49 THE BATS, THE PRINCE AND
THE SICK NOTE

Don Facundo Bacardi Masso was neither batty nor sick but his success and the story of Bacardi are linked to both a colony of bats and a sick note sent to him by a Queen.

Born in Spain in October 1814, Don Facundo moved to Santiago in Cuba when he was 15. There, he worked as a wine merchant and unusually for the time thought that there was a real future in rum. Most of his peers thought that the spirit was far too rough to be good for anything other than selling to the pirates who frequented the port.

Don Facundo began experimenting with making his own rum and finally found what he was looking for: a new process that incorporated a special charcoal filtration stage. It not only removed impurities but produced rum that was smoother and mellower.

He purchased a small, local, disused distillery to begin production, but on taking possession, he discovered that there were large numbers of bats living in the rafters. Instead of getting rid of the bats, he decided to let them stay; in fact, he decided to use them as an icon for the brand.

To the Cuban people bats are a sign of good health, good fortune and family unity. As his wife, Doria Amalia, pointed out, there was a very high rate of illiteracy in Cuba in the 19th Century and a new product needed a memorable logo; a visual trademark which would be easy for people to recognize.

Besides the bat, another symbol is seen on every bottle of Bacardi. It is the Spanish Royal coat of arms and it was added after Bacardi came to the aid of Queen Maria Cristina – or rather, to the aid of her son, Prince Alfonso XIII.

In 1892, the young Prince Alfonso was taken sick with a severe case of the grippe. Nothing seemed to improve his health until a royal physician who had recently returned from Cuba suggested Don Facundo’s rum. That evening, for the first time in days, the Prince fell into an easy and peaceful sleep and by morning the fever was broken. The Prince was on the mend.

Royal “sick notes” were duly written to say thank you to Bacardi for producing a drink that had saved “His Majesty’s life”. In addition, the title of “Purveyors to the Royal Household” on Bacardi, which not only added the coat of arms to the bottle but became known as “El rey de los rones, el ron de los reyes” (“The king of rums, the rum of Kings”).

And the moral is that a picture or indeed an icon can be worth more than words. Could you be making more of the images and icons linked to your brands?