Post #558755 by Boom Boom Room on Sat, Oct 9, 2010 6:12 AM

Here is an update from the A Mountain of Crushed Ice blog: http://www.amountainofcrushedice.com/

Something is brewing…i can sense it - or is this only my own imagination?

But in a while i believe we might have LH151 available for the US to start with..(hoping Europe will follow)

LH151 was for a while believed of being discontinued - but that`s not what happened. Instead what actually happened was that Pernod were looking to sell the brand..and so eventually it was sold - as many of you already know - and is now being produced in Canada by Mosaiq who bought the formula and rights to the Lemon Hart brand from Pernod Ricard in feb 2010.

Pernod had been blending and bottling Lemon Hart 151 at their Corby Distillers plant in Windsor, Ontario since they bought Allied Domecq on July 26, 2005. This actually was one of the places where prohibition spirits once were manufactured before being smuggled to the US. Mosaiq now has a new bottle and label which is close to how the old one look like, you can find a picture of the new here and on their website - http://www.mosaiqinc.com

After a few trademark disputes over use of the ‘Demerara’ name, Demerara Distillers Limited has agreed to not only supply Mosaiq rum but has also licensed them to use the Demerara Rum name of the new Lemon Hart labels.

I find the new bottle and labels to be quite nice, not too different from the ones we are used to, so that`s ok with me - or really - they could use any label and bottle as long this rum continues to be produced..

So LH151 will continue to be produced as was before Mosaiq bought the brand, but now it will be blended and bottled - from the same Demerara Rum as before - but at a facility in Newfoundland.

Well..the US is waiting to be able to buy it..and not only in the US are people waiting..hoping…dying of thirst for LH151..

Lemon Hart 80 proof is widely available in Canada, but Lemon Hart 151 isn’t sold anywhere as far i`ve heard, due to a lack of demand. Considering the lack of attention paid to the brand by Pernod,that might change. In the meantime there are only a few pallets of Lemon Hart 151 quietly waiting in a Windsor, Ontario warehouse for the dust to settle from the acquisition of the Lemon Hart brand.

So what’s the problem? Windsor Ontario is just across the river from Detroit and you can see the US from the warehouse. Well, in order for the last cases of Lemon Hart 151 that Pernod bottled to be sold, Mosaiq has to make a deal with a US importer to import and market this rum.

Then in addition to paying for the rum, there is the Federal Tax that has to be paid when the rum is carried across the border. The old labels say ‘Imported by Pernod.’ This isn’t a big deal but it takes time to get a letter of exception for the rum to be imported by a third party or a sticker has to be added to the bottle, and Mosaiq has yet to appoint an importer.

THE LEMON HART BRAND

This brand was established in 1804 by Mr. (Lehmynn) Lemon Hart who also became one of the first rum suppliers to the Brittish Navy, so this rum has some history…and rum were brought over the seas to be blended at his Lemon Hart Rum Company in London.

Actually there are two 80 proof rums, but in the US and Canada there is no Jamaican Lemon Hart which is sold in Europe and also exists in an overproof (73%) version and then we have the 151 demerara - so there´s four different Lemon Hart rums in the world.

In Canada the Demerara rums will be bottled at 80 and 151 proof. Probably the Jamaican Lemon Hart rums are going to go away. The Canadian label only shows 80 proof since that is the only label that is currently sold in Canada. According to Mosaiq there has never been any demand for Lemon Hart 151 in Canada - but i`m sure there must be some fans of this rum there…?

The 151 demerara is a jewel of rum and which really is irreplacable and the reason we can`t let this rum go.. This is a rum so perfectly suited for real full flavored rum drinks and absolutely necessary for many exotic tiki drinks.

LH151 really got that flavor..its absolutely full bodied, strong and so satisfying and makes for perfect floats - really its the ideal floating rum..and as its a highproof rum it should of course be used in moderation but it defenetily makes cocktails kick ass.

At one session at the Tales this summer (Full Sail) the message was clear - Bring back LH151!

I sit here with my one bottle of the precious stuff which i`m gonna try to really pace with..but that´s not so easy, neither is it fun, i wanna be able to enjoy this rum whenever i want without having to worry about not being able to find it again once its finished.

I know there`s many that, like me, sit with their last bottles..or their last three bottles, and wonder if they will ever see another bottle. And there are even more that wish they even had a bottle of Lemon Hart 151. Those of you who managed to stock up - you are lucky!

It still seems to be available in some remote places and a few of the good tikibars still pour it, but only because they were able to buy it up as the supply dried up in the US. There are many more bars that have pulled drinks from their menu because they can’t get LH 151 at all. To complicate the problem, in the US, state rules prohibit bars from buying alcohol from out of state and pouring it in the bar so even if a bartender can find the odd bottle or even rarer case of Lemon Hart, they can’t legally pour it.

But for most of us, we all had the same questions, when will it come back and if so, to WHERE? - well folks..now we know..the new questions are: When and where will it be available to the US? and then - internationally? There is a Lemon Hart 151 Facebook fan page where you can check for the latest news.

In the meantime while i´m waiting to get an answer i`ll swizzle up something that needs a little LH151 in it because rum is supposed to be enjoyed right?