Family Spirits: The Bacardi Saga: Rum, Riches and Revolution

Since the late 1970s Bacardi rum has been the world's number-one spirit brand. Yet few people outside the industry know that Bacardi is a private, family controlled group of companies...

Since the business was founded in Cuba in the mid-1800s, it has been intertwined with the Cuban revolution. Following Castro's coup, in 1959, Bacardi's extensive Cuban assets were expropriated, and the family members were forced to leave the island. They resettled in Miami and Nassau, Bermuda and Mexico, Canada and Spain.

This geographic diaspora coincided with a spiritual rebirth. Bacardi fought the Castro dictatorship for the right to use its own name, and won. Aided by brilliant advertising, and a clever strategic link with Coca-Cola, it grew.

All the while, exiled family members have found the Cuban government, funding anti-Castro missions and waiting to return home.

CONTENTS: Rum & Revolution * Answered Prayers * Success at Last * Bathing in Bacardi * The Barons of Booze * From Pimpernel to Politician * Taking to the Hills * From Dream to Nightmare * Expropriation: Atlas Shrugs * La Lucha & Betrayal * Survival & Success * Dropping the Pilot * Eddy Nielsen's Brief Honeymoon * Diversifying into Trouble * Bacardi Meets Bonfire of the Vanities * Heading for the Legal Hills * Enough is Enough * Family Portraits * The Other Bacardi Family * Cuba Libre?