Bacardi and Jillionaire unveil Major Lazer rum

As part of its ongoing Sound of Rum campaign, Bacardi has created a limited edition rum in collaboration with Trinidadian DJ and music producer Jillionaire, who has been appointed as the brand’s ‘minister of rum’.

Bacardi has created a limited edition rum in collaboration with Major Lazer

Bacardi joined forces with American electronic music trio Major Lazer in January 2017 for a year-long experiential campaign featuring multimedia events, music offerings and a rum release.

As part of the project, Major Lazer took a trip to the Bacardi distillery in Puerto Rico, where they worked alongside Maestro de Ron Manny Oliver to develop three different blends – one of which later became Bacardi Major Lazer Limited Edition Rum.

Unveiled in Berlin at the Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition, the liquid is a blend of light and dark rums aged between three and four years, offering notes of tropical fruit, cedar, almonds and vanilla.

The 2016 Bacardi Legacy winner, Gn Chan, crafted a bespoke Carribean-style punch for the presentation, comprising Bacardi Major Lazer Limited Edition Rum, beet juice, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and Angostura Bitters.

Speaking of Major Lazer’s visit to the Bacardi distillery, the brand’s global advocacy director Jacob Briars said: “There are lots of people who are fascinated by the process of making spirits, but [Jillionaire] was passionate about it – you could see it.”

At the same time as debuting the new expression, Briars announced Jillionaire as Bacardi’s ‘minister of rum’ – someone who “shares the brand’s unique passion and spirit to help revolutionise the rum category”.

“I’m truly passionate about rum, its craft and its Caribbean heritage. I grew up in Trinidad, where rum is a big part of the culture, and I worked in bars for many years learning how to master the perfect rum cocktail,” said Jillionaire.

“As minister of rum at Bacardi, I hope to further deepen Bacardi’s connection to music and embed the Sound of Rum into broader culture.”

Major Lazer took a trip to the Bacardi distillery in Puerto Rico

‘The Sound of Rum’ concept began as a way to “connect Bacardi’s island roots to modern music”, and has since become a “cultural and creative movement”.

“It’s been exciting working with Jillionaire over the last few months – we’ve seen his talent first hand and he’s a true rum aficionado,” said Zara Mirza, global head of creative excellence at Bacardi.

“Jillionaire is a cultural influencer and will be completely immersed in everything we do from creative to drink strategies, culture moments and more. We share resources to ultimately help make a greater cultural impact.”

Bacardi Major Lazer Limited Edition Rum will be available across the US in summer, and is slated to hit retail shelves in June at an RRP of US$19.99, before rolling out to select international markets in September.

Ran Van Ongevalle from Belgium was announced as the winner of the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition 2017 last night (23 May) at Berlin’s E-Werk.