Post #400335 by The Mayor Of Exotica on Sun, Aug 10, 2008 8:14 PM

On 2008-08-08 08:33, Austin_Tiki wrote:

On 2008-07-26 22:32, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
From a recent interview with Beachbum Berry on a European blog:

http://bastardosaffrin.blogspot.com/2008/03/aloha-ladies-and-gentleman-tonight-we.html

In Europe we have the eternal problem that we can't find certain ingredients. We can home-brew Falernum, Pimento, and other mixers, but we can't distill Demerara 151. In this blog we have discussed about finding a solution for the lack of this primary ingredient in certain drinks. Can you tell what do you would do in our situation?

"This is a big problem for Americans too. Outside of the northeast states and the west coast, it's very difficult to find Demerara 151. The tragedy is, there is NO substitute for that rum.

"But I have had limited success with one kind of recipe. If a recipe calls for both gold Puerto Rican rum and Demerara 151, I've found that sometimes you can approximate the same body and flavor by substituting dark Jamaican rum and Bacardi 151. (Try this in a Zombie or Coffee Grog. Not perfect, but not bad either.)"

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FYI, if anyone in South Florida is looking for Lemon Hart 151, I can point you to a store that I talked into stocking it. Just let me know. They also stock all the varities of El Dorado's Demerara plus they still have bottles of the 5-year-old Cruzan Estate Diamond gold that recently was taken off the market.

Hm. I've always just substituted an equal amount of Lemon Hart 80-proof in any recipe that calls for 151-proof Demerara, reasoning that while the drink may be less potent it will at least have approximately the correct flavor. Is the difference that noticeable?

I believe it is noticeable. There is a bite to the 151 that the 80 does not have. A bite, a kick, what have you. If you try to make a Zombie without the 151, it will taste good, but it won't have that Zombie Punch! It is a distinct flavor that will be missing. Without it, you can still have a good drink. At a New England event last year, the Bum was able to pull off a huge batch of Zombies without the 151, but while it was a great drink with a balanced flavor, it did lack the kick from the 151.