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Bacardi 151 Flames Out

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Written by Bryan Dent
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Adios to Bacardi 151, which was discontinued by the liquor company late last year. Maybe you can still find a bottle or two lingering on the shelves somewhere, but when those are gone the party is over.

Fans of the famous overproof rum weren’t even given the courtesy of a heads-up. It just suddenly became hard to find. A rumor cropped up on Reddit that 151 wasn’t really being put out to pasture, just temporarily withdrawn for a repackaging. Unfortunately, a phone call from The Brutal Hammer to Bacardi HQ has confirmed 151’s demise.

No official reason was ever given, but it’s a pretty good guess that Bacardi got sick of being sued. At least twice in the past decade they’ve been hit with massive lawsuits involving innocent bystanders, allegedly torched by bartenders performing ill-advised fire tricks that turned the bottle of 151 into a flamethrower. In one notorious case, a patron attending the bar merely to watch a basketball game wound up with third-degree burns and spent a month in a burn unit recovering.

Bacardi tried to protect its brand by printing dire warnings on the label: DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT FOR FLAMING DISHES OR DRINKS. ALL 151 PROOF RUM MAY FLARE UP AND CONTINUE TO BURN WHEN IGNITED, POSSIBLY WITH AN INVISIBLE FLAME. The bottles also came equipped with a flame arrester cap (though they don’t always seem to have been effective). But the courts have ruled that all this is still not enough:

“Although Bacardi included warning labels on the bottle of Bacardi 151 and installed a removable flame arrester, it did so while actively promoting the very pyrotechnic uses that caused plaintiff’s injuries.”

Bacardi 151’s death isn’t the end of the world. There are plenty of other overproof rums still around. Still, it’s always sad to say goodbye to an old stalwart.

photo credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i_Aj7dRXSQ

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Bryan Dent

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15 Comments

  • Nooooooooo. It’s a crucial ingredient in a lot of old-school Tiki drinks. Sure, there are replacements but if the 60-year-old recipe calls for B-151, by God it requires B-151.

  • The courts are creating people with NO integrity, NO self responsibility, No respect for free will and NO need for using common sense! F’n snow flakes don’t even have a chance! God help us!

    • maybe we can start a petition to get it back!! Thanks Bacardi were were also loyal to your brand! should sell your recipe to your competitors if you think its bad for your name!!

  • I am pissed off people who can’t control there drinking shouldn’t fuck shit up for people that can and my opinion there is no replacement for Bacardi 151.

  • It’s ridiculous people are able to file a lawsuit when they have warning labels like any other product does an yet still get screwed. If that’s the case then you should be able to sue the manufacturer that makes every other product that has warning labels on. What’s even worse is that with other products your not drunk as hell but just like any other company they can only do so much so you don’t fuck yourself up ? but that’s when your common sense should kick in which obviously a lot of people don’t have either ? but being drunk an not knowing what your doing when you fucked yourselves up isn’t a excuse to file a lawsuit just cause you fucked up and have medical bills or some kind of damage to something or yourself!!!!! I bet everyone of those people who filed lawsuits against the company still went out and bought 151 ????

  • “Although Bacardi included warning labels on the bottle of Bacardi 151 and installed a removable flame arrester, it did so while actively promoting the very pyrotechnic uses that caused plaintiff’s injuries.”

    I wonder how Bacardi “promoted the very pyrotechnic uses that caused plaintiff’s injuries”. Apparently there was some evidence of Bacardi encouraging/promoting the fact it was so flammable etc. If that is the case, that was not the smartest move on their part, honestly. Just given the world we live in today.

    Regardless, still ridiculous that it’s come to this, and adults are not held accountable for their own actions.

  • No problem. I can still have the 151 if I want. Simple recipe, Bacadi dark and add 190 proof grain alcohol. I buy Clear Spring brand it is a little cheaper than the Ever Clear brand, but both are 95% grain alcohol. So I can have the Bacardi flavor and make it as strong as I like. Woohoo????