To kick off National Rum Day, Bacardi announced an expansion of its Premium portfolio range with the launch of Bacardi Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish.
This new rum marks the start of a five-year collection. Bacardi will unveil a new cask finish offering annually through 2025. The cask finish will change each year based on the type of barrel used for aging.
Each rum from the Bacardi Reserva Cask Finish series begins with a base of Bacardi Reserva Ocho, aged under the Caribbean sun, and then finished for several months in a unique barrel that switches up, year to year.
This year’s inaugural release aged in American oak barrels for eight to 12 years, and finished in an Oloroso sherry cask for just over two months.
Time in the sherry cask allows the blend to take on a sweet, smooth velvety texture with notes of caramel, vanilla and orange, the company reports, along with hints of walnuts and almonds. The result is a mahogany flavor that gives off the aroma of dried fruits, raisins, walnuts and almonds.
The Oloroso sherry cask was chosen as the first finish in the series due to its origins from Spain — much like Bacardi founder, Facundo Bacardí Massó,
“We could not be more thrilled for the launch of Bacardi Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish to add to our premium portfolio for a limited time,” says Lisa Pfenning, VP, Bacardi for North America. “This is our first innovation for the Premium range since the portfolio first launched in 2018, and we are excited to introduce four more innovations over the course of the next four years.”
“We have seen an increased popularity in premium rums throughout the years, namely sipping rums, and we hope our rum enthusiasts will appreciate the care and craftsmanship that has gone into blending the Reserva Cask Finish series — which will add new layers of beautiful and bold flavors to our smooth aged rums,” Pfenning adds. “Not only will the taste appeal to rum drinkers, but we believe that whiskey drinkers will find themselves reaching for a bottle of Bacardi Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish as well.”
As Cask Finishes are most common within the whiskey segment, Bacardi seeks to entice whiskey drinkers to explore outside of the category through the launch of the five-year Reserva Cask Finish Series.
Bacardi Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish is 80 proof. Available nationwide starting in September, in retails for a suggested price of $32.99 per 750-ml. bottle.
To accompany the launch of this new product, Bacardi teamed up with celebrity photographer, Cam Kirk, to create an original NFT (non-fungible token) inspired by the Bacardi Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish.
Earlier this month, Kirk captured behind-the-scenes content of the all-new Sherry Cask Finish. The resulting NFT will live as a piece of art showcasing the new cask finish, interlaced with digital effects and interactive motion graphics. This will be both Bacardi and Kirk’s first-ever NFT, which will go on sale on September 1 on BACARDICaskNFT.com for only two weeks.
Proceeds from the NFT sale will directly benefit the “Backing the B.A.R.” initiative, presented by the NAACP and sponsored by family-owned Bacardi. The initiative provides business acceleration grants, education, support and entrepreneurship solutions for Black-owned bars, restaurants, nightclubs, lounges, liquor stores and small businesses in the process of applying for a liquor license.
This follows the summer launch of Bacardi Tropical rum.
