Lemon Hart 151 back?

Comments on Lemon Hart's Facebook page, over the last several months, seem to be teasing a fall date for reintroducing LH151 to the U.S. Such as:

"Wondering if and when the 151 will be available again?"
LH: "... the transition to our new bottling facility will soon be completed and we hope to have 151 back online and shipping out sometime this fall. I will keep you posted."

"Is the 151 still in production...?"
LH: "It is indeed however we recently changed bottling facilities which has put us in a temporary albeit unfortunate backorder situation on 151. Cheers for now, LH."

The consensus around here seems to be that Hamilton 151 is superior to the recent red label LH151, anyway.
If LH151 does come back, many might not even care, if only Hamilton was more widely available. But its distribution is still spotty.
And, I wonder... will this reintroduced LH151 be exactly the same product (with allowance for slight variation between batches, that is) that we last had?

"The rum's the thing..."

[ Edited by: Limbo Lizard 2015-08-15 10:52 ]

If Lemon Hart 151 does return, then:

1. I'd be a happy customer because Hamilton's 151 is still VERY elusive here in the largest city in Florida.

2. From tastings I've been reading about, the descriptions tend towards "very close" and "very similar." I may not care to split hairs.

I would buy Hamiltons if it were available, and I would taste-test against LH151 at my own bar. If the differences are not huge, then I would not make a big deal and treat them both as superior and interchangeable Demerara 151s. I'm at a point with my bar that this seems to be the limit of the Demerara 151 fiasco I'm willing to tolerate. I would like to see Hamilton's edge out Lemon Hart, though, because Lemon Hart could have been more open and straight-forward about what was going on early in the game.

Really, they waited all this time to blame it all on a change in bottling plants? Really? Pshaw!

Hamilton 151 just hit Portland store shelves last week. Picked it up. Same $34 price that LH151 sold for here. Did a side by side sip and I've got to say I'm going with Hamilton.

I decided to fix up a "hell in the pacific". The only rum this very simple cocktail in the Beachbum Berry manuals calls for is LH 151. I used the Hamilton 151 for the first time in this because I knew it would let the rum come through. It couldn't taste more perfect.

Good report, Adam Aku Aku! Sounds like a good cocktail to use for a comparison. I'll see how I can get some Hamilton 151 and will duplicate and report my impressions here. It won't be super soon though, but you've really piqued my interest and I am definitely moving this higher on my priority list.

The Hamilton 151 is a little more "in your face" than the LH Red Label. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I am thankful we have the Hamilton to keep the party going. I am still not sure I understand the economics of ending the LH 151 distribution, but it is what it is. I use the Hamilton now for friends, parties and cocktail infidels and save (bragging) my 17.5 bottles of yellow label LH 151 for myself and appreciative close friends.

I just put these fine rums to the test, with the results posted on The Atomic Grog:
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2012/05/08/rums-of-the-mai-kai-legendary-lemon-hart-returns-to-the-promised-land/#151-compare

On a 1-5 scale, with 5 being perfection:
4.7 – Lemon Hart 151 “yellow label”
4.5 – Lemon Hart 151 “red label”
4.4 – Hamilton 151

The differences are extremely slight. The yellow label gets the edge due to its subtle nuances and complexity. The red label and Hamilton are both a bit bolder and more aggressive but lack the maturity of the old label. But it's really splitting hairs. By comparison, I rated Goslings 151 at 2.8.

On 2015-11-12 23:01, Hurricane Hayward wrote:

On a 1-5 scale, with 5 being perfection:
4.7 – Lemon Hart 151 “yellow label”
4.5 – Lemon Hart 151 “red label”
4.4 – Hamilton 151

I'm curious, if Lemon Hart 151 "yellow label" is only a 4.7, what would it take for you to rate something a 5? What is your idea of an ideal 151?

On 2015-11-13 10:20, JenTiki wrote:

On 2015-11-12 23:01, Hurricane Hayward wrote:

On a 1-5 scale, with 5 being perfection:
4.7 – Lemon Hart 151 “yellow label”
4.5 – Lemon Hart 151 “red label”
4.4 – Hamilton 151

I'm curious, if Lemon Hart 151 "yellow label" is only a 4.7, what would it take for you to rate something a 5? What is your idea of an ideal 151?

El Dorado 21 is probably the closest to a 5 that I've ever tasted, though I've got lots more to try.
http://www.slammie.com/atomicgrog/blog/2014/05/25/upstart-spirits-share-spotlight-with-major-players-at-sixth-annual-miami-rum-renaissance-festival/attachment/036/

It's a matter of personal taste, and I'm partial to Demerara rums (along with Jamaica and Barbados). Lemon Hart yellow label is easily the ideal 151, IMHO. But Hamilton actually works better in complex cocktails since it's a little more aggressive.

So then you were rating it in comparison to other categories of rum, rather than just against other 151's? I guess the rating makes more sense in that context.

IMO, the Hamilton 151 is way better than the Lemon Hart red label. Otherwise I agree that the yellow label Lemon hart is top dog and that the Hamilton is great, just a little less so.

I am thrilled to have this new option for a demerara overproof.

The 5 out of 5 on the ED 21 surprises me a bit. The more I drink the ED blends and compare them to the single casks, the less appealing the sweeter rums are. Also, I find the the 25 so much better than the 21 and you've already hit the top of the scale at 5. :wink:

To each his own.

Cheers!

On 2015-11-16 08:17, JenTiki wrote:
So then you were rating it in comparison to other categories of rum, rather than just against other 151's? I guess the rating makes more sense in that context.

Yes, that's my overall rating. Lemon Hart 151 yellow label is No. 1 in my book. But I'm a cocktail geek and not a connoisseur of sipping rums. Which explains my earlier comment about ED 21. I haven't been lucky enough to try ED 25 yet. At the prices I've seen it listed, my only hope is to find it at the 2016 Miami Rum Fest.

I rate Lemon Hart 151 as very good , because you know it's booze.

On 2015-11-22 21:55, Hurricane Hayward wrote:

On 2015-11-16 08:17, JenTiki wrote:
So then you were rating it in comparison to other categories of rum, rather than just against other 151's? I guess the rating makes more sense in that context.

Yes, that's my overall rating. Lemon Hart 151 yellow label is No. 1 in my book. But I'm a cocktail geek and not a connoisseur of sipping rums. Which explains my earlier comment about ED 21. I haven't been lucky enough to try ED 25 yet. At the prices I've seen it listed, my only hope is to find it at the 2016 Miami Rum Fest.

Based on my experience at the Miami Rum Fest last year, I would be very surprised to find the ED 25 there. ED25 is very limited and is very expensive in comparison to everything I saw at the Rum Fest. The 1980 version of ED25 is still my favorite rum of over 500 I've tasted, but it's a unicorn now. The later versions are also quite good, but also hard and expensive to get.

Any news on the actual return of LH151 in the states? I think they initially said it would come back at the end of last summer. On their FB they made a comment on July 23 saying "wishes do come true" in response to someone's request for it to be available, but no word on it since.

I just got a new, much larger cocktail cabinet and was able to move all my secret stashes into one place and realized I still have 9 unopened bottles. I've been using it sparingly the last couple years but I'm ready to plow through it cuz it's doing me no good being undrank. Undrunken? Non dranken? Ah fuck it, time to drink...

If red label Lemon Hart never returns, I could care less. I find the Hamilton 151 noticeably superior. I can't imagine the yellow label would go back into production - but that would be a great thing.

Jen, I agree with you on the ED 25. The new batch is wonderful, but the 1980 beats it, IMHO.

Cheers!

When (or if) it does come back, I'm looking forward to all the variations of 151 Demerara tastings we'll get to read about here on Tiki Central.

I just recently took photos at Total Wine of the new St. James rums which "came back" in what seems to be a lesser form. It's a crazy world...