Lemon Hart question

On 2014-06-17 06:47, Swanky wrote:
drinkupny did not offer free shipping on the $500 order I put in.

You're right - I just read on their web site that For customers shipping to CT, DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY & RI, Ground Shipping is FREE for orders over $199.99. Bummer.

My order arrived at work yesterday. It was funny to hear all the comments about how people were going to fight over the plain brown box with a FedEx sticker marked "alcohol inside"!

I heard, after I placed my drinkupny order, that there are still some bottles on shelves here in Jacksonville, FL. I'm probably going to pick up a few more today.

dang, i haven't found any around Tampa Bay...

I was able to get my hands on 12 bottles; more than I'll probably use in a year but at lease It'll hold me until this situation levels out . . . or El Dorado steps up to the plate and starts bottling a dark 151 Demerara rum. They certainly have the network of distributors to pull it off and leave Lemon Hart in their dust!

I'm beginning to question this shortage. I just went to my local liquor store and the shelf that was empty for two weeks now has 5 new bottles?

dammit MaukaHale, where is the base of the Volcano?!

Darn, I was just in Ft Lauderdale last week. I could have brought you a few bottles.

If you come up to the Stampede this summer (I mean...who doesn't want to go to the Calgary Stampede?)...I can point you in the right direction of the LH 151. Hell, I "might" even share some with you at the Kanaloa lounge.

I'm still waiting for ATP to show up for a drink. Maybe he can share a few drink recipes with me. I only know a few that use the 151.

On 2014-06-18 09:32, MaukaHale wrote:
I'm still waiting for ATP to show up for a drink. Maybe he can share a few drink recipes with me. I only know a few that use the 151.

Did someone call my name?
I am more efficient then "Candyman", you only have to say my name once...

Funny thing is I like my LH 151 as a float in the good old classic Mai Tai the best
what are you folks favorite use for LH 151?

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2014-06-18 11:40 ]

On 2014-06-18 11:40, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:

On 2014-06-18 09:32, MaukaHale wrote:
I'm still waiting for ATP to show up for a drink. Maybe he can share a few drink recipes with me. I only know a few that use the 151.

Did someone call my name?
I am more efficient then "Candyman", you only have to say my name once...

Funny thing is I like my LH 151 as a float in the good old classic Mai Tai the best
what are you folks favorite use for LH 151?

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2014-06-18 11:40 ]

151 Swizzle
2070 Swizzle
Swanky Swizzle
Zombie Punch
Cobra's Fang
Jet Pilot
Aku Aku Zombie

Swanky, I saw your recipe for the 2070 Swizzle Redux
I will have to try that sometime while I still have a bottle of LH 151 around
I don't think Hi-Times has the Angostura 1919 at the moment though.

Besides medicinal purposes, LH151 can successfully be utilized in the following tasty tiki beverages:

151 Swizzle
Aku-Aku Lapu
Cobra Fang
Hell in the Pacific
Jet Pilot
Puka Punch
Shrunken Skull (Mai-Kai version)
Tiki Bowl
Zombies (1934 & Aku-Aku)

But what is your favorite use of LH 151, Oxy?

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2014-06-18 16:32 ]

Hi everyone, new to the forum. Fun site.

If anyone is in the Providence, RI area, Bottles Wine & Spirits on the east side of Providence still has bottles of LH151 in stock; I purchased two bottles and they had a least three still on shelf. Great little store with a nice selection of rums, knowledgeable staff.

On 2014-06-18 16:31, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
But what is your favorite use of LH 151, Oxy?

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2014-06-18 16:32 ]

I Have three favorites:
The Aku-Aku Zombie, my own cocktail -The Banzai Charge, and the Shrunken Skull (Mai-Kai)...

My wife likes it as a floater in a Chief Lapu-Lapu, as well...

I made one of those 151 Swizzles tonight, very tasty.

I just picked up the last case in Central TN distribution zone (what I was told). They sure don't have any in East TN (none distributed here), but I'm not sure about West/Memphis area. $29 per bottle.

The liqour store owner was told by the distibutor that they were moving production to another distillery. Hmmmm....
He also mentioned the July 2015 redistribution.

Hoarding complete... Unless I find more. Ha!

Favorite uses... A floater/flavor boost in just about anything or a good old 34 zombie punch. Having said that, the Swanky Swizzle is quite nice as well.

On 2014-06-19 13:56, Q-tiki wrote:
Hoarding complete... Unless I find more. Ha!

LOL!

Someone from Norway posted this photo on the Ministry of Rum's Facebook group. All I can say is I wish I could find the paradise where Lemon Hart 80 is readily available by the 1.75-liter jug ...

And its the yellow label too! Maybe available by mail order from a European shipper?

Has anyone heard more details about the cut-off of Lemon Hart sales in the US? Is this the real life, is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide... (You know the rest, ha...)

No escape from reality...easy come, easy go...

FWIW, for those in the Chicago area, I picked up 3 more bottles of LH151 from Binny's South Loop last evening and they had 8 more on the shelf. Didn't inquire about their backroom stock.

I also picked up a bottle of Small Hands Foods Orgeat -- they didn't have that last time I was there (or the B.J. Reynolds stuff or a number of other tiki-crafty items that they now have in stock -- could it be Chicago is finally catching on not just to craft cocktails, but, more specifically, Tiki cocktails!? If so, I suppose some credit must go to the crazily popular Three Dots and a Dash, whose popularity I simultaneously am grateful for and resent) -- anyway, looking forward to trying that orgeat in a mai tai after I get my bunches of mint from the farmers' market tomorrow -- not to derail the thread, but anyone here have any experience/comments about the Small Hands Foods stuff?

Okole Maluna

[ Edited by: Bamboozled 2014-06-25 13:55 ]

On 2014-06-25 12:06, Bamboozled wrote:
not to derail the thread, but anyone here have any experience/comments about the Hand Small Foods stuff?

I still have an open bottle of their orgeat. Its the only Small Hands product I've used. While everybody said its pretty damn good stuff, I really prefer the spice that comes with BG Reynolds' orgeat. I just wish I didn't have to order it online every time or hunt for it (around here Small Hands is slightly more available).

This seems to be real. I talked to the owner of Trader Morts last week and he said that he won't be able to get anymore until they start making it again. Worst possible senario...

On 2014-06-25 15:22, lunavideogames wrote:
This seems to be real. I talked to the owner of Trader Morts last week and he said that he won't be able to get anymore until they start making it again. Worst possible senario...

This is getting serious!

It's still out there, fortunately, so you can get a few bottles. Of course I'm curious to see if any other manufacturer is going to step up and make a competitive product.

On 2014-06-25 11:42, Hurricane Hayward wrote:
Someone from Norway posted this photo on the Ministry of Rum's Facebook group. All I can say is I wish I could find the paradise where Lemon Hart 80 is readily available by the 1.75-liter jug ...

Wow!! That IS a find, one that I wish I had found!

On 2014-06-26 06:38, AceExplorer wrote:
It's still out there, fortunately, so you can get a few bottles. Of course I'm curious to see if any other manufacturer is going to step up and make a competitive product.

This is quite a 'conund-rum' (heh). I have the 10 bottles of LH151, recently purchased, which should be more than I need to make it through July, 2015, when distribution resumes. That is, IF it resumes. Do we trust that they won't just mothball the brand, when the time comes? (Sort of like when a tiki restaurant closes for "remodeling", and never reopens.)
I believe I can round out to 2 cases, from various local stores, as insurance against LH151 becoming permanently unavailable. But should I tie up $650 in this one product? (Technically, I could consider it a "stock investment", couldn't I?) What if I do, and then, as AceExplorer wondered, another manufacturer introduces a Demerara-profile product that is not just competitive in quality and price, but superior?
I'd hate to have to listen to everyone, from the Bum and Martin Cate on down, rave about this magnificent new sub for LH151, better in every way,... while I'm stuck for years, trying to work through 2 cases of now second-rate LH rum!

On 2014-06-27 08:13, Limbo Lizard wrote:

On 2014-06-26 06:38, AceExplorer wrote:
It's still out there, fortunately, so you can get a few bottles. Of course I'm curious to see if any other manufacturer is going to step up and make a competitive product.

This is quite a 'conund-rum' (heh). I have the 10 bottles of LH151, recently purchased, which should be more than I need to make it through July, 2015, when distribution resumes. That is, IF it resumes. Do we trust that they won't just mothball the brand, when the time comes? (Sort of like when a tiki restaurant closes for "remodeling", and never reopens.)
I believe I can round out to 2 cases, from various local stores, as insurance against LH151 becoming permanently unavailable. But should I tie up $650 in this one product? (Technically, I could consider it a "stock investment", couldn't I?) What if I do, and then, as AceExplorer wondered, another manufacturer introduces a Demerara-profile product that is not just competitive in quality and price, but superior?
I'd hate to have to listen to everyone, from the Bum and Martin Cate on down, rave about this magnificent new sub for LH151, better in every way,... while I'm stuck for years, trying to work through 2 cases of now second-rate LH rum!

That beats the alternative of having nothing to me.

Having survived the LH151 scare once before, I will not be without. July 2015 is a best guess. I want to have maybe 2 years supply on hand. When July gets here, we'll see and it may be good or we may all find what we own is all there is. And I don't think anything is going to outshine LH151 som uch as to make me feel bad other than the outside chance it is priced at $15 a bottle...

I believe I can round out to 2 cases, from various local stores, as insurance against LH151 becoming permanently unavailable. But should I tie up $650 in this one product? (Technically, I could consider it a "stock investment", couldn't I?) What if I do, and then, as AceExplorer wondered, another manufacturer introduces a Demerara-profile product that is not just competitive in quality and price, but superior?
I'd hate to have to listen to everyone, from the Bum and Martin Cate on down, rave about this magnificent new sub for LH151, better in every way,... while I'm stuck for years, trying to work through 2 cases of now second-rate LH rum!

It's a great investment for your personal stock portfolio. I still have a few LH151s from before the first crash. I tried to divest some of the assets prior to the new branding at a couple of tiki events but, no one was interested.
I've never tasted the current LH. I'll have to invest $40 today to see how it tastes.

I believe I can round out to 2 cases, from various local stores, as insurance against LH151 becoming permanently unavailable. But should I tie up $650 in this one product? (Technically, I could consider it a "stock investment", couldn't I?)

Way better than stock!

Because if a stock goes to sh*t, one could use the certificate as toliet paper.

But you will always be able to drink LH151!

“All roads lead to rum.” ~ W.C. Fields

[ Edited by: Oxybeles 2014-06-27 14:02 ]

I just picked up (the last?) 3 bottles of LH 151 from Randall's here in St. Louis. Then I went over to Global Foods and got some passionfruit puree for good measure. God Bless American Zombies!

More bad news.

I talked to the rum expert at my local liquor store and he told me that it would be TWO YEARS before LH151 would be back on the market. I don't have a way to verify this but that is what I was told.

Now that I have acquired a taste for "151 Swizzle" this is going to require more hording.

"People are like islands. You have to get close to them to know what they are about."
~ Adam Troy

[ Edited by: MaukaHale 2014-07-06 15:10 ]

I'm concerned. In addition to the news about 151, the company has gone pretty silent in the press and social networking. You were getting something from them every couple weeks and it seems things went silent in February. Hope there aren't bigger issues.

This sounds strangely like a poorly-handled change in ownership or a poorly-handled change in branding. In any case, let's hope their product survives whatever is going on in the background.

Has anyone seen any articles in industry trade mags which might shed more light on the situation?

anyone know where to find the 80?

The Mosaiq website no longer lists LH151 in their portfolio.
They only list LH80 and LH 100 British Proof.

Wondering if they are thinking the LH151 might be diverting sales from the 100 British Proof product? I don't think either one is available in the US.

Not sure what that means, but it don't feel good.

As of today, the LH151 is still showing up on the drinkupny web site. No LH80 is shown though. You could try some overseas sellers and see if they have any available. When things get REALLY desperate, worldwidespirits has LH151 for 42 Euros/bottle but no LH80.

Sigh...

On 2014-06-26 06:38, AceExplorer wrote:
Of course I'm curious to see if any other manufacturer is going to step up and make a competitive product.

El Dorado.

They make an excellent Dark rum for your basic needs.

They make a 151 even if it is a bit difficult to find. Talk to your supplier, it can be ordered.

They make several aged bottles that are wonderful. I love the 15, not so much the 12.

And all of them are Demerara rums that are comparable to, and in some cases superior to, Lemon Hart.

Thanks, Chip and Andy! I love the El Dorado rums and will be doing a side-by-side comparison in drinks in the near future. I have a comfortable supply of LH151 to last me several years now, but for my own curiosity and for benefit of others reading this thread will share my results.

I have the El Do 15 on hand right now, the other ages I had have been used. So I'm close to making a trip to the local "candy store" to re-stock and at that time I will check on the El Do 151 which I don't recall seeing before. We recently made a number of fine Beachcomber Punches with El Do 15, they were a big hit, so my El Do 15 is almost depleted. I may compare the various ages in a side-by-side sipping-test. I think the lower age rum will be for my every-day friends who are not very rum savvy.

I declare that my search for El Do 151 is officially on!

My liver thanks you. :)

Google searches for "Rum El Dorado 151" are disappointing because the search brings up a ton of car parts for sale. This could be a sign from the tiki gods that rum and vintage cars go together.

Caution: Liver testing in progress!

In response to a couple inquiries above... Lemon Hart 80 hasn't been imported for at least a few years now. So unless you find a dusty bottle -- which is pretty unlikely at this point -- you're not going to find it in the U.S.

The El Dorado 151 is very different from Lemon Hart. It's basically just high-test white rum. Not dark or smoky or with those burnt caramel notes. All it's really going to add to a drink is alcohol. Not much flavor.

I asked Ed Hamilton (the Minister of Rum) about Lemon Hart 151. Ed is the one who (through his company, Caribbean Spirits) brought LH back to the American market after it was discontinued a few years back.

His response:

Mosaiq, the company that owns the Lemon Hart brand decided a couple of months ago not to bottle Lemon Hart 151 until at least mid-2015.

Edit: Old news. Ed already announced this on the LH151 Facebook page in May.

David J. Montgomery
Professor Cocktail
Professor Cocktail's Zombie Horde: Recipes for the World's Most Lethal Drink

[ Edited by: djmont 2014-07-10 08:23 ]

[ Edited by: djmont 2014-07-10 08:27 ]

Ace- all the ABC stores around here have the ED 151, check yours. it is a clear overproof rum.

I'm curious about the Gosling's dark 151, havent tried that one...

Thanks, David, that is extremely helpful! If El Do 151 is not a dark rum, then it's not near a sub for LH151.

It appears, then, that the best scenario for the time being is for home bar owners to stock up on LH151 as best they can. Commercial establishments won't be as fortunate because their volume far exceeds what supply remains available. Home bar owners have a good chance to stock up with enough to get through the drought.

Let's not forget that the world of tropical cocktails, and classic cocktails as well, offers a lot of rich recipes and timem periods to explore. I like to keep reminding my friends that, when we are faced with a challenge, it is also an opportunity to try some new and different things.

"When life gives you lemons, throw them at your neighbor who often parties late into the night and keeps you awake."

On 2014-07-10 08:44, thePorpoise wrote:
I'm curious about the Gosling's dark 151, havent tried that one...

I have Goslings 151 & Plantation Overproof (alongside 2 & a bit bottles of LH151), I'm subbing them for LH151 in drinks to see which works.

The Goslings 151 is a good rum for your money IMO but not quite as smokey as LH151 - it does work well in the Simplified Zombie from Remixed but the LH151 has a slight edge in the Jet Pilot.

Goslings 151 was what I used in place of LH151 before its return. It makes good drinks if that's all you have but it's still only s marginal substitute. Very much lacking the smoky/acrid richness of LH151.

[ Edited by: Sunny&Rummy 2014-07-10 11:10 ]

Why not add a drop of this? :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

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[ Edited by: kkocka 2014-07-10 11:03 ]

[ Edited by: kkocka 2014-07-10 11:03 ]