Make your Holiday Parties Fun, and Lawsuit Free

     This is the biggest season for parties and the one that the most lawsuits arise from.   I ran across an article this morning in "Law 360" that offers some pretty good ideas for preventing your holiday fun from turning into legal grief.  Below is an abbreviated portion of the article.

     Here are five tips that employment attorneys say can help keep a lawsuit from crashing your soiree. 

 

Keep Alcohol Consumption Down 

     Most of the legal problems that come out of holiday parties start when an employee has had one too many, lawyers say. 

     The most cautious employers will choose to cut alcohol out of their holiday bashes entirely, but those that do choose to make booze available during their parties should take precautions to cut down on their legal risks. 

     An open bar can spell disaster, so lawyers recommend setting up a cash bar or giving employees a limited number of drink tickets.

 

Pick the Right Time and Location 

     The time and place of the party will go a long way toward setting the tone, and attorneys say picking the right ones can help cut back on excessive drinking and other inappropriate behaviors. 

     A daytime event is far less likely to be perceived as a bacchanalia where employees are free to lose control. 

     "One thing employers can do is have an afternoon event rather than an evening event," Billows said. "It can help with overindulgence and help keep concerns about behavior in check." 

     "The time of the week can also make a difference," she said, explaining that parties on weekdays are likely to get less rowdy than weekend events. "It can have an affect when people know they have to work the next day."

 

Don't Make it Mandatory 

     While an employer might want everyone to join in on the fun, it's important to make attendance totally voluntary, lawyers say. 

     Making attendance mandatory sets the employer up for a host of potential legal pitfalls, from wage-and-hour questions to workers' compensation issues if an employee gets hurt at the party.

Ask Managers to Watch for Trouble 

     No one wants to be the party police, but in order to head off potential problems before they boil over into lawsuit fodder, it's best to designate some managers to monitor behavior, lawyers say.  

     "As a preventive thing, I would say have some managers or supervisors who are going to be at the party that you have talked to in advance and said, 'Hey, if you see something inappropriate we would like you to speak up,'" Michael Kramer of Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC said.  

     These managers should be briefed in advance on steering employees away from situations that could be construed as harassment or from exchanges that look like they are becoming too heated.

 

 

 

Remind Employees that Workplace Rules Still Apply 

     Attorneys say that even though no employer wants to feel like a Grinch, it is worth reminding your employees that even at a party, professional standards apply. 

     Employees should be told that the company's anti-harassment policies, dress code and conduct rules will all be in effect during the shindig, lawyers say. 

     "One thing the employer can do is send an email around in advance of the party encouraging people to have a good time but also reminding people of the company harassment policy," Kramer said. 

     "I would say something like: Have a great time and enjoy each others' company, but let's avoid any career-altering behavior," he said. "To me, that's being a little humorous and not too heavy handed, but it is a subtle reminder that if you screw this up, you may not be working here any more."

 

     You can read more at http://www.law360.com/employment/articles/491022/5-tips-to-keep-your-holiday-party-merry-and-lawsuit-free

 

     These are some really good ideas if you are going to throw a company or even a private party during the up and coming holiday season.  I really do not want to loose any of my readers to over use of alcohol or worse yet bad decisions.   ;o)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

America is Getting Tired of Well Cocktails!

     In the past couple of years, there has been a movement to much higher quality cocktails and liquors by the American consumers.  In my little corner of the world, we are selling many of the upper tier rums that in the past few people would look at.  It seems that people are learning that rum has a fine side too.  Like scotch and bourbon, there are fine aged rums out there with flavor and character that no other category can match.   The days of flavored distillate and biting white pirate rum are waning.   I am asked constantly what is my favorite rum, but I have to answer that depending on my mood, there are many of them that are my favorite at that particular moment.  Rum is very much a palate spirit and every mood requires a different taste.

    Rum is undergoing a revolution of the category and there is much more time being spent developing upper tier expression and less and less emphasis on the "well" grade rums.  The fact that rum was always the cheapest liquor on the shelf has hurt the efforts of so many of the developers of quality rums for so many years.   The "cover-over tax refund" for the US territories hasn't helped either.  This is just another incentive to make a large quantity of low grade bulk rum and dump it on the American market.

    If the Rum Category is to grow, it will be in the premium and ultra premium sectors of the category.  I feel that there is a space for fine rums just like there is for any other fine aged spirit and it is rapidly finding its niche in the spirit world.  If the rum producers keep their eye on the market and give the public what it is craving, then the growth will continue and there will be many fine rums out there to be your "go to" rum in the near future.  ;o)

Grenada Farewell

     The beautiful view from my window at the Flamboyant Resort and Hotel is a sight that will be etched in my mind as long as I live.  The Spice Island of Grenada is one of the most beautiful and fun islands I have ever visited.   It was an honor to have been invited to be a part of the 2013 Caribbean Rum and Beer Festival, and an experience that I will always remember.   Enjoy the view, and if the opportunity arises, don't miss a chance to visit this fabulous island in the southeastern Caribbean.  ;o)

Judging the Rums

So much rum, so little time

    The trip to Grenada is about judging the rums for the Caribbean Rum and Beer Festival.   This is a lot of fun being with some of my close, but far away rum friends.   This is a task that all of us  take very serious and do with the dedication that the rum producers put into the products that they produce.   Some are very good and others are not so much.   Either way each rum deserves the same level of evaluation.  It is a lot easier to examine the fine aged rums, but the whites, over proofs and flavored rums deserve the same attention.  

     The job requires us to taste all 63 of the presented rums and evaluate the first the same way that we do the last one.   The consumption of water and bland water crackers in between tastes to cleanse the palate and give the stomach something to absorb some the alcohol slowing its travel to the brain.    These were tasted over a 4 and a half hour period, and an 45 minute lunch break en between,   Fortunately, the over proof rums were saved for the end, they can really take a toll if they are consumed too early in the tasting.

Can you feel all of the stress?

    The tasting completed and it is time for the reveal, where we get to see how the rums did and what rums you thought that you may not have liked actually scored well in a blind tasting.   There were several new rums that I have not had the opportunity to try in the past that were quite exceptional,  The result of the CAB Tasting were released last night and I will have them as soon as they are published.  All in all this was a very well run and organized tasting with a smooth flow from one category of rum to the next.  Hats off to Cheryl Collymore and Bonnie Giordan and the entire crew of the CAB Tasting for their handling of the tasting event

The Knowledgeable Judging Panel

    The beauty of Grenada and the friend that make this event so wonderful will, with any luck bring me back next year for this event again.    You also might want to think about scheduling a Grenada vacation to coincide with this event.  It makes a really exciting tin=me exploring the island's many interesting places and sights.  ;o)

Chocolate and Old Forts

Cocoa Pod Broken Open.

     Grenada is full of surprises at every turn offering you something new to see and explore.   Just up the hill from River Antoine Distillery and Estate is the Belmont Estate.  This is a very famous chocolate factory produces chocolate that is sent around the world.   Coca is harvested on the estate then is fully processed through a process of fermentation, drying, polishing, sizing, and finally processed into chocolate,


Belmont Estate Drying shed and fermenting bins

     Later we traveled over the mountains and visited Grand Etang Lake and Forest Reserve in the center of the island mountains.  This is another really interesting area with this volcanic crater that has formed a lake.   As part of the reserve there is another viewing area were Gibbon monkeys that were extremely friendly and ready to have you hand them some fruit.   These friendly creatures a really cool, but my experience with monkeys is they are best when kept at  just out of arms reach. 


Grand Lake Etang

    The sun is beginning to go down and it is time to head back down the mountain and back to the St. George area for our final stop of the day at Fort Matthews.   Built in the late 1700's, Fort Matthews was never used as a fortification, because the island had not been attacked until 1983 when it was mistakenly bombed by American forces during the 1983 invasion of Grenada.  The fort was being used as a place to keep the criminally insane at the time.   Today Fort Matthews is in a state of extreme disrepair, but it does have a unique little bar in the catacombs.  There are a number of catacombs that use to house troops and later the inmates of the insane asylum.
    The bar is a quaint little place that was a wonderful place to chill at the end of this long, but fun filled day of exploring Grenada.   ;o)

River Antoine Distillery

Water wheel powered cane crusher

    On the Northeast side of Grenada, there is a piece of rum history that is still in full operation.  The River Antoine Distillery goes back to 1785 and has been operation off and on ever since.  They produce rum in the traditional way, with a huge pot still and a water wheel driven sugar cane crusher,    In this age of computer controlled stills and fermentation tanks here operates the River Antoine  Distillery.

     The process begins with the hand harvesting of local sugar cane, hand loading it on to the conveyor belt  and finally to the crusher.  All of this powered by the very "green" water wheel and the free power of the river.

Boiling Room

     The sugar cane juice is then taken to the boiler room, heated by the spent hulls of the sugar cane.  The cane juice spends eight days in the fermentation tanks, where they reach an alcohol level of 12 to 14%.   This is an all natural process without the introduction of yeast or any other agent to speed the fermentation process.   The natural yeasts in the air produce the start of the fermentation process.



Wood Fired Still

    From the fermentation tanks the "wine" is sent to the pot still where it is heated by a wood fire to bring the alcohol level up to the desired levels.    This is the oldest type of still, it provides the heaviest forms of alcohol and the most flavorful of the alcohols.  The flow of the alcohol from the still through the hygrometers that determine when the alcohol levels are sufficient and whether or not the product needs to be  run through the still once again.   Then the pure rums are sent to bottling where they are diluted to the proper percentage and bottled.

    There is a bit of a contradiction that occurs with the system.    The concentration of sugar in cane is at its highest during the dry season (Jan. to May), the water which powers the cane press is more efficient during the rainy season (June through Dec.) when there is plenty of water in the river.

    The plant did not operate making rum throughout the year, as the sugar cane harvest is not a year round process.  They would also process chocolate, nutmeg and mace in the off seasons as did many of the estates in the area.

    This is one of the few remaining "old school" distilleries left in the world.    River Antoine Distillery is still making rum in the tradition of the 1785 era, when slaves were cutting the cane and carrying it to the distillery for processing and water and wood powered the plant.  This is a truly interesting operation, one you should not miss should you get the chance to visit this lush island.   ;o)

  

Quick Stop in Trinidad and Angostura

Beautiful view from the room here in Trinidad just at dusk and the clouds running down the mountain.

Angostura Aging  Warehouse

     A late arrival in Port of Spain, Trinidad and a fast Taxi ride to the House Of Angostura, but we just were to late to take any tour of the distillery.  However, we did get to visit the store and pick up a bottle of Single Barrel Rum for the evenings enjoyment here at the hotel.  

     My luck with arrivals and being able to see Trinidad in the two visits here have been squelched by late arrivals and early departures.  This visit is just the same, we arrived at 3pm this afternoon, cleared immigration and customs, and jumped into a taxi for a rocket ride the Angostura before it closed at 4:00 pm.   I was hoping to find a bottle of Angostura No. 1 to bring back to the US, but it won't be in the store until Tuesday of next week.   My luck is still the same, but I did manage to hat a buy on get one free on the Single Barrel, so it wasn't a total loss.  

  Oh well, it is off to Granada at 6:00 am and a tour of the River Antoine Distillery on the North side of the island with my friend Mike  Streeter, who I haven't seen in nearly a year.   Then it is time for the Caribbean Rum and Beer Festival for the rest of the week.   Keep watching, I'll bring your the stories as they occur while I'm in Granada.   ;o)

    

Traveling to Trinidad Today

     The airlines don't travel into Granada on Tuesday, so it is off to Trinidad for the day today and then off to Granada tomorrow at 6:00am.   This is not a bad thing, I'm planning on stopping by the House of Angostura and seeing what is new there.    I hear that there are several new high end rums out on the market now.   It is also a chance for my wife to see the place for the first time.   The house of Angostura is steeped in history that goes back to 1824.  It covers the development of the Angostura Bitters all the way through the present and the making of so many wonderful rums.

     I will be spending the day today in Trinidad and then it is off to Granada and the Caribbean Rum and Beer Festival for three days.   This is really proving to be an exciting
g trip, and I as so looking forward to my first visit to Granada in the morning.

     Today is Trinidad, and it has so many interesting things to see and do, and with only a short time on the ground there, I am going to make the most of the time.

    Keep following, I will keep you up to day daily of what is going on in this part of my world.  ;o)

New Images and New Ultra Premium Rums this Fall

Facundo Rums  just released this month

     It seems to be the year for a lot of new expressions of ultra premium rums and new images for existing ones.   This is a great thing in my mind, it is hopefully the first signs of a trend of higher quality in the category.  Rum has needed to put more effort into legitimate high quality expressions and less into "bulk rum" and low grade sugared rums.     This is an indication that  many of the better distillers world wide believe this to be true.   I see new expression of ultra premium coming from Flor de Cana, Bacardi, Angostura, Brugal, Diplomatico, Foursquare, Papa Pilar and many others. 

     It is also a time when many companies are introducing  new bottles and labels to bring a new and more sophisticated image for the company.  Flor de Cana has just introduced a whole new label and bottle make over in the last month.  These are very exciting and attractive bottles that will surely bring attention to their fine products.

     Diplomatico just introduced their newest vintage rum, Diplomatico Vintage 2000, a follow up on the original Vintage 1997 brought out in the fall of 2012.  I unfortunately have not had the opportunity to try this new Diplomatico rum yet, but I'm sure that I will be given the opportunity at the 2014 Miami Rum Renaissance Festival in April, or maybe able to find a bottle in a "Duty Free Shop" on my trip this week.

     Brugal has come out with their latest entries into the Ultra Premium arena with the  Siglo de Oro and Papa Andres lines.   Both of these are very special and flavorful rums that deserve your attention.   The Siglo de Oro is readily available, but there are only a very limited number of the Papa Andres made each year.

     Angostura has just released their No. 1 rum, this one I will hopefully be able to taste at the House of Angostura tomorrow when I visit there.   The Angostura Legacy is another of their recent entries to the Ultra Premium  rum world.   They also have other new expression that I intend to explore as well.

    These are very exciting times in the world of rum, and a time when the "stepchild" of the spirits industry is growing up and being recognized as a first rate spirit.  The growth of the category is a reflection of the willingness of the category to grow into the higher status of a premium spirit.  ;o)

I Can still see Pilar Sittin Here at Anchor in My Mind

    The Old Man and the Sea, the Ernest Hemingway book based on the sleepy fishing village of Cojimar, just to the east of Havana.  It is a place that sets your mind traveling back to the days when Captain Fuentes, Ernest Hemingway and some of his friends would board Pilar and head out on one of their fishing adventures.  Then upon their return would head up the hill to the La Terraza de Cojimar for food and drinks and fish tales to share with friends and fellow fishermen.   ;o)

Cojimar Fortress where Pilar would sit at anchor during Hemingway's tenure in Cuba

Mojito Criollo ?

     In researching the article about the history of the Mojito, I came across some information from the 1934 La Floridita Bar Guide Booklet.   In it I found some recipes for Mojito Criollo.   When you think of La Floridita, you think about daiquiris and Hemingway, but this is an interesting combination from one of the all time cocktail masters, Constantino Ribalaigua.

     It seems that Constantino did some experimenting with the mojito as well.  In his version he used lemon instead of lime and also made the cocktails with rum, gin and brandy.

Mojito Criollo #1

 

• 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. sugar, muddle with several mint leaves & lemon juice
• 1 1/2 oz. light rum
• Add lime shell in glass (Lime Twist)
• Fill 2/3 with shaved ice
• Fill with soda
• Add mint leaf sprig garnish
• Serve in a tall glass

 

     Mojito Criollo #2 Used Gin, and Mojito Criollo used Brandy,  these were found in the la Floridita bar guide for the era when Hemingway was hanging out there.  

 

     It is no wonder that the history of these Cuban cocktails is so blurry, between all of the ingenious barmen and the rapid changing of their cocktails and ideas  All of this in addition to the many very high quality bars that are in Havana, especially during the era of American Prohibition.  It is not much different today with the American embargo, and the mystique of Havana looming just 90 miles away.  ;o)

Where did the Mojito Come From?

     One of the most popular cocktails for today's rum drinkers is the Mojito.  It is a light and refreshing combination of rum, mint, sweetener and lime.

   The origin of this wonderful cocktail is very sketchy, but it does relate to the natives of Cuba and Sir Francis Drake.   It was known that the local South American Indians had remedies for various tropical illnesses; so a small boarding party from pirate Sir Richard Drake's ship went ashore on Cuba and came back with ingredients for a medicine which was effective for curing dysentery and scurvy. The ingredients were aguardiente de caña (a crude form of rum, translates as fire water from sugar cane) added with local tropical ingredients; lime, sugarcane juice and mint.  Drinking lime juice in itself would have been a great help in staving off scurvy and dysentery.
      Some historians contend that African slaves who worked in the Cuban sugar cane fields during the 19th century were instrumental in the cocktail's origin.  Guarapo, the sugar cane juice often used in Mojitos, was a popular drink amongst the slaves who helped coin the name of the sweet nectar.

     One of the first written records of the recipe was found in a Sloppy Joe's of Havana recipe book from the 1930's   The advent of Prohibition in the United States spurred its original owner, Jose Garcia Abeal, to change the emphasis from food service to liquor service when American tourists would visit Havana for the nightlife, the gambling and the alcohol they could not obtain back home.








"Sloppy Joe's" (Bar Menu), 1934 Mojito

§  1 Teaspoonful of sugar

 

§  One half of lime

§  1 Part of Rum

§  Seltzer water

§  Leaves of Mint

§  Shell of lime

§  Serve in a High Ball glass, with cracked ice.

 

 

     Ernest Hemingway made the mojito made at the La Bodeguita del Medio famous during his tenure in the Havana area.

  

Mojitos at "La Bodeguita del Medio":

 

§  1 teaspoon of sugar

§  1/4 oz. fresh lime juice

§  two mint sprigs (not a forest !)

 

 

 

 

 

  Crush gently ,( you don't need to make a "pesto" sauce or a puree !!),  add 1/12 oz. white Cuban rum,  add ice,   add two oz. soda water,   stir well and   garnish with a sprig of mint.

 

 

No matter how you make the Mojito, and there are many versions of this classic cocktail out there, it is a wonderful drink.   The El Floridita from a menu dated 1934 showed  offered up versions made with gin and brandy in addition to rum.  Another version known as the Old Cuban used champagne instead of soda water.   I have my own version as well, but I can save this for another blog.   Basically this is the history of the magnificent cocktail as far as I have been able to chase it down.   There are as many stories as there are people who make them, so the blurr is pretty normal for a fine cocktail like this one.   ;o)

 

The "Spice Island" of Grenada

     Grenada is know for the export of Nutmeg and Mace, beaches, and beautiful Caribbean waters.  Next week I'll be there as part of the Caribbean Rum and Beer Festival.   There is so much more to this island than just the festival.  The beautiful waters that surround it and her fantastic beaches, colorful cities and the mountains.  This 133 square mile island is packed with many beautiful sites.   There are three major distilleries on the island that produce some very fine rums for all to sample.   Grenada has history that spans from 1649, as a French Colony, to a British Colony, to Independence in 1974.  After the independence there was a revolution, and American Invasion and peace since 1983.  This is an Island with so much history and beauty that Three days in country will not be enough time to get to know it. 
    

Clarke’s Court produces a white rum, a “red” (dark) rum, some aged rums and a range of award-winning lighter rums for export. There is a welcome center at the factory in Woodland which is currently open for tasting and the purchase of products.

The Westerhall Rum Distillery is a factory for blending rums and producing ice. It is open for tours, tastings and purchases.

River Antoine Rum Distillery, where rum is produced from fresh cane juice by a water-powered mill near Lake Antoine, close to the Belmont Estate in the north of the island. A visit makes a good day outing and is often included in day tours. The rum is made according to traditional methods, and is overproof.

     This is my first trip to the Spice Islands and one that I am really excited about.  I'll be sending daily resorts of what has transpired and where I've been starting Wednesday of next week.  Stay with me as I explore the island and it's many exciting places and the Caribbean Rum and Beer Festival.  ;o)

What is so Magic about 21 Years Old

     For many years, liquor could be served through out many American states at the age of 18.  Today every state in the union has a minimum drinking age of 21.  How did this come about?   For years the question of states rights was the dominant theme for what age was right for each state, but as the Federal Government started demanding that the minimum age be raised to 21, there were several states that really didn't want to change their laws.   Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, which required states to raise their ages for purchase and public possession to 21 by October 1986 or lose 10% of their federal highway funds. By mid-1988, 49 states and the District of Columbia had raised their purchase ages to 21, but Louisiana was the last to relent in 1996.

     Today the feds are up to the same pressures on the territories.   The Puerto Rican Government ifs feeling the threat of our financial threats to change their minimum drinking age as well.  Guam has already raised it's minimum age to 21.

     In a article in the Caribbean Business tells of the same financial pressures being put on Puerto Rico.  

     "A Puerto Rico lawmaker has filed legislation to raise the island's legal drinking age to 21, arguing that keeping it at 18 has cost tens of millions in lost federal funds and increases alcohol-related problems. 

     "The consequence of allowing alcohol consumption at 18 years of age in Puerto Rico is receiving 10 percent less federal funds for security on the highways," Popular Democratic Party Rep. Carlos Vargas told EFE. "But on top of the economic issue is the social issue -- the risks and consequences that come from consuming alcohol at such a young age." 

     Puerto Rico gets about $120 million annually in federal transportation funding. However, the island loses about $11 million annually for failing to increase the drinking age to 21 from 18 and bypasses another $9 million for not passing legislation outlawing open alcoholic containers in automobiles. 

     Puerto Rico recently enacted legislation lowering the blood-alcohol level to define what is considered drunk driving, a move that freed up some $12 million annually. 

     Read More at  http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news/bill-would-raise-pr-drinking-age-to-21-90822.html 

 

     I'm not trying to disagree with the idea of 21 being the minimum age, but I do fee that sovereign nations and states do have some rights to make their own decisions with out "bullying" from Uncle Sam.

 

 

Everyday Havana Living

     There are hundreds of places in Havana for your eyes to marvel at, but there is another side of Havana that is less glamorous.  This is the streets that the everyday people of Havana walk and drive to get to work.     There is a lot of reconstruction and revitalizing of many of the historic buildings going on in Downtown Havana, but there is a lot of rubble piled in the streets also from pieces that are falling from the buildings above.   The narrow sidewalks and people walking in the streets gives me a feeling like being in Key West.  The very narrow sidewalks forces people to use the streets as they meet each other going in opposite directions.


     There is a stark difference between the very posh and pristine looking areas and the residential and commercial areas of Havana.   The polished marble sidewalks of the Paseo and the area of "Parque Central" give way to cobble stone and concrete as you wander outward.  Cars start to disappear and more mopeds begin to appear as you go out from the city into the suburbs .

     The back street and alleys all provide a wonderful view of the daily life in Havana.  It seems that there are a lot of very hard working people that walk and ride to work every morning after stopping for a bite to eat at one of the walk-up cafes.   The streets are quite clean compared to many other cities that I have walked in and there is a lot of pride in what they do have.   Whether it be their cars or their buildings, they seem to make things as good as possible with what they have to work with.  

     I have found Havana on both of my trips to be a destination that I always want to return to.   I see why Ernest Hemingway loved his years her so much and so many other celebrities of the same era enjoyed Havana.   There is a real charm to the city and a warmth that call you back.  

    With some time the infrastructure of this wonderful old city will be brought up to the current times and it will be able to allow the throngs of tourists that would love to visit here.   Given the opportunity I'd be there tomorrow, because there is so much more to experience.  ;o)

On the loss of Manuel Jorge Cutillas Covani Amaestro de Ron

     The Bacardi family lost one of its forward looking members last week, and I ran across a very enlightening obituary that not only shed a lot of light on Manuel Cutillas, but a n interesting information about the Bacardi  Company from the 30's Cuba to the nationalization of the Bacardi Company by Fidel Castro.  It also brings to light to changes the company has gone through from its exile until today.

November 8, 2013 5:08 pm

Master of rum who shook Bacardi into a cocktail of brands

By Phil Davison

     As head of Bacardi, Manuel Cutillas launched the rum producer’s transformation into the multi-brand global enterprise it is today, owning some 200 notable industry names including Dewar’s scotch, Bombay Sapphire gin, Martini vermouth and Grey Goose vodka.

With net sales last year of more than $4.5bn, it ranks as the world’s biggest privately owned spirits company and third overall behind Diageo and Pernod Ricard.

 

     Yet Cutillas, great-great-grandson of the founder, was unable to fulfill his main dream – of returning to Cuba, where the family’s distilleries were confiscated by Fidel Castro after the 1959 revolution.

Cutillas had fled soon afterwards – initially to Miami, on a packed boat of illegal migrants – and the family dispersed. It was he who pulled them together in 1992 to consolidate five separate Bacardi companies they had variously spawned – in the US, Bermuda, the Bahamas (the branch he headed before then), Puerto Rico and Mexico – into a single entity now based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Cutillas became its first chairman.

 

     He remained a passionate anti-Castro campaigner, belonging to several organizations that seek the regime’s downfall and a democratic Cuba. Although a cigar lover and able to get his hands on Havana’s he refused to smoke them, at least in public. On his retirement in 2000 he said of Cuba: “We would love one day to be back in there. You know, I believe that perhaps I will even see that.” His death this month at the age of 81 means he did not.

 

     Cutillas had been with the family firm since 1955 when it was based in Santiago de Cuba, in the east of the island. It had been founded there four generations earlier in 1862 by Facundo Bacardi Massó, an immigrant from Sitges, Catalonia, who, in effect, created white rum as we know it today. But by the 1990s the cane-based spirit was being overtaken by vodka and tequila in world markets, while rival drinks multinationals were growing bigger.

 

     “We saw consolidation happening and with a single brand it would have been very difficult for us to compete,” he said. “We had to grow. Had we not done that, we would have found ourselves having to sell or merge with a larger company.”

 

Read more at  http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/298ea00e-47d1-11e3-b1c4-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2kLAolA6G

 

 

     Phil Davidson has written a well researched obituary that is well worth reading and very helpful in understanding the growth and progression of the largest family owned spirits company.   I'm very sure that Manuel Cutillas will be missed by the family and his friends, he surly was a very dynamic and industrious member of the operation.  

Powerboat Races Finale Today in Key West

     The very exciting Powerboat Races Finals go off today in Key West.  At stake are the series championship in all classes and the bragging rights for the year.   This is an exciting spectacle of speed on the water if you have never seen it.  Piston engines and turbines power these monsters to speed well over 150 miles per hour.   If you have never seen this, it is worth the trip out to Mallory Square of Fort Zachery Turner to take in these three races.  ;o)