Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Puerto Rico Cataño Casa Bacardí
Gastro Obscura

Casa Bacardí

The bat-covered home of one of the world's most popular brands of rum is located on a tropical Art Deco campus.

Cataño, Puerto Rico

Added By
Luke Spencer
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Casa Bacardi   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Casa Bacardi   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Casa Bacardi   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Casa Bacardi   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Casa Bacardi   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Casa Bacardi   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Casa Bacardi   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Casa Bacardi   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Casa Bacardi   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Casa Bacardi   Luke J Spencer / Atlas Obscura User
Display of various rums   CDVV86 / Atlas Obscura User
Train in the distillery grounds   CDVV86 / Atlas Obscura User
  Antahny / Atlas Obscura User
  e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

On the outskirts of the working class barrios of Cataño, Puerto Rico, lies an oasis for the discerning cocktail sipper, the Casa Bacardí. Inside the giant iron gates, adorned with the distinctive bat emblem, the world’s largest Bacardí distillery looks more like an exclusive country club. The lush manicured lawns and tropical palms, decorated with modern art sculptures, provide the perfect canvas for the beautiful Art Deco “Cathedral of Rum” building.

The journey to the Casa is worthwhile, with tours around the distillery where over 100,000 liters of rum are produced every single day. Beginning at the docks of the old Spanish colonial city of San Juan, the Lancha de Cataño ferry service takes you across the Bahía de San Juan for just 50 cents. Upon disembarking at Cataño docks, you will find an old-school shuttle service to the Casa Bacardí for just three dollars.

Despite being one of the worlds largest brands, Bacardí is still a family-run company. Founder Don Facundo Bacardí Massó, a Spaniard who immigrated to Cuba in 1830, created a unique method of distilling rum that turned it from the drink of choice for Royal Navy tars into a refined spirit. Today, Bacardí is made almost identically according to Don Facundo’s original secret process of fermentation, distillation, and charcoal filtration.

His first distillery in Cuba opened in 1862. The building’s rafters were home to a family of fruit bats, from which he created the distinctive Bacardí logo. Though Don Facundo’s eldest son was imprisoned and eventually exiled from Cuba during the Independence Wars of the 1890s, the postwar introduction of Coca Cola to Cuba by US troops produced one of the world’s simplest and most popular mixed drinks: the Cuba Libre!, or rum and Coke (with a slice of lime). As Bacardí grew more successful, further factories were opened in Mexico and Puerto Rico. But the Cuban unrest of the 1960s saw the Bacardí family leave Cuba for good, bringing their distillery in Puerto Rico to the fore.

Today, tours around the elegant, leafy Casa Bacardí show some aspects of the secret distillation process, and a well-appointed museum features examples of the very first Bacardí bottles, along with some of the hundreds of medals won by the brand. The tour concludes with an outdoor bar where samples of Don Facundo’s historic rums can be enjoyed. The highlight of a visit to the Casa Bacardí, however, is the distilling building itself—one of the most glorious examples of tropical Art Deco architecture to be found anywhere in the Caribbean.

Related Tags

Food Food Museums Bats Factories Animals Museums

Know Before You Go

The Casa Bacardí is closed on Mondays.

Community Contributors

Added By

Luke J Spencer

Edited By

e1savage, CDVV86, Antahny

  • e1savage
  • CDVV86
  • Antahny

Published

February 11, 2015

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.diffordsguide.com/class-magazine/read-online/en/2013-05-03/page-6/the-bacardi-distiller
Casa Bacardí
PR-165
KM 6.2
Cataño, Puerto Rico, 00949
United States
18.458211, -66.139265
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

El Cañuelo

Toa Baja, Puerto Rico

miles away

Ruins of Lazaretto de Isla de Cabras

Toa Baja, Puerto Rico

miles away

Pirámide de Cataño

Cataño, Puerto Rico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

United States

Places 55
Stories 13

Nearby Places

El Cañuelo

Toa Baja, Puerto Rico

miles away

Ruins of Lazaretto de Isla de Cabras

Toa Baja, Puerto Rico

miles away

Pirámide de Cataño

Cataño, Puerto Rico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

United States

Places 55
Stories 13

Related Stories and Lists

The Ultimate Guide to the World's Food Museums

List

By Sam O'Brien

40 Museums Devoted Entirely to Food, From the Delicious to the Disgusting

List

By Molly McBride Jacobson

Related Places

  • Sample food at Sample Kobo.

    Gujō-shi, Japan

    Sample Kobo

    Make your own fake treats at this factory and workshop in the epicenter of Japan's food replica industry.

  • Coming off the line.

    Avery Island, Louisiana

    Tabasco Museum and Factory

    For 150 years one family has been producing the iconic hot sauce on a bayou island made of salt.

  • The fisherman left their tools, as well as many personal belongings

    Eskifjorður, Iceland

    Randulff’s Sea House

    This remote eatery and museum is preserved as a time capsule of a small Icelandic fishing town.

  • Dublin Dr Pepper being bottled.

    Dublin, Texas

    Dublin Bottling Works

    This soda factory is one of the last in America to use real cane sugar despite the protestations of Dr Pepper.

  • Learn about all aspects of the seltzer-making process.

    Brooklyn, New York

    Brooklyn Seltzer Museum

    Try an original egg cream at this museum located inside one of the last surviving old-fashioned seltzer factories in America.

  • The “Bakauke Inari” shrine.

    Niigata, Japan

    Niigata Rice Cracker Museum & Bakauke Inari

    This snack factory boasts several tributes to its popular line of rice crackers, including a quasi-shrine.

  • A canning machine.

    Stavanger, Norway

    Iddis: The Norwegian Printing and The Norwegian Canning Museum

    A former factory now pays tribute to a local industry fueled by sardines.

  • Toronto, Ontario

    Redpath Sugar Refinery Museum

    In the back of a bustling factory lurks a quiet museum honoring the history of Canadian sugar manufacturing.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.