2 minute read
That’s the Spirit - Bacardi Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask
ELEVATING THE RUM
GAME
By Christina Staalstrom
Americans thirst for premium spirits is on a double-digit growth trajectory, and our historically cocktail-driven culture is getting a run for its money from its neater, cleaner, sipping spirit siblings.
BACARDI, a proven leader in liquid libations, is elevating the rum game and proving once again that rum can hold its own against brown spirits like whiskey and bourbon with the release of their BACARDI Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish.
This rare, premium sipping rum marks the launch and first installment of its new Reserva Cask Finish Series. The series is a five-year collection that will see an annual release featuring a new cask innovation. The final cask will be released in 2025. Each new cask finish innovation begins with a base of BACARDI Reserva Ocho, an aged premium rum created in 1862 and one of the oldest private rum blends in the world. This popular rum, full of heritage and tradition, is aged under the Caribbean sun for eight to twelve years. It is then finished for a few additional months in a unique barrel that will change each year for new, distinctive premium flavors as part of the Reserva Cask Finish Series.
As the name would indicate, the Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish is finished in a sherry cask barrel to create a fine sipping rum with a deep mahogany flavor and aromas of dried fruits, raisins, walnuts, and almonds. This cask-finishing process is traditionally used in whiskeys and makes for a unique rum expression that entices bourbon and whiskey lovers to venture into the rum category.
BACARDI introduced its Premium Collection in 2018 and elevated the rum game, spurring on the surge in premiumization in the spirits category. As a result, rums have seen tremendous growth with the super-premium and ultra-premium categories up 23% and 43% year after year, respectively, according to Nielsen data. “Our products are mirroring that same growth. BACARDÍ Gran Reserva Diez, aged a minimum of ten years, is up 42% year over year in the ultra-premium segment and BACARDÍ Reserva Ocho, aged a minimum of eight years, is up 5% in the super-premium segment since 2020,” says Lisa Pfenning, Vice President, BACARDI for North America. These growth numbers paved the perfect platform for the BACARDI Cask Finish Series and the inaugural BACARDI Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish.
The dark-aged spirit is a luxurious libation that offers a perfect alternative to any whisky or bourbon. With nutty notes infused by the Oloroso sherry cask and a sweet smooth velvety texture, it is best enjoyed neat or on the rocks as a sipping rum and is a premium option perfect for any dark spirits lover.
