Bacardí has named Astrophel ‘Troy’ Arquiza as its new Global Master Blender (maestro de ron) replacing retiring master blender José ‘Joe’ Gomez.
Working at Casa Bacardí in Cataño, Puerto Rico, Arquiza will lead a team of rum blenders and be in charge of all distillation and ageing of Bacardí rum.
“Rum making is an art as much as it is a science, and it is a dream come true to be able to spend every day practicing that art as we create Bacardí rum under the Caribbean sun. I have the world’s best job.” – Astrophel ‘Troy’ Arquiza
Back in August, Bacardi unimpressively announced the release of the new, “premium” annual Bacardi Reserva Cask Finish Series. Each year, for the next five years, Bacardi plans to release a “unique finish” rum in limited quantities. Their first release, Bacardí Reserva Ocho Sherry Cask Finish, was met with a collective “meh” by the rum world because the release uses their standard Ocho rum finished for 2 months in a Sherry Cask (not very innovative).
I have hope that with this announcement we might begin seeing more quality and inventive releases from the global rum giant. I personally would rather see unique finishes, higher proof or longer-aged releases instead of weird-shaped bottles full of chemically flavored liqueurs like Cannonball Blast, Watermelon Smash or Jack-O-Blast.