gold rum cocktails, such as the traditional “˜Rum Old Fashioned’, according to Bacardi.
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Bacardi Gran Reserva 8 Anos Ron is presented globally for the first time in travel retail in an exclusive gift box presentation |
Bacardi Reserva Limitada (RRP: £99.99 for 1L) is an ultra-premium rum originated to commemorate the 2003 opening of the Casa Bacardi Visitor Center in Puerto Rico. Described as a luxurious golden rum with a well-balanced and complex character, it was created by the Bacardi Maestro de Ron as a personal blend for the Bacardi family, in honour of founder Don Facundo Bacardi Massó.
Based on Bacardi’s rarest rums that have been aged in oak barrels for 10 to 16 years resulting in an average of 12, the blend is balanced with a touch of 1yo rum to develop a light freshness on the palate, Bacardi said. Similarly, the Maestro de Ron shapes the flavours of this rum by using a mix of charcoals to give Bacardi Reserva Limitada its balance and smoothness.
Bacardi Reserva Limitada has a clean and dry oak flavour, the sweetness of dulce de leche, vanilla, mocha and toasted almond notes and a rounded fruitiness of dried raisins and prunes. It is said to be ideal for sipping neat, with the perfect serve at room temperature, preferably in a Cognac-style crystal balloon glass for maximum aroma and flavour.
Bacardi Global Travel Retail Marketing Manager Ian Rollason commented: “Our Bacardi collection of premium and ultra-premium rums has the quality, heritage and appeal to deliver new benchmarks in rum quality. Alongside the sublime quality of the liquid itself and the bottle presentation we have created stunning, heritage-led secondary packing that adds to the “˜brand story’ on shelf, enhancing the appeal for gifting and to rum aficionados looking to add to their own portfolio.”
Outlining Bacardi’s ambition for category expansion, Bacardi Global Travel Retail Managing Director Mike Birch said: “We have a powerful vision for rum, driven by the category leading position of the Bacardi brand. We are certain that innovation and differentiation will lead significant rum category growth as a whole. As a category, rum under-indexes in travel retail compared to domestic markets and we can change this by creating finely targeted, authentic premiumisation opportunities. We will continue to leverage the ultra-premium expressions of Bacardi to inspire sophisticated and intriguing drinking occasions among rum, malt and cognac aficionados alike.”
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Bacardi Reserva Limitada is described as a luxurious golden rum with a well-balanced and complex character | |
