Bacardí releases glow-in-the-dark Halloween bottles and revives Janelle Monáe's Wondaween

Bacardí is marking Halloween 2026 with a limited-edition bottle that glows in the dark, plus a return to its collaboration with singer Janelle Monáe. The rum brand has also booked a one-off revival of London's The Cross nightclub, with drum-and-bass producer Shy FX headlining the evening.

In the UK, the glow-in-the-dark design comes on the Carta Blanca expression and is now on sale nationwide. Supermarkets carrying it include Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose. The one-litre bottle retails for £25 (US$33) and the 700ml size for £19 (US$25).

Lesley-Anne Cohen, marketing manager for Bacardí Rum, tied the launch to the brand's bat logo and long club-culture pedigree. She said the brand is resurrecting the atmosphere of the noughties for an audience now drawn to that era's sounds, with a personalised Bacardí and Coke at the center of the serve.

The evening at The Cross is billed as the only time the venue will turn back the clock to the 00s dance scene. Billy Reilly, its owner, called the club the heart of London's nightlife in that decade and said its parties are still discussed today, framing the partnership with Bacardí as a special opportunity.

Shy FX, whose noughties UK Top 10 hit Shake Ur Body made his name, leads the bill. A surprise performance from another noughties star will follow Shy FX's set. He described that decade as a mad time for partying and said drum and bass and jungle have always depended on dancefloor energy and a mix of people.

The US Ghost Bottle and FearFest

Across the US, Bacardí is debuting a Ghost Bottle for its Superior white rum: a glow-in-the-dark collectable with a haunting ghost design. Available nationwide, it is the centrepiece of the brand's 2026 Halloween programming, which spans music, entertainment and horror and is rooted in its wider Do What Moves You initiative.

The Crypt Keeper from Tales from the Crypt returns for the occasion, marking the 30th anniversary of AMC's FearFest. Bacardí Rum will present the festival for the second year running, putting the skeletal host back in the spotlight as part of the seasonal push and its ongoing association with the network event.

Separately, Bacardí returns as the official spirits partner of Monáe's Wondaween Festival, this year themed Creature Carnival. It is held in Los Angeles on 29 October. Monáe said Halloween has always been her favourite time of year because it grants permission to gather, transform and step into the wildest parts of the imagination.

Monáe described building her Vampire Beach world with Bacardí last year as amazing, and said community, storytelling, costumes and creativity sit at the heart of Wondaween. She promised this year's Creature Carnival would be bigger, bolder and more imaginative than before, urging guests to grab a cocktail and prepare.

Bacardí will also partner with Uproxx on a Halloween content series titled Good Spirits, billed as the ultimate party playbook. Horror figures Freddy Prinze Jr, Fairuza Balk and Lauren LaVera appear across it, spanning generations of the genre and folding the campaign's nostalgia through Bacardí's seasonal programming.

Lisa Pfenning, North America's vice-president at Bacardí, framed Halloween as a natural moment for the brand to shine. She called the season a celebration of creativity, transformation and self-expression, all tied to the Do What Moves You spirit, and said the lineup pairs icons of Halloween past and present with new programming.

The Ghost Bottle, Wondaween and Uproxx series land alongside a year in which Bacardí served as the official spirits partner for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards in September, a telecast hosted by rapper Snoop Dogg. The rum brand has extended its sponsorship reach across American entertainment through the calendar year.

What the two bottles cost

Pricing splits cleanly by market. In the US the Superior white rum Ghost Bottle is the collectable: Bacardí has not stated a US list price for it, only that it is available nationwide.

Bacardí is one of the spirits names this publication tracks through a dedicated brand page, where we record bottle pricing by size and keep guides to drinking rum and building cocktails around it. The Halloween drops extend a portfolio built on the white rums and the Carta Blanca expression at this seasonal moment.

The Wondaween collaboration is a renewal rather than a first: Monáe and Bacardí built the Vampire Beach world together last year, and the Creature Carnival theme brings the partnership into its second edition. That continuity, paired with a returning Crypt Keeper, gives this year's programming a familiar shape.

The London revival at The Cross is a single night. Reilly stressed it is the one and only time the venue will relive the noughties era. Nothing in the materials points to a second date or a wider noughties tour.