Overview
Brand: Lemon Hart & Son
Origin: Diamond Distillery, Diamond, Guyana
Still: Pot & Column Blend
Age: NAS
Finish: ex-Bourbon
ABV: 40%
Lemon Hart is well-known in the section of the rum community that enjoys making cocktails, as their rums (the expression we're looking at today and their 151 variant) are both affordable and great for bringing the rich Demerara flavors.
As a company, Lemon Hart & Son was started in 1768 by Lehmon (aka "Lemon") Hart's grandfather, Abraham, a German immigrant to England. Like many rum brands formed in Europe at this time, Abraham's primary business was the import and trading of rum, which continued until his death in 1784. Abraham's son E.L. Hart ran the company for approximately 6 years, until Lemon Hart took over at a remarkably young age of 22 years old.
It was at this time that Lemon Hart crafted his signature blend of Demerara rum. Due to its reception among sailors, Hart would eventually become the British Navy's first purveyor of rum.
Lemon Hart Original 1804 continues the legacy of its namesake to this day. The rum is a blend of various marques of Demerara rum, produced at the Diamond Estate by Demerara Distillers, Ltd., (DDL) using their wooden Coffey column still (Enmore) and a wooden pot still. This pot still could be the famous Port Mourant still (which would have been at Diamond in Lemon Hart's lifetime), or the Versailles still (which provides a lighter profile rum but would not have been at Diamond for most of the 1800s).
The rum is blended and aged in ex-Bourbon casks for an undisclosed amount of time before being bottled at 40% ABV.
Appearance
Dark mahogany, medium viscosity
Nose
Molasses, brown sugar, vanilla extract, PlayDoh, multipurpose cleaning solution
Palate
Vanilla pudding, milk chocolate, molasses, brown sugar syrup, hint of clove
Finish
Medium, sweet, slightly bitter; molasses, brown sugar, vanilla extract, oak
Rating: 6/10
Summary
With Lemon Hart & Sons, you know you're getting an entry-level Guyanese rum, and that's about it. Nothing wrong with this: it's a solid blend of Demerara marques that satisfies that desire for thick molasses/brown sugar notes in a rum.
Molasses, brown sugar, and vanilla (in various presentations) are the primary notes throughout the experience. A faint PlayDoh and chemical cleaning solution (think PineSol) come through on the nose, with chocolate and clove joining the aforementioned flavors on the palate.
Lemon Hart Original 1804 can be a great addition to your next tiki recipe, but I personally think it's a rung below its competitor in the entry-level Demerara space: Hamilton 86.