I always knew this day would come.  The day when I had to review the devil’s brew.  There’s probably not another liquor out there that has caused more memory loss, fights, bad dancing, puking, public nudity, DUIs, and just flat out stupid mistakes (like babies) all in one night as much as Bacardi 151. I’m sure everyone has his or her own story, or at least a 30-min tale from what can be recalled involving this giant of drunkness, and a few of we lucky ones even have a police report and something they call “video evidence” to help us remember our 151 nights.  Bacardi 151 holds a special spot with me because it’s the first liquor I ever consumed (That explains a lot doesn’t it?).  It was my usher for my first experince into the wasted world.  That night, I even met my first serious girlfriend, a.k.a the b!$@%.  I guess it was a halfway good night.

    I wasn’t able to find much about the creation 151 on Bacardi’s website; hell, they don’t even have it listed as one of thier products.  It’s okay.  There is a lot I can learn just from the bottle.  This stuff is strong.  Any bottle with as many warnings and danger signs printed on it has to have something good  inside, right?  There’s even a flame arrester under the cap.  A flame arrester is basically a metal grid that stops flames from getting into the bottle and turning your bottle of ‘pain go bye-bye’ juice into a molotov cocktail of death.  On the other hand, it also causes the booze to pour really slowly.  This can be a problem when you’re in a hurry to drown the problems of your day.  So again, it’s a half good/half bad situation.

    Now lets get down to brass tax.  Should you drink Bacardi 151 by itself?  No!  Don’t do it.  On to mixing this firewater…wait, what’s that you say?  Why not drink this rum by itself?  Why would you even try this?  If you have to wonder why you shouldn’t just, sip Bacardi 151 on ice, then you’ll understand why shouldn’t be drinking it.  The taste is a horrbile one.  It’s like gasoline aged in an oak barrel.  You will actually wish that your taste buds would go numb so the pain will stop, but they never do fast enough.  This liquor isn’t something people drink for its flavor.  There are only two reasons to drink 151: a) to solve problems, or b) to cause problems.

    As far as I’m concerned, mixed is the only way to enjoy Bacardi 151.  But don’t be fooled into thinking that mixing Bacardi 151 will drown out that firewater taste, because it won’t.  I mixed one and a half shots with 32oz of Coke, and the 151 still burns through.  Dr. Wade recommends taking 151 in mixed shots.  I know that sounds like a sissy way of drinking, but there are no sissies when it comes to this stuff.  There are only fools and the people who drive them.

    Now just because I said drink 151 in shooters doesn’t mean you should go crazy with it.  You will get drunk, and it will come quickly, very quickly.  By my third drink, I was drunk.  By my fifth, I was walking like I was in the depths of and ether binge.  This isn’t one of those tricky liquors that you can’t tell you’re drunk from until you get up to walk.  You’ll be able to tell when that chair you have been sitting in all night starts to feel more a bucking mechanical bull (a very mean and nasty mechanical bull).  Now, I want everyone to get a pad and write this down.  I’ll wait.  Okay, ready?  Bacardi 151 isn’t a drink you want to give to that lucky lady to make you seem more tolerable or attractive.  They go from zero to puke in minutes.  You’ll be holding her hair back and listening to her cry in no time.  Secondly, it is a decent drink to start the night.  Bacardi 151 is not a drink you want to start drinking after you are already drunk.  If you do, you won’t be able to remember who you are the next day, and that’s if you can get the room to stop spinning long enough to make it to the next day.

    Since we are on the subject of the next day, let me just say, fear it.  I awoke with a hangover that made crawling an incredible task.  The worst part was that I had to work in the morning.  I spent most of the day trying to find places to puke secretly.  It was so bad I had to carry a trash can around in front of me so I could throw up and keep walking.  My head felt like that mechanical bull I was riding the previous night was rattling around inside my skull the whole time, and it continued to do so.

    Bacardi 151 comes at a easy price of around $25 for a 750ml bottle at your local place of spirit purchase.  That price is pretty fair for the amount of drunk you can get out of a bottle.  A good drunk is priceless.  If you find your days have become far too long and you just want to get really drunk in a hurry, or hell, if you just enjoy a good hangover, give this rum a try.  But be warned, this is not for the feint of heart.  It really hurts to get that fun drunk with this stuff.  Bacardi 151 will give you some fun times and great stories.  Sadly, it won’t be you telling them.  All your friends will.  You’ll be too busy trying to figure out where your pants are and why there is a tattoo of some guy’s name on your ass.

Sipability - 2.5

Mixability - 6.0

Drunkability - 9.5

Hangover-ability - 2.5

Bang for the Buck - 4.0

Overall - 5.0  

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    Bacardi Limón is one of the first infused Bacardi rums.  I think it may be the oldest and most popular of the Bacardi girls (that’s what I call the Bacardi infused rums), even though it tastes exactly like 7 Up©, which isn’t necessarily a good thing for liquor.  Sadly, Limón may be the best infused rum that Bacardi has given us.  That’s not saying much.  It’s like being the best in the Special Olympics.  It’s basically the one that didn’t get too distracted by clouds or the sun and managed to finish the race.  I really shouldn’t say stuff like that because I’m fairly sure the participants in the Special Olympics are more athletic than I am, and I can’t stay sober enough or keep my eyes off girls long enough to finish a race at all.

    Bacardi Limón is easily one of the most drinkable of Bacardi’s infused rum line.  Limón tastes more like sour oranges than lemons or limes.  After swallowing even the smallest of sips, it leaves your mouth with a waxy aftertaste.  The best way I can describe it is chewing on a orange peel that has been covered in a mixture of lime juice and rum.  It’s one of those tastes that you know will leave you with cotton mouth in the morning.  The solo flavor really tastes a lot like 7 Up© without the carbonation.  So either Bacardi Limón is so weak that it tastes like a soft drink, or 7 Up© tastes like a really weak citrus rum.  No matter, I’m not a fan of either one.  Well, I’m not a fan of either one alone. Bacardi Limón turned out to be a great mixer.  It adds the perfect citrus flavor that most cocktails, drinks, and even soda may need sometimes.  It’s the garnish of the liquor world.  If you don’t believe me, next time you order a drink that comes with a lime or lemon garnish, have the waitress replace that damn piece of evil fruit with a shot of Limón.  It makes a world of difference, plus, it makes any drink an alcoholic one.  There’s nothing at all wrong with that.

    Sadly, as for getting average drinker drunk, Bacardi Limón falls short.  It took maybe 5 glasses (2 1/2 shots per cup) to even get me buzzed.  The buzz was shorter than Hunter’s attempt to become a dancer at that Coyote Ugly Saloon (don’t worry little guy, I’m sure they’ll call eventually).  I guess getting you wasted may be this liquor’s weakest point.  So I guess it makes sense for there to be barely any signs of a hangover the next day.  I didn’t wake up with cotton mouth for once, but I did have a minor headache and breath so sour and bad-smelling that it could bring the manliest of men to tears.

    As with all the infused Bacardi rums, Limón is cheap.  I found a half gallon on sale for around $20.  You can get your hands on a fifth for around $18 online if you are too lazy to get off your fat ass.  At that price, Bacardi worth trying if you haven’t already.  Since this is a liquor that can be mixed with so many things, it wouldn’t hurt to keep a bottle around the house.  We had a guest taster, Dr. Unkard (check our forum if you don’t know who he is), who gave Limón an 8 for its mixed taste, and he’s a raging alcoholic.  That makes me believe that anyone across the board can like this one.  So give Bacardi Limón a try; I doubt you’ll be let down too much.  Meanwhile, I’m going to see if I can come up with a way to make this rum into the best lemonade, ever!

Sipability - 5.0

Mixability - 7.5

Drunkability - 5.5

Hangover-ability - 7.0

Bang for the Buck - 8.0

Overall - 6.5

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    The BoozeBasher staff has a schoolyard crush on Flor De Caña’s rum.  We loved the Gold for mixing, the Grand Reserve for sipping, and even the Extra Dry holds its own amongst a group of people who don’t believe in drinking a rum unless it has some color to it.  Really we are just one happy family of rum drinkers and tasty rums.  Unfortunately, there is always that one that does not fit in with the rest of the family.

    Maybe it’s the cousin that shows up to the family reunion on a chopper wearing ass-less chaps.  Maybe it’s the sister that goes into the adult film industry and wants to show grandma what she does for a living.  In Flor de Caña Black Label’s case, it just didn’t measure up to the standards we have come to expect from Flor de Caña.  Having sampled and enjoyed the rums on either side age-wise, we expected something that mixes well in a cocktail and could be consumed on the rocks without making gargoyle faces.  Sadly, this rum suffers from the middle child syndrome and the Black Label just did not cut it in either case. 

    Flor de Caña Black Label is the middle child of the slow-aged family, spending 5 years in a barrel used only once prior.  This aging time is spent in their original barrel houses which were constructed without air-conditioning, electrical ventilation, or humidifiers.  This provides a natural environment for this line of rums to rest in comfortably.  Compañia Licorera, the parent company of Flor de Caña, has even trademarked this process and believes that it produces the finest family of rums on the market. 

    The aroma of Flor de Caña Black Label is not especially entrancing, as it is dominated by a strong alcohol odor, but it does have hints of sweet molasses and oddly a hint of cotton candy scent.  The flavor on the rocks is not really unpleasant, just disappointing.  It provides the same sort of feeling you get when your son drops a promising law career for one with a group of traveling folk singers.  Yeah, you will lie to your neighbors about his new profession, but you will feel bad about doing so.  It has nice oak flavors with a little bit of pepper, but the aftertaste is a little dry and metallic.  There are no caramel, molasses, or fruit flavors to entice me into another sip.  In fact, the taste is a bit delicate, and when we tried mixing it with cola, it was pretty much obliterated.  Ginger ale is a better mixer, but the Flor de Caña Black Label does not add much to the drink. 

    Well, it doesn’t add much other than an 80-proof dose of liquid courage.  Though even in this category, it was not as effective at the other Flor de Caña products we have enjoyed.  It will still get you nice an tipsy.  Unfortunately, the next day I had a persistent unsettled stomach that lasted for the majority of the day.  Again, this was just one more area that the Black Label did not stack up to its siblings.

    A bottle of Flor de Caña Black Label will cost you about $21, but honestly, I suggest you spend a little less and get the Gold or a little more and get the Grand Reserve.  The Black Label is not a bad rum; it just lacks the extra bite to mix well and yet does not have the smooth bold flavors to be consumed on the rocks.  We are not going to kick it out of our happy little family, but it is going to be relegated to the kids table at supper time.

Sipability - 6.0

Mixability - 6.5

Drunkability - 7.0

Hangover-ability - 5.5

Bang for the Buck - 7.5

Overall -  6.5 

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