Diageo/Bacardi Rum Battle Heats Up, Plus a Talk with Guy Smith

Dear Client: The Caribbean rum wars are continuing apace. After Diageo issued a bombshell of a press release yesterday (see WSD 02-23/10), Bacardi issued a brief retort, saying, "This issue is about one point - the appropriate use of approximately 2.7 billion dollars in taxpayer money. This isn't about where Diageo receives a free distillery, but about the proper use of federal tax dollars. Diageo has some explaining to do to the U.S. Congress and American people," said Patricia M.