151 anyone?

[weerin]

I just aquired a bottle of bacardi 151, all I can say is wow :) 75.5%, quite potent. Anyone around here who drinks this stuff on a semi regular basis? Any mixing suggestions? Im pretty sure you could mix this with..anything and it would just kill its taste. One idea would be mixing it with a thick milk type beverage, not too sure how that would work out though. Anyone tried mixing bacardi (151 in particular) with milk? :) Any suggestions on what I should mix it with?

Thanks in advance

[Jason Perlow]

Its not generally used as the primary alcohol in any mixed drink -- usually a half a shot of it is used to supplement other things, or to be ignited on fire when floated on top of a fruity punch. Small amounts of it added to fruit juices is good.

Overproof rum is revered in certain cultures like Jamaica for medicinal purposes and such. But I'm not particularly crazy about it.

[Shamanjoe]

I've never added it to milk, but a friend did add a high-proof vodka to milk and it curdled it. I'd imagine the 151 would have the same effect. Pretty good if you're making a "Squished Smurf" (apricot brandy curdles the Bailey's for a creamy texture) but then again, that's a shot too, not a drink. I'd skip the milk and float it on top of something tiki-style and light it on fire instead

[Penwu]

Jeff Berry's books have a couple of good recipes based on 151 rum - though they're meant for a really good 151 like Lemon Hart, not Bacardi. I really like a swizzle of LH 151, brown sugar, and mint leaves.

[John Rosevear]

Bacardi 151 is pretty one-dimensional, and I suspect most of it gets torched for Bombe Alaska and flaming shots rather than being made into actual cocktails for anyone over the age of 25 or so. If you really want to wade into overproofs, try Lemon Hart Demerara 151 for some more sophistication... or Wray & Nephew Overproof (the bestselling rum in Jamaica) for something more in the white lightnin' vein. Gosling also does a 151 that's worth a taste -- and it's a much better choice than Bacardi for most of those flaming desserts.

[Shamanjoe]

I have a bottle of Lemon Hart that I use quite often, but I haven't been able to find the Wray and Nephew here in California.

John, as much as I like the regular Gosling's offerings (I still say the Black Seal makes a damn good Mai Tai ), I didn't know about their 151. I'll have to give it a try if I can find it.

edited to add:

I agree completely with the Bacardi 151. I've never used it in an actual cocktail, and honestly haven't bought a bottle of it since turning 21. But I can remember the days..

Edited January 25, 2010 by Shamanjoe (log)

[roosterchef21]

I have a bottle of Lemon Hart that I use quite often, but I haven't been able to find the Wray and Nephew here in California.

John, as much as I like the regular Gosling's offerings (I still say the Black Seal makes a damn good Mai Tai ), I didn't know about their 151. I'll have to give it a try if I can find it.

edited to add:

I agree completely with the Bacardi 151. I've never used it in an actual cocktail, and honestly haven't bought a bottle of it since turning 21. But I can remember the days..

I can't.... Messy messy drink.

[John Rosevear]

Joe, in that general price range, in a Mai Tai, I'd personally choose Appleton V/X over the Gosling's but I wouldn't argue with anyone who made the other choice. I routinely sub Gosling's for Myers's in all sorts of drinks with uniformly happy results.

I think the last time I actually drank Bacardi 151 as a drink was on my 21st birthday... a bar in Ithaca made something called a "Prairie Fire", a shot of burning 151 floated on a tablespoon or so of Tabasco, that my roommate insisted I try. Sigh. (After that we moved on to gimlets, a much more sensible thing to be drinking. In retrospect it's arguable that my transition to adulthood occurred at that exact moment, on ordering the second round of drinks that night.)

Edited January 25, 2010 by John Rosevear (log)

[lancastermike]

A million or so years ago I tended bar at a place that had a copper topped bar. On occasion at closing time we would throw a whole bottle of Bacardi 151 on the bar and light it. Quite the show with all the lights off.

[Shamanjoe]

Joe, in that general price range, in a Mai Tai, I'd personally choose Appleton V/X over the Gosling's but I wouldn't argue with anyone who made the other choice. I routinely sub Gosling's for Myers's in all sorts of drinks with uniformly happy results.

John, I know you recommended that over in the Tiki thread a month ago, but I still haven't gotten around to trying it

Mike, speaking of a flaming bar, that gives me a whole new reason to love copper! I may have to pick up a bottle of 151 just to do that. I've had great results with Stroh '80' that Jeffrey Morgenthaler recommended for flaming pisco sours, but that's much more expensive (not to mention much more flavourful) than the 151.