Bacardi is the largest privately held, family-owned spirits company in the world. Originally known for its Bacardi white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 liquor and spirits labels. Here's how they did it! Don Facundo Bacardi emigrated to Cuba from Spain in 1830. Arriving as a wine merchant he set up as a grocer in the 1840s and was experimenting with distillation by 1852 trying to improve the quality of the local rum by trying various technical experiments in distillation and ageing. Bacardi would go on to witness the Independence of Cuba and the Batista revolution, during which its assets got seized by the Castro regime. Despite the setback, Bacardi remains one of the most successful liquor and spirits brands in the world, owning hundreds of quality labels, including the rights to sell Havana Club in the US.