Bermuda-based rum giant Bacardi Ltd. is cancelling a popular annual artisans' fair at its Puerto Rico distillery due to the global recession, according to Business Week.

The Bacardi Artisans' Fair had been held each December at the company's plant in Catano, across the bay from San Juan - and had grown to become the largest festival of its type in the Caribbean over the past 33 years.

It cost roughly $500,000.

Joaquin Bacardi, head of the Bermuda-based rum empire, told the newspaper El Nuevo Dia that the decision was made after evaluating the company's "great challenges" due to the ongoing economic slowdown.