Lemon Hart Original 1804

Looking back, Lemon Hart was a distinctive brand. However, the current communication strategy has shifted focus to a new angle, spotlighted by the hashtag #rumalways. I suspect it's ultimately about associating the brand with 'essentials' — a sort of bar must-have — to target the aspiring home bartender who may discreetly fancy the idea of becoming a mixologist someday. 🧚

Rebranding carries the inherent risk of losing brand recognition, so it typically focuses on refreshing the brand’s image to better align with current trends. In some cases, however, it serves as a strategy to distance the brand from undesirable associations or negative connotations.

Lemon Hart was the Royal Navy's first official rum supplier, with its rum actually being issued to sailors on ships. This heritage would be perfect for marketing purposes but frequent changes in ownership have disrupted the continuity of the brand’s message. Furthermore, the competitors have fully leveraged this historical narrative (Pusser’s, Black Tot).

Lemon Hart also gained recognition through its successful advertising campaigns (1951–1962), featuring illustrations by Ronald Searle. A retro-inspired stylistic revival would definitely appeal to me. What's more, the slogan "have a good rum for your money" feels delightfully charming, genuine and refreshingly sincere.

But the strongest association, still relevant today, is Lemon Hart's iconic status in tiki culture. While this primarily pertains to the 151 variant, it's fair to say that this legacy could still cast a positive light on the other variants. Yet, finding any mention of tiki on the producer's website is virtually nonexistent.

The thing is, Modernity struggles with the 'tiki', often interpreting it as an act of cultural appropriation. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon countries — guided by their self-reflective (sic!) approach — seek to discern and differentiate between 'appreciation' and 'appropriation.' This perspective borders on paranoia, as culture naturally evolves through continuous exchanges, perpetuated and reinforced by repetition.

The issue, however, falls within a broader narrative of political correctness — a framework prone to ideologically motivated manipulations. Constructive debate or polemics become nearly impossible, stifled by the pervasive fear of accusations of racism and, ultimately, the threat of total marginalization.

“For the Pacific Islands, for Oceania, for Pasifika, the problems that we face in this world are greater than tiki”. Lucky me, it’s not my quote, so once again I can cite someone else pointing to an alternative cause of the impending doom — one that lies beyond the confines of profaned culture: "[...] greenhouse gases — overwhelmingly generated by burning fossil fuels — are cooking our planet. And the sea is taking the heat — literally. Despite accounting for just 0.02 per cent of global emissions – the Pacific islands are uniquely exposed. Their average elevation is just one to two meters above sea level; 90 percent of the population live within 5 kilometres of the coast and half the infrastructure is within 500 metres of the sea".

Lemon Hart Original 1804 is marked as Demerara Rum, indicating that the independent bottler Lemon Hart sources the rum from the Guyanese distillery Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) — the exclusive producer authorized to use the certified Demerara Rum designation. As an aside, only 40% of the rum produced by DDL is allocated to its own brands, with the rest going to partners like Lemon Hart or Pusser’s.

The molasses used as the base ingredient for Lemon Hart does not have to come exclusively from Guyana. The Original 1804 variant is bourbon barrel-aged, though the producer does not specify the aging period, making it a typical no-age-statement rum. Under Guyanese certification rules, the Demerara Rum designation does not mandate aging. Since 2010, Lemon Hart has been owned by the Canadian company Mosaiq, with Canada remaining its largest market. Notably, rum must be aged for at least one year in a barrel to be legally sold in Canada.

Fermentation and distillation must, however, take place exclusively in the Demerara region. Moreover, blending with rums from other regions or adding flavorings is strictly prohibited. That said, the addition of up to 20 grams of sugar per liter is permitted. Bottling is handled by Sazerac.