"New" Lemon Hart 151

finally got my hands on a bottle of this. its been about two years since i've had the old original LH rum around. tried the new version out in various ways:

1. whiff from the opened bottle-- somehow “flatter” than original, maybe more of a brown sugar sweetness? my old 'original' but empty bottle sustains a smokier aroma.

2. a sip straight- tastes mostly like fire! but somehow more sippable than original. maybe sweeter?

3. in a 1934 zombie- can’t discern the LH. was this Zombie always such a tart, dry drink when i made it before? not sure, my old notes say "too strong"....

4. 151 Swizzle (old school DtB). awesome. tart, sweet, rummy. never liked this with the original LH...

5. 151 Swizzle (Hurricane Heyward's Mai Kai tribute) excellent! excellent! excellent! dont have kohala bay yet, but combined Pyrat and Appleton 18 y.o. for presumably a quality substitute. smooth, juicy, cinnamony, great drink. havent been to MaiKai, we central Floridians avoid south florida, and the natives from down there do as well; nonetheless, this is an awesome drink...

6. Cobra’s Fang-- can’t discern LH specifically. drink is very limey...

7. Jet Pilot-- cinnamony, tart, some rumminess. is it from the LH? not sure...

8. diluted to 80 proof- tastes like aged Appleton jamaican.! maybw that's a tell-taler sign of difference btw today's LH and the Ricard-Pernod version?

curious as to yall's thoughts re the resurrected version of LH 151...

My sense memory is not good enough to allow particularly meaningful comparisons between the new stuff and the old. While my impressions of drinks made then and now do differ I am pretty sure most of the differences stem from my changing tastes rather than huge differences between old and new LH151. The '34 Zombie is a good example. My early tasting notes (used to be sooo much better at that when I furst started mixing) show I thoght the drink was unbalanced and a bit too strong with the original LH151. Now with the new stuff it is one of my absolute favorite drinks, but I think that is the refinement of my own tastes and not the difference in the rums.

I also only eever had one partial bottle of the old LH151 (from a friend who had it around for years and didn't much care for it) to play with so my experience with the original product is quite minimal.

I LOVE the New LH151 in the Atomic Grog Jet Pilot tribute. It was really that drink at Mai-Kai that best showcased the depth and complexity the LH brings to the drink. I had had one in April 2012 during Hukilau and it was good but didn't knock my socks off. I went back two months later in June after they had resumed using LH151 after something like a 15 year absence and this time the Jet Pilot absolutely blew me away.

The Boo Loo with the new LH151 is also excellent.

For the most part I share your desire to avoid south FL (Florida Keys excepted), mostly because of the traffic. But I a solutely make an exception for Mai-Kai which I try to get to as often as possible. As yet, that is only a couple times a year outside of Hukilau, which is not nearly enough.

"If you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel."
Robert Louis Stevenson

[ Edited by: Sunny&Rummy 2013-08-25 06:12 ]

I have a bottle of the old LH 151 (about half left) and a bottle of the new LH 151

Not sure how to go about a taste comparison because 151 is like gasoline no matter what flavor it is

I have not diluted it (the new stuff) to 80 proof because I generally use El Dorado 12 year in my navy grogs, however I have thought about using the 151 in a navy grog instead of the ED 12, but it is already pretty punchy, afraid the extra alcohol might knock the flavor out - my other two rums are Coruba and either Cruzan or Flor de Cana 4 year for the white

[ Edited by: Dapuma1 2013-08-25 06:56 ]

A navy grog w 3/4 oz old LH151 for the Demerara is a stellar cocktail. I suggest that one for a taste-test. I haven't tried a bottle of the new stuff yet. But I'm gonna have to soon... :(

If you want to taste them side-by-side, water then down a little.

dj is right; although I think a few others have done this w the LHs and not noticed a huge difference. Might be nice to try them both in a good cocktail & see if there's subtleties in the way they play off other ingredients.

Having said that, I think I recall a YouTube vid where someone was doing that, too..

There's a video of Ed Hamilton and Martin Cate tasting them. Of course, Ed is the importer... :)

Here's the link to the video DJMont refers to, from July, 2011. Ed Hamilton and Martin "Martiki" Cate do a side-by-side taste test of the new and old bottle Lemon Hart 151.

Not sure how this relates exactly, but...

I recently got 24 bottles of the old LH 80. I had been buying lots of the new LH 151 and diluting them to also make an 80. While I can't say the cocktails suffered or were particularly better/worse with the new LH 151, I can say that the new LH diluted to 80 proof does not hold a candle to the vintage LH 80. I had intended to trade/sell some of my old 80 proof, but it is perhaps the finest rum I own for sipping!

I do not have any ElDo to compare, but need to do that.

Which ED is supposed to work best? 5? I can try to do a taste test.

ED5 is my go to for 80 proof Demerrara, but the ED8 has won quite a few fans as well. The 8 is probay more versatile as a high end mixer that is also a solid sipping rum, so based on Swanky's rave review of the old LH 80 as a great sipper maybe ED8 is the more appropriate product for comparison.

Swanky,

I have both the LH-80 and the El Dorado and I prefer the El Do. That said, I do drink and enjoy both of them

The 151 hasn't been available out here in the SF BAY, but would love to have some for my mixed drinks.

-Longboard

K&L Wines sells Lemon Hart 151. Based on their website, it's not currently in stock at their NorCal stores. But you can order it and do a will-call pick-up. No shipping cost.

Saw the new LH151 at Beltramos in Menlo Park on Saturday 8/24 when I stopped in, so there is a NorCal source just down the street from K&L.

On 2013-08-26 12:13, djmont wrote:
K&L Wines sells Lemon Hart 151. Based on their website, it's not currently in stock at their NorCal stores. But you can order it and do a will-call pick-up. No shipping cost.

Saw the new LH151 at Beltramos in Menlo Park on Saturday 8/24 when I stopped in, so there is a NorCal source just down the street from K&L.

On 2013-08-26 12:13, djmont wrote:
K&L Wines sells Lemon Hart 151. Based on their website, it's not currently in stock at their NorCal stores. But you can order it and do a will-call pick-up. No shipping cost.

Longboard, Beltramos will ship for free in California for orders over $250. Along with LH 151 they stock many other great and hard to find rums so I don't think it will be hard to reach the threshold!

B.T.W., I have nearly two cases of old label Lemon Hart 151 in my collection (and even one "old old label") and have done frequent taste tests with the new label. There is very little if any difference so mostly I use new label, saving the old label for special occasions. I don't think anyone can taste the difference in a mixed drink double blind test.

I also have 1/2 case of Lemon Hart 80 but usually sub 2/3 oz of new label 151 for the same reason.

My palette isn't sophisticated enough to notice any difference. If you're in New England & having trouble finding LH151, Kappy's on Route 1, near Kowloon usually has it on the shelf.

I added water to some new Lemon Hart 151 to bring it down to approximately 80 proof. I then compared it to Lemon Hart 80 and El Dorado 5 Year.

Briefly... The flavor profile of all three is similar. The watered-down LH151 was still the most fiery, the LH80 was middle of the road, and the ED80 was the easiest going. The ED had the best taste for me. I would probably used the modified LH151 in a cocktail because it had the strongest flavor and thus would hold up the best in a drink. Unless I wanted something subtler, in which case I'd use the LH80 or ED. The LH80 did not strike me as an essential rum to have on hand.

I don't think using any one of the three would give you substantially different results in a cocktail. Their common traits are much greater than their differences.

Added bonus: When I was done tasting, I poured the remains of all three into one glass. It was the best tasting of all. So maybe you should do that. :)

Lemon Hart isn't available here in Sweden but I managed to get my hands on a few bottles of their (old) 151 some years ago which I ordered from abroad. Tastes great in every drink I've tried it in, with the Kapu Kai being a favorite. El Dorado on the other hand is readily available here and I use both their cheap standard dark Demerara as well as the 8 years. However, I find the latter to easily get an undesired "whisky" flavor in some mixed drinks (similar to the case with some Martinique rums in Mai Tais), and therefore way prefer their standard for most mixed drinks.

Klas, I appreciate your tasting notes, especially your comment about getting a "whisky" taste in some cases with Martinique rums. Changing rums in recipes is fun, and I have noticed different effects from person-to-person depending on individual palates and tastes.

I know Lemon Hart is available in Germany from http://www.worldwidespirits.de in their shop and by mail. You might find some over-the-counter in better large-city liquor stores if you get down that way. It is worth looking for.

Thanks for the tip on that German store. I was in Berlin last year and looked especially for Lemon Hart but couldn't find any. Still have about one and a half bottle left though.

I heard a rumor that the "new" Lemonhart 151 might be going away again and that it was "not available" again for stocking. Anyone know what's going on with the Lemonhart?

Yes it is going away for at least a year. Read this topic:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=47455&forum=10&start=15