Lemon Hart Original 1804

This is a great rum for tiki drinks and tropical rum cocktails! An old classic...but not as great as the 151...not as much of a sipper as it`s a mixing rum.

Low sweetness, good spicy vanilla, rich dark sugars.

Great base for complex drinks if you want the tastes to come together and still taste that rum in it. Terrible neat.

That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve tried so far, and I’m not a spring chicken, believe me I’ve never buy a bargain or make spontaneous purchases, always aim for the quality. I would highly recommend to stay away and take something else.

Tried this rum neat for the first time. It has a pleasant flavour and a nice aftertaste. While not as smooth as my go to Goslings Black Seal, I will enjoy this bottle. If it is good enough for the British Navy it is good enough for me. Cheers!

Tasted at Laka Lono July 27, 2022 during a Kill Devil Rum Club tasting
Highly recommend this rum, which is tasty neat or in a drink.

I've had my eye on Lemon Hart 1804 Original for a while now and finally got round to picking some up. The price was favourably comparable to a couple of my other choices for go-to cost-effective rums so I was pleased to find it. First off, is this a black rum? Well the clear glass bottle looks blacker than the devil's coal cellar so I'd say yes, it counts as black although it's actually a dark brown amber sort of colour - looks great in the glass. Anyway let's get on to what this rum is actually like. On the nose I get Christmas fruits, hints of solvents and something very familiar that I can't quite put my finger on. Darn it I sat there and sniffed the glass for ages trying to place this recognizable yet not recognized scent; if it ever comes back to me I'll edit this review, no worries. Time for a sip! I get just a hint of tobacco smoke with cough sweets, muted citrus notes and a strong impression of Victory-V lozenges. I find this rum just a little sweet and smoother than comparable products, with nutty notes and a fair amount of spice/burn. But how do I feel about it? Honestly I wasn't expecting to be blown away but I have to admit that I've found my new favourite mass-market inexpensive rum. Its flavour is robust enough not to completely vanish in a cocktail and as a sipper I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great! I could drink Lemon Hart 1804 Original any day and, whilst it's not up there with a more expensive or refined product, I'd happily recommend it to anyone. All in all a very acceptable rum at a very acceptable price and, whilst I've scored it a 7, I really feel it deserves a 7½. Go try it out.

Laka Lono Rum Club tasting on 7/27/22. Dark brown in color. Iron, ferric notes. Big caramel . Toasted, yet thin.

Picked up a bottle as a tagalong for the flagship 151, which I hadn’t been able to get around here for a while. On its own it seems like a serviceable rum, but doesn’t stand out in quite the way I was hoping. Fairly smooth for a mid-shelf rum, but somewhat monotone. I taste an intriguing cinnamon/baking spice primarily, with just a hint of dried plum on the finish. Smells of caramel, but I don’t get much on the tongue. Curious to see if this adds body in mixed drinks a la Coruba (since they are similar price, but Hart & Son is easier for me to find for now) noting that the characteristic “funk” of Jamaican is absent here, since it’s a Demerara. I could see this becoming a regular in my rotation, but I had higher hopes!

It has the caramel notes you'd expect to find in a demerara rum with some burnt sugar and raisin notes. It plays well with limes, lemons and everything else that rum likes. I would use this for all dark rum needs.