Lemon Hart question

Amen Brother!

Limbo be doin da limbo
Congrats

This morning at my local ABC store here in Florida, I was surprised to find four different 151's side-by-side in the rum section. Brands and prices are:

Bacardi 151 $24.99 / 750ml
Tropic Isle Palms 151 $19.99 / 750ml (normally $23, I think)
Cruzan 151 $16.99 / 750ml
El Dorado Demerara 151 $15.99 / 750ml

Interesting to see that of the four, only the ElDo is silver. Also, the least appealing of the three to me, the Bacardi, is the most expensive.

Here's a pic:

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What two of today's ideas are more inseparable than rum and tiki?

I just got mine from Vendome Liquor on Ventura Blvd in the Studio City, all gone now :). You might want to check the store in Toluca Lake.

On 2014-05-31 15:04, hiltiki wrote:
I just got mine from Vendome Liquor on Ventura Blvd in the Studio City, all gone now :). You might want to check the store in Toluca Lake.

Thank you for the suggestion hiltiki, I just picked up a bottle at the Toluca Lake location. They still have four bottles left as of this morning.

I'm still wondering why is this happening?
Anyone know the reasoning behind this?
Huh? Huh?

As of 10 am this morning there were about 6 bottles left at Beverage Warehouse in Culver City. I picked up two and left the rest for the West Side Ohana.

On 2014-06-02 13:33, VinylGeek wrote:
Thank you for the suggestion hiltiki, I just picked up a bottle at the Toluca Lake location. They still have four bottles left as of this morning.

And thank YOU, VinylGeek, as I just bought 2 of the 4 bottles left. :wink:

haha, you're welcome kkocka

You are welcome VinylGeek.

BarKeeper in LA is selling LH 151 for $38.50. Ugh.

That's the regular rate at Morts too. Keg and Bottle in Hollywood has some still (or did) but those are $35 I think too.

Ouch, the bastards!

Ronald Searle cartoons for an old Lemon Hart ad campaign. . . Cool! Searle was a British cartoonist but he had a big influence on several American cartoonists, includin the lead animators on 101 Dalmations. He also influenced young John Lennon's cartooning style (see "In His own Write" and "Spaniard in the Works").

Some of these old ads would look really nice as (non-Tiki) bar decorations.

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

[ Edited by: Sunny&Rummy 2014-06-04 11:50 ]

Yes, Sunny, and there are quite a few more of those online if you do a Google image search for Lemon Hart. It looks like it was a very cool ad campaign back decades ago. The Lemon Hart name seems to have had much greater prominence then, and may have faded from all but the most persistent of memories.

And if I recall correctly from old posts on the Ministry of Rum, back in the day there were Jamaican bottlings as well as the now more familiar Guyanese bottlings that bore the Lemon Hart brand. I wonder whether the bulk of the product being pitched in that old British ad campaign wasn't Jamaican and not Demerara. I'. sure the Jamaican stuff was quite excellent too.

I love the Searle ads as well, not to mention that it's a JOLLY GOOD RUM as well!

Regarding the Jamaican Lemon Hart, here's a very old label. It's great stuff too, but very hard to find!

[ Edited by: A Frame 2014-06-04 17:23 ]

I stiil haven't heard why production is stopping. My assumption is that LH151 has been using too much distillate and taking up too much space in the barrel warehouses and other more mainstream Demerara Distillers products have been getting short shrift, but I am just speculating.

Was drinking Puka Punches this weekend and remembering when I made that drink with a different 151 brand it never did much for me, but with LH it is superb.

I don't go through the stuff particularly fast at home, but I sure will miss it when I run out.

On 2014-06-08 08:00, Sunny&Rummy wrote:
I don't go through the stuff particularly fast at home, but I sure will miss it when I run out.

It's surprising how many drinks call specifically for lh151.

I thought, back when LH151 switched to the red label, sales in the US was taken over by a fellow tikiphile specifically to ensure that the product would be available to those living in North America. Has anyone here asked Martin Cate for his take on the story? I'm certain he would be able to give an interesting and thoughtful impression of the situation.

Is Martin even on TC? I will look for him at The Hukilau later this week, he occasionally attends in Fort Lauderdale. Between me, Swanky, Hayward, and other TCers who are attending this year, one of us should be able to corner him if he's also attending. The same is true for The Bum who I know we will all be seeing in Ft. Lauderdale.

I will ask around and see what kind of new information we can gather later this week. That's one of the many benefits of attending tiki events.

On 2014-06-09 05:09, AceExplorer wrote:
...

Is Martin even on TC? ...

Yes, he is Martiki and he does occasionally check in.

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=47297&forum=1&start=0

Great, thanks Haka. I just sent him a polite request for his insight into the situation. I think he knows the importer personally, as I recall viewing a YouTube video of both Martin and the importer doing a side-by-side taste test of the old yellow label and the newer red label when that change occurred. I can't recall who the other person was, but that video URL was posted here on TC and I can't look for it right now.

I hope to hear back from Martin soon, and if I don't, I hope to see him and The Bum in Fort Lauderdale and I'll grill 'em roving-reporter style, heh...

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Rum is important stuff!

Ed Hamilton from Ministry of Rum is the importer. He should be cannonized as one of the patron saints of rum. When this story broke it was Ed who conveyed that the distiller was halting production at least until next March, but he gave no indication as to why.

Martin was trying to sell his Hukilau passes and Beachbum symposium tickets on FB a little while back so it sounds like his plans to attend this year went up in smoke.

Folks, I can share the following thoughts from, and with thanks to, Martin Cate:

*"I wish I understood the reasons to stop the production. I think it has to do with wanting to really feel how much demand there is. I think it's a big mistake.

The plan is to restart production and return to the US with a new importer sometime in mid to late 2015. So I do believe it will return. I think they are trying a larger importer with more pull in the hope that it can grow into a much larger brand, but I think their goals for it may be too lofty.*

Martin acknowledged that it wasn't much additional information for us, but I think it underscores that he is also very hopeful that the product will return bigger and stronger in the future.

Have you been saving those old "yellow label" Lemon Hart bottles? Well, I think we should think ahead and start saving our "red label" Lemon Hart bottles now too. I'm going to go out on a not-too-risky limb by forecasting another label design change when the product is brought back in its next incarnation.

====================
Fun, fun, fun 'til Daddy took the Lemon Hart away.

On 2014-06-09 10:41, Sunny&Rummy wrote:
*Ed Hamilton from Ministry of Rum is the importer. He should be cannonized as one of the patron saints of rum. When this story broke it was Ed who conveyed that the distiller was halting production at least until next March, but he gave no indication as to why.

Martin was trying to sell his Hukilau passes and Beachbum symposium tickets on FB a little while back so it sounds like his plans to attend this year went up in smoke.*

Cannonized? That sounds painful! Can't we canonize him instead? :)

Ok, that's awesome, you found the name I couldn't get the time to search for, thanks!

Martin mentioned in his reply that he will be attending Hukilau this year, so his schedule must have opened up. Good info though, thanks.

On 2014-06-09 10:53, AceExplorer wrote:
Cannonized? That sounds painful! Can't we canonize him instead?

Oops. . . We'll that is the closest this lapsed Catholic is going to get!

Glad to hear Martin will be at Hukilau. Wednesday happy hour at the Molokai now only 50 hours away!

I'm driving up Tue night -- fewer (or no) crowds at the Molokai Bar the day before the big event begins!

Smuggler's Cove is a sponsor according to the logos on the Hukilau web site. So maybe he was selling a set of tix for one of his staff members that could not go?

Sorry, I know this is off-topic... [raspberry] :P [/raspberry]

Hot tip - the Drinkupny.com web site today says they still have Lemon Hart 151 in stock. I just ordered a couple more bottles - no stores around me have any for sale. Shipping is $18, so that jacked my per bottle price up to right around $38. Is it worth it? I think so since there really is no way to tell when this fine elixir will return.

Let's hope they actually can fill my order.

On 2014-06-09 12:05, AceExplorer wrote:
Hot tip - the Drinkupny.com web site today says they still have Lemon Hart 151 in stock. I just ordered a couple more bottles - no stores around me have any for sale. Shipping is $18, so that jacked my per bottle price up to right around $38. Is it worth it? I think so since there really is no way to tell when this fine elixir will return.

Let's hope they actually can fill my order.

Does Drink Up NY still offer free shipping on orders > $100? If so, it might be worth doubling that order.

Great idea. I looked and ground shipping is free for orders over $200. So if you have tiki neighbors near you, that's the ticket!

On 2014-06-09 12:05, AceExplorer wrote:
Hot tip - the Drinkupny.com web site today says they still have Lemon Hart 151 in stock. I just ordered a couple more bottles - no stores around me have any for sale. Shipping is $18, so that jacked my per bottle price up to right around $38. Is it worth it? I think so since there really is no way to tell when this fine elixir will return.

Let's hope they actually can fill my order.

Before Hi-Times here, sold out of LH 151 it was going for around $40 a bottle
so you got a good deal even with shipping costs.

On 2014-06-09 10:47, AceExplorer wrote:
Folks, I can share the following thoughts from, and with thanks to, Martin Cate:

*"I wish I understood the reasons to stop the production. I think it has to do with wanting to really feel how much demand there is. I think it's a big mistake.

The plan is to restart production and return to the US with a new importer sometime in mid to late 2015. So I do believe it will return. I think they are trying a larger importer with more pull in the hope that it can grow into a much larger brand, but I think their goals for it may be too lofty.*

Martin acknowledged that it wasn't much additional information for us, but I think it underscores that he is also very hopeful that the product will return bigger and stronger in the future.

Have you been saving those old "yellow label" Lemon Hart bottles? Well, I think we should think ahead and start saving our "red label" Lemon Hart bottles now too. I'm going to go out on a not-too-risky limb by forecasting another label design change when the product is brought back in its next incarnation.

====================
Fun, fun, fun 'til Daddy took the Lemon Hart away.

Great, info. Mahalo, AceExplorer. This does make some sense (sort of), and also explains why there's no detailed answer coming from Ed Hamilton, who rightfully should be miffed that apparently he's being shunted aside after personally doing most of the heavy lifting to bring LH 151 back to market in the states. Hopefully he'll get some sort of compensation in the deal.

The plan to grow LH into a much larger brand is interesting. I'm assuming that will involve more than just the 151 product. Here's the current product line:
http://www.lemonhartrum.com/rums
I wonder if there are plans to add any more? I'd love to see the Original One Hundred British Proof Reserve move beyond just the travel (duty-free shops) market:
https://therumhowlerblog.wordpress.com/rum-reviews/dark-rums/lemon-hart-original-one-hundred-british-proof-reserve-rum/

At any rate, if this scenario plays out, our problem of shortages and hoarding may be replaced by a bounty of LH on the shelves. My worry, like Martin, is that if they're expecting massive sales they may be a bit disappointed. But we'll certainly do our part, right guys?

Yup. I keep hoping the craft cocktail craze causes people to start discovering and drinking higher quality products and stop drinking the pop-culture crap we're so inundated with. Lemon Hart requires a bit of education to really appreciate it.

How do you drink and really enjoy a fine rum? It's similar to tequila where much of the population thinks Cuervo Gold is a good brand of tequila. Only with a little research did I discover that there are awesome tequilas out there, and guess what, they don't taste like Cuervo at all. Same with rums. With a little research you discover that there are awesome rums out there and they don't taste like the low-end Bacardi products at all.

Lemon Hart does have a bit of a challenge to overcome with "lemon" in the name. But with a good ad agency, and good market research, and a good strategy, they can do it. A lot of their success will depend on the mind set and commitment of the brand owners. I'd love to see them turn people on to the amazing things they have to offer. But to do it they have to make their move quickly and immediately differentiate themselves from the other rums out there. I don't think they'll have anywhere near the same deep pockets for ads that the big distilleries have, so they have to go big right out of the gate and hit people right between the eyes with their message.

Let's see how this develops. Until then, I'm going to be well stocked with enough LH151 for at least 1.5 or 2 years.

If cutting the supply is intended as a way to gague potential demand for the product by pissing off the small but fiercely loyal customer base, it is a huge mistake and one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. Grow the market demand through strategic advertising, (sponsor some events and turn curious consumers into hardcore fans), moderately INCREASING production and increasing the number of retail distribution outlets. I can't think of a product with a better defined current customer base (Tiki/tropical drink fanatics) or a better defined potential customer base (craft cocktail fanatics). If they understood their own product at all they would know exactly how to increase exposure and expand their market. Choking off the very people who clammored for the return of an essentially extinct product and who go to insane lengths to seek it out when it is available is not the way to do it.

Quite frankly, I am very dismayed about this situation and believe that taking away our rum rations is not the best approach to foster morale or loyalty.

Negotiate for a better distribution contract, but do not punish the Customer!

As such, Bring Back Lemon Hart 151, now. BBLH151

I wonder what percentage of LH151 sales are to bars/restaurants, as compared to retail customers? Unless they've stockpiled heavily (thus, tying up operating capital), establishments will have to adapt and alter their recipes. My fear is that the LH producer's plan may backfire on them. Once establishments go to the trouble to produce good substitute recipes, using more predictably available rums, they may be hesitant to fully switch back to LH151, when it again becomes available. The commercial demand may actually decrease, due to the drought! And if there is no longer sufficient demand,...

With all the great new Rums being produced lately, my gut feeling is that some new start will step up and produce both a "Lemon Hart like" 80 & 151 Demerara Rum which would have the tasty, smoky characteristics that made LH so popular to use in the cocktails we like.

I'd really like to think that this could be happening right now and that this Rum would become the standard by which all Demerara's are judged by, blow us all away and be readily available to enjoy...pretty please?

And while I'm at it, there was this rum called "Dagger"...:)

Yup, new rums are being produced, and many are searching for Lemon Hart subs. This stop-production situation may create enough of a gap that a suitable substitute could really undercut the Lemon Hart brand. Sad, but true. All it takes is for someone to say something like, "Hey, mix X ounces of Rum A with Y ounces of Rum B and you get something similar, as good, or better than Lemon Hart..." and see how the LH distiller's market share tumbles. It may never recover. Who came up with this gamble at LH I wonder?

There's been a bit of discussion about this at the pre-Hukilau gatherings last night and today. I'm sure there will be more.

I'll repeat . . . this is a great opportunity for El Dorado to step up to the plate and product a dark 151 Demerara rum. They are already a Demerara rum . . . how hard could it be? They could very easily steal Lemon Hart's consumers from them . . .they already have a larger distributorship. . . C'mon El Dorado - let's get with it!

What's the definition of a great friend?

One that finds several bottles of LH151 on a shelf, buys em all, then sends u a photo with a text that says
"half for me and half for you"

Sweet........

:)

Jon

When asked about Lemon Hart 151 at his symposium at The Hukilau, Beachbum Berry said he's exploring all options, including several rums not available in the U.S. ...
http://www.ministryofrum.com/rumdetails.php?r=514
http://www.firstdrinks.co.uk/rum_woods.html

Of course, that doesn't help us hicks living in the sticks.

Bummer, non-US rums... But, Hayward, that's where the adventurous searchers are rewarded with pirate's booty for their efforts. There are several fine offshore suppliers who ship product to the US. Details have been posted previously elsewhere here on TC. Seek and ye shall find!

I was interested to hear The Bum declare yesterday in his symposium that he sips LH151 neat. I'm used to watering it down a bit, or letting an ice cube melt a bit. But if you sip it slowly I'm sure it's awesome. Truly, based on the many positive comments made by folks here at the Hukilau and elsewhere, the LH151 is a world-class rum.

I heard the Bum say he drinks the LH neat but missed what he said about exploring all options regarding substitutes. Fortunately the Inner Circle is pretty much readily available to me in Aus. but it is up around the $70 mark and the Woods shows up occasionally but that is usually even more than that. But it's good to know i can at least give them a try.

I have become adventurous of late and have been sipping LH 151 neat and you have to do so at leadt once to appreciate all the layers in it. Certainly there is an alcohol burn but the most intense a d interesting sensation is the spice tingle on the lips a d tongue.

I'm told that Hi Times in Costa Mesa suddenly had nine cases of LH 151 as of yesterday. $30 a bottle.

I assumed this was an old thread until this weekend at Hukilau when I got the news. The Mai-Kai has bought every bottle in FL to warehouse. I immediately called the wife to get what we can. drinkupny did not offer free shipping on the $500 order I put in. I found 10 bottles nearby and they are checking the distributor tomorrow so I may get more. I do not want to go through this again! Last time I was drinking a lot fewer drinks calling for it. These days I go through a bottle a month or more. I am hoarding and will drink it eventually. In the mean time, I may be a LH 151 bootlegger when it dries up... I want to get at least 24 bottles on reserve in the rum cellar. Who knows when it will return and what it will taste like?