Bacardi 151 Rum 750mL

Hello and welcome to another edition of Booze Reviews.  I am the man called Justice and I will be sharing with you the drink of the week.  In previous weeks we’ve explored a higher end scotch and relatively tasty Vodka, however this week, because DJ Lvl has a tasty smuggled Vodka he’d like to review solo, Buffalo Jern, William Henri Neve IV and I decided we’d review a liquor that DJ Lvl wouldn’t dare touch.   That’s right boys and girls, this week we’re bringing the pain with Bacardi 151 rum.

Now most rums as you may or may not know are somewhere between 60 and 80 proof (30-40% alcohol by volume), 151 takes its name from the fact that it shatters that standard with a throat searing proof of 151 (75.5%).  151 was first imported to the U.S. from Bermuda in 1995 and since then it has been a favorite component in the strongest cocktails and flaming beverages such as the “flaming B-52”.

So you’d probably like to hear exactly what we thought of this legendary beverage.  Our review opened up as usual with a whiff of the shots in front of us.  From there we got a good sense of what was coming.  Through a few sudden coughs comments were heard like “smelling it hurt my throat” and “It smells like the prelude to bad decisions”.  The first shot confirmed what our noses had shouted in our faces; 151 goes down like a shot flaming molasses.  In the first seconds after you throw the glass back you literally feel like your entire esophagus has been torched.  The aftertaste is almost nonexistent at first, but after a few moments you start to taste the sweetness that confirms that despite all the fire and pain in the first moments after a 151 shot, it is rum.

Now this is where we’d usually talk about what the bottle said about this beverage, things that distillers said to talk their beverage up and make you want to buy and drink it.  151, however, likes to take a different route.  On the back of the bottle where there’d usually be a history of the booze, or a fanciful description of why this liquid is nothing but pure magic from the moment you fill the glass to the moment the last drop touches your tongue, there’s a list of ways this bottle could explode, catch fire or kill you.  151 rum knows exactly what it is, knows that you will never truly be able to handle what it is, and feels no need to sell itself to you since, inevitably, you will owe it to your balls to man up, and try a shot.  Let’s hear all the ways that this drink is dangerous, shall we?

What they say:

• “All 151 proof rum may flare up and continue to burn when ignited, possibly with an invisible flame”
• “Do not pour directly from bottle near flames or intense heat”
• “Do not remove or puncture the flame arrester in top of bottle” (yes there is a flame arrester in the top of the bottle, it’s that serious)
• “Removing the flame arrester may cause the content of the bottle to become ignited and intense flaming will occur”  (Mind you that’s ‘intense flaming will occur’.  Will not may.)

Now that we know this is serious business, it’s time for some numbers:

 

Taste: 5.5 – Hits you like a freight train and burns like sweet napalm.  It’s a unique flavor, and if you can get past that early burn you’ll taste that subtle sweetness hidden beneath.

Aftertaste: 4.25 – Aftertaste produced mixed reviews.  Some of us could taste nothing after first hit, I personally could taste an unpleasant bitter taste, and Jern got hit with a potent cough and a burning burp.

Burn/Smoothness: 0 – These quotes say it all:  “It burns like that meteorite at the end of FFVII if it was dipped in acid, and estrogen.”  “It burns like Nick Cage’s passion for Acting.”

Aroma: 3 – Slightly sweet, but searing and painful.

Honesty: 10 – This booze just screams power, the kind of no frills ballsy-ness you see in people like Sean Connery or Samuel L. Jackson.  It doesn’t have to say anything to set itself up to look manly, it is, you know it, and it will always be too manly for you. It has no qualms about what it is.

Mixability: 8

Rum and Coke: Standard rum and coke not the best tasting but pretty good, it’s also potent, which gives it a slightly stronger appeal to some.

Buffalo Sweat: This drink absolutely dominated us.  We thought the shot was potent, but after this drink we would have gladly used straight 151 as a chaser.

Value: 7.5 –  The longevity of this liquor is definitely what gives it such a high value.  It’s very potent so you can mix less of it for the same alcohol content.

Google Shop Average: $23

Website: http://www.bacardi.com/

 

Reviewer Scores:

William Henri Neve IV: 7

Justice: 6

Buffalo Jern: 8

Want to compare this spirit against our archives? Visit our statistics page.

Total: 38.25/70 |+| Metric Average: 5.46 |+| Reviewer Average: 7

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Final Thoughts:

This isn’t a drink every other night kind of booze, but it does have a strange appeal.  From a utilitarian view it does exactly what you think it should, it gives you a strong buzz will a low investment and has a taste that, despite the pain, will have you coming back for more.  At $23 a liter it’s a solid buy since it will definitely last you a while.  “If batman was a boozer, this would be in his utility belt” enough said.

Special Treat: 151 and Moxie – we didn’t really go over this one or rate is as part of the review but the Buffalo loved it and Mr. Neve wasn’t too pleased.  If you feel adventurous give it a shot, 50 50’s not bad odds right.