Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/391612
16 / the tasting panel / october 2014 THE MESSAGE I n August, our team headed to sunny San Diego for ECRM's (Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing) 2014 Global Wine, Beer & Spirits EPPS, where wine, beer and spirit produc- ers, importers, distributors and exporters from around the world presented products to an audience of off- and on-premise buyers, as well as distributors and importers. To kick off the expo, our very own Editorial Director and Publisher Meridith May led a Q&A panel discussion, featuring prominent members of the industry. Setting the tone for an educational and collaborative week, topics ranged from conve- nience store wine selections to Midwestern restaurant trends. For more coverage of this year's ECRM, check out the full feature on page 94. Our Q&A panel to kick off ECRM's 2014 Global Wine, Beer & Spirits EPPS (left to right): Miguel Lugo, Park Street Imports, Director of Business Development; Joe Johnson, RaceTrac, Category Manager of Alcoholic Beverages; Meridith May, Editorial Director and Publisher, THE TASTING PANEL Magazine and The SOMM Journal; Steve Raye, Brand Action Team, Managing Director; and Sam Lindsley, Michael Symon Restaurants, Director of Operations. Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing! CREDIT: PHOTO: LEIGH CASTELLI CREDIT: PHOTO: LEIGH CASTELLI Celebration of 150 Years S ince its founding in 1862, Bacardi has become the largest privately-owned spirits company in the world. So it stands to reason that when family members drink rum at private gatherings, they drink the best from their cellared reserves. It was on such an occasion in 2012, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the company by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó, that the patriarch's great-great-grandson, company Chairman Facundo L. Bacardi—along with senior members of the family—discussed sharing their liquid treasures with others. "This is something that is close to my heart and that of my family members," Bacardi says, "who urged me to take a path different than the one we had taken in the past. These rums were sentimental to the family. I like to think of them as heirlooms, ones that we're incredibly proud of." As a result, Bacardi Global Master Blender Manny Oliver was charged with the task of select- ing the very best rums from the family's cellars, blending them to create a limited annual release of four super-premium offerings as The Facundo Collection, in honor of founder Don Facundo. In keeping with family tradition, all are meant to be sipped, rather than mixed.—Richard Carleton Hacker At its California launch at The Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, The Facundo Collection is toasted by (left to right) David Cid, Bacardi Brand Master; Facundo L. Bacardi, great-great grandson of the company's founder and CEO; and Manny Oliver, Bacardi Global Master Blender. CREDIT: PHOTO: LEIGH CASTELLI