Bacardi turned 150 years old this year and after a slew of celebrations in the past 12 months that have surely left its 6,000 employees a bit hungover from time to time, the company threw one more party last week. This one commemorated the creation and burial of a Bacardi time capsule that will be opened in 50 years.

So what’s in the futuristic stainless-steel capsule that has been registered with the international Time Capsule Society and stands six feet long and is a foot wide? What will the great citizens of our planet unearth in 50 years? Well, there’s a “photograph of the remarkable gathering of nearly 500 members of the Bacardi family, representing eight generations, captured in a single moment encircling the iconic Bacardi bat logo at the family’s 150th anniversary party in Puerto Rico,” a press release states,” along with a “commemorative medal honoring Bacardi rum as the ‘World’s Most Awarded Spirit,’ an honor achieved with nearly 600 awards for great taste, quality and innovation.”Continue reading...

The annual indie-film extravaganza known as the Sundance Film Festival got underway Thursday night in Park City, Utah, and the New York Times noticed something there that had been missing at recent fests: many corporate sponsors.

Eight brands are officially sponsoring this year's festival, which launched as an offshoot of Robert Redford's Sundance Institute in 1978: Adobe, GE, Sprint, Yahoo!, Bertolli, Grey Goose, Time Warner, and Hilton. Last year, the festival had two — Honda and Trident — and neither of them are back.Continue reading...

Among hip-hopreneur Diddy’s many pressing responsibilities to furthering the brand of himself is as a “brand ambassador” of Ciroc vodka. So when he sees someone sipping on some other brand, he’s got to, you know, let them in on the secret that his vodka might be better than theirs.

Diddy recently did just this in an Atlanta nightclub when he noticed an attendee drinking Grey Goose vodka, an archrival. It didn’t help him that the whole thing, like everything else these days, was captured on video and soon uploaded to YouTube where anyone in the world (who doesn’t live in a totalitarian government state) can witness his suggestion. But even he now admits he came across a little too strongly.Continue reading...

Want to Buy a Friend a Beer? TGI Friday’s Has an App for That

Facebook is a place to promise to buy a friend a beer, but now TGI Friday’s is turning it into a place to actually make good on that promise. On its Facebook page, the restaurant chain now offers the option for users 21 and over to order up to five beers for a friend, who will receive an electronic gift card worth $5 for each beer, good for purchasing anything at TGI Friday’s.

The new app follows TGI Friday’s launch earlier this year of a new menu of craft beers and dishes meant to pair with them. For those who haven’t thought ahead for dear old Dad, the app’s launch comes just in time for Father’s Day.Continue reading...

Trade Talks May Have Liquor Brands Toasting

International trade negotiations could be a boon for alcohol brands, especially American and Scottish whiskies. The U.S. is talking with South Korea about getting rid of a 20% import duty on bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, while the European Union is trying to reach an agreement with India to reduce high tariffs on foreign spirits. With whiskies growing in popularity worldwide, lower tariffs would certainly translate to higher sales. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, if tariffs are cancelled, U.S. exports to Korea could rise to about $17.6 million a year, up from about $6 million in 2009.Continue reading...