Bacardi 1909 Superior Heritage Limited Edition

Objective Notes
Very Smooth (on the RnD scale of Harsh-Smooth-Very Smooth-Extremely Smooth)

Bacard’si Heritage Limited Edition Superior Rum is crystal clear in color due to being charcoal filtered before bottling. Clean on the nose with no off aromas and just a light whiff of alcohol which is pleasantly surprising as it’s bottled at the original 1909 strength of 44.5%. Initial taste is dry delivering warmth and a light body though slightly fuller than you might expect. A semi-sweet and very faint vanilla flavor is noted along with spiciness leads to a long and dry finish that lingers warmly on your tongue and in your throat. 

Anecdotal Notes

Roger – Bacardi Rum is the most well known brand in the world. They have done a great job in spreading their brand name and almost making it ubiquitous with the term rum. Now we can debate the positives and negatives of that but one thing we can’t argue is Bacardi’s success. On February 4, 1862 Facundo Bacardí Massó purchased the first Bacardi rum distillery on El Matadero Street, in the town of Santiago de Cuba, for 3,500 pesos. 

Facundo recognized then that the rum that was being produced at the time was too harsh and unrefined for the fast growing middle-class in Cuba. So he created a new process of distilling rum starting with a unique strain of yeast that is still used to this day. Two separate styles of rums were produced for the final product. A single pass distilled spirit was used to create a flavor base and profile and a second spirit that was distilled several times to create a lighter and more delicate rum. The rums were then aged in oak barrels for one to two years before being blended together. Bacardi pioneered a new charcoal filtering process which was used to clarify it back to a crystal clear color perfect for cocktails while retaining the flavors obtained from time in the barrels.

Bacardi’s 1909 Superior Heritage Limited Edition Rum was produced to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the original Bacardi Daiquiri’s first journey around the world (it was created in Cuba in 1898 by a U.S. Engineer Jennings Stockton Cox). This trip was possible due to a chance encounter between Cox and a  young U.S. Naval Officer, Lucius Johnson, who fell in love with the cocktail and took the rum and recipe with him and shared it during his world travels.

The special bottle used for this Limited Edition of Ron Superior is based on one of the oldest bottles found in the Bacardi archives and dates to 1909. Meticulous and painstaking detail went into the reproduction of the bottle and labels down to the amount of airspace at the top of the bottle to ensure no expansion problems  occurred during transit to hot climates. Distilled at Bacardi’s oldest continually operating distillery, La Galarza in Mexico.  It’s bottled at the original strength of 44.5% (vs. 40% in the USA and 37.5% in the UK and Europe). To present the historically accurate reproduced bottle and rum, Bacardi spared no expense with a first class wooded case painted satin black in color with the name of the rum printed in gold and the Bacardi Bat symbol displayed on the front. A very nice brass locking device ensure it stays closed. Inside it is red velvet lined and perfectly molded to hold the bottle in place. One of the very best packages for a bottle of rum that you can expect to find. They truly went first class with it. 

Taster’s Opinion

Roger – Bacardi 1909 Superior Heritage Limited Edition is a really great addition to any rum collection. Celebrate the history of the largest and most influential rum distillers in the world and it’s accurate representation of how Bacardi Ron Superior was made and bottled back in 1909. The flavor profile hasn’t changed and is certified to be the same as it was when the first bottles were produced almost 150 years ago by Facundo Bacardí Massó. It’s similar in flavor to the Bacardi Ron Superior that you can buy in just about any liquor store on earth today but at it’s original 89 proof. I wouldn’t anticipate it to be available long so if you are interested I’d obtain a bottle and enjoy some rum history in a fine package. Sure you could just go buy a bottle of regular Bacardi Superior for half the price but why not have something special?

Dave – Bacardi’s 1909 is neither highly aromatic nor complex on the nose,exuding scents of ethyl alcohol and sweet lemon citrus.

The initial taste is pleasantly warm, and buttery flavors are an instant surprise, followed quickly by lemon zest delivered on a medium weight body and lasting through to the dry finish.  Bacardi 1909 offers a simple clean taste that’s characteristic of the comapny’s refined Puerto Rican style rum.  At over $30 a bottle, its smack dab in the heart of sipping rum price range, yet it’s most suited to mixing with cocktails.  I prefer it in a premium mojito, where its clean taste and mild citrus flavor make it an ideal rum.  If you enjoy collecting instant classics with upscale pacakging, then Bacardi 1909 should be on your shopping list.  Otherwise it is a delicious mixing rum that  would be a good value at half the price.

Taster's Rating (10 is best):  Roger - 8.5 Flasks, Dave – 8 Flasks.

 

Most recently tasted by:  Roger and Dave, May 2011 at RnD’s North and South Tasting Room, USA.

*750ml unless otherwise specified.