Catano
Cataño's 1958 Bacardi distillery became the world's largest rum producer (100,000 liters daily)—2026 tests whether single-company dependency sustains the 'rum capital of the world' as spirits markets grow toward $780 billion.
Cataño exists because Bacardi needed a site for the world's largest rum distillery—and because the waterfront location across the bay from San Juan provided both deep-water access and proximity to the tourism market. The municipality's identity is now inseparable from the 'Cathedral of Rum,' a 127-acre facility whose six-story distillation tower processes 100,000 liters daily and ships 21 million cases annually worldwide.
The transformation began with exile. Don Facundo Bacardí Massó founded Bacardi on February 4, 1862, in Santiago de Cuba, revolutionizing rum-making to create a smooth, light-bodied spirit. When the Cuban Revolution made continuation impossible, the company established Bacardi Corporation in San Juan in 1936. The current Cataño facility opened in 1958, becoming the operational heart of what grew into the world's largest privately held spirits company.
The distillery's significance extends beyond production. In 2010, the facility was added to the National Register of Historic Places, recognized for its contribution to Puerto Rico's economic development and its notable architectural designers including Henry Klumb and Héctor Varela. Since 2004, Casa Bacardi has operated as a visitor center, drawing over 250,000 guests annually—the second-most visited venue in metro San Juan. Governor Luis Fortuño declared February 4 as Bacardi Day, institutionalizing the company's cultural importance.
Present-day Cataño's economy centers on this single industrial anchor. Bacardi produces approximately 85% of its total rum output here, with the remainder coming from facilities in Mexico and India. The company describes itself as 'the leading private contributor to Puerto Rico's treasury through its annual contributions of income, excise and other taxes.' In a global spirits market valued at $650 billion and expected to reach $780 billion by 2030, Cataño's distillery occupies a strategic position.
By 2026, Cataño will test whether single-company dependency provides stability or vulnerability. Puerto Rico calls itself the 'rum capital of the world,' and Cataño is the capital of that capital—a municipality whose prosperity rises and falls with one family's 160-year-old recipe.