Lemon Hart Original 1804

I wasn't expecting much as this rum very much plays second fiddle to the 151 in this brand but I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of this offering.

Deep dark chocolate notes followed by molasses a little bit of spice. Reminds me of chilly spiked dark chocolate. Not noticeably harsh in any way, I could get used to this as a desert rum.

The bottle was reasonably priced at 27 Canadian and I expect it will be a fairly permeant fixture on my shelf.

Having heard a lot about this brand, I have finally decided to give it a try and purchased a whole bottle, which I now sadly regret.

The rum in the bottle and glass is of very dark brown color, and since it was presumably aged for a few years, it's no doubt heavily colored.

The nose is actually rather inviting, with pleasant, sweet and tad spicy aroma of wet forest earth, prunes and dark fruit.

That impression is quickly ended by actually tasting the rum. The initial sweetness imparted by added sugar quickly gives way to intense bitterness with a strange, off-key notes of soap, aged dry salami and sacharine. The sugar cannot fully mask the presence of fusel alcohols. The body is very thin, and the unpleasant, bitter aftertaste quickly dissipates, leaving you slightly shaken and unsure of what you have actually just ingested.

Even mixed with cola, the strange soapy bitterness carries through, tainting the drink with a lingering, unpleasant aftertaste.

This liquid is quite suitable for chasing off unwanted guest, or for torturing subordinates under the guise of managerial friendliness, but it's quite unsuitable as a sipper, and only very mediocre as a mixer.

I remember reading that the brand changed hands, or that there was some recipe change, so the old version could have been possibly better, but this current one is perfectly terrible.

In my opinion is a bullshit but there is something special. I don’t think it’s made in Demerara. Don’t buy this shit.

A premium blend of select 100% Demerara rums, distilled, aged and blended on the East Bank of the Demerara River in the lush tropical Caribbean country of Guyana. Lemon Hart Original is the classic dark Demerara navy style rum, cherished by rum drinkers around the world for its authentic flavour and full-bodied complexity. The perfect example of a rum that shows pronounced smooth rum flavour when mixed with cola.

On the dry side with little fruity, baking spice or floral notes to sweeten it up. Has some dryer notes like leather, tobacco, wood and earthy tones. Makes for a decent mixer but not very good as a sipper. Can't find this too often but if you do pick up a bottle for your rum collection.

This is a good party/ mixing rum it has an alright taste but I do not recommend it neat.

This is the first "decent" rum I ever had and it was turned me into a rum drinker. Now I keep it in my bar for mixing with coke or other mixers, my wife loves it with eggnog at Christmas time.

Not smooth enough to sip straight, but full of character with a very interesting, almost spicy flavour.

Nice to have a rum that you can still taste in a mix drink.

This is a reasonable social rum. A few friends, a poker game and a mixed drink. Some sweet notes and a taste of spice. Not a sipping rum for sure.

We were, sadly, pretty disappointed in this one. It's fine for mixing, just to add some punch to a drink, but on its own we couldn't find anything really to say about this... it's inexpensive, so that's good? If you are looking for something to kick up a large batch drink, this will do.