Bacardi Denies 151-Proof Rum Caused Bar Burn Injuries

local6 ^ | September 25, 2006

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MIAMI -- Bacardi said its 151-proof rum was not the cause of burns suffered by three women who sued the spirits company and alleged that their injuries were caused when a bottle used to pour shots turned into a "flame thrower."

Bacardi, in a motion to dismiss the women's' lawsuits, said their injuries were caused after a bartender poured rubbing alcohol on the bar of the "Secrets" adult club and ignited it as part of a promotion for flaming drinks in 2002.

Quoting from Miami-Dade County police and fire reports, the company said another drunken patron placed a paper menu in the fire and then "pulled it up in the air," causing the fire to spread and injure the women.

"Indeed, rubbing alcohol is the sole named source of the fire," Miami-based Bacardi USA Inc. said in the motion filed last week in federal court. "Bacardi had nothing to do with this misfortune."

Danielle Alleyne, Antonette Hernandez and Agata Macierzynska claimed in their lawsuits that Bacardi's 151-proof rum is inherently dangerous and defective because of vapors that are prone to ignite in a "flame thrower effect" and that a bottle cap used to guard against that possibility was too easy to remove.

The lawsuits contend that a flaming menu was stuck into a stream of 151 rum being poured into shot glasses, igniting the bottle and causing the injuries.

"This same defect in the bottle has been injuring people around the country for years and they have done nothing to make this bottle safe when they know of the dangers," Robert Dickman Jr., attorney for the women, said Monday. "Justice will have its day."

Bacardi, however, said the women are improperly seeking a financial "windfall" by suing the company after already receiving payouts from others blamed for their roles in the Aug. 8, 2002, incident.

"It was not Bacardi that staged a fire show at Secrets ... It was not Bacardi that poured rubbing alcohol on the bar and set it on fire," the company said in its motion.

Bacardi also said its 151 rum contains warning labels about its flammability -- one says "Do not use this product for flaming dishes or drinks" -- and features a "flame arrester" to prevent it from accidentally igniting.

The lawsuit and motions are pending before senior U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler, who has not issued a ruling on Bacardi's dismissal request.

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Follow-up from previous story: Woman Sues Bacardi After Alleged Injury From "Flaming Rum" [FR]

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Remember this one?

[Andy from Beaverton]

Sorry! We won't do it again.

[meanie monster]

oh lordy,,,lol

[over3Owithabrain]

The Flaming Moe's song

When the weight of the world has got you down,
And you want to end your life
Bills to pay, a dead end job,
And problems with the wife
Well don't throw in the towel
Cause there's a place right down the block
Where you can drink your miseries away
At fla-ming Moes
Where liquor in a mug will warm you like a hug
Let's all go to flaming Moe's... Flaming Moe's
And happiness is just a flaming Moe away
Happiness is just a flaming Moe away

[Redcloak]

Have one on the house, ladies.

[1rudeboy]

Someone help me out here. By burning off the alcohol, does the drink become less potent? (I'm simply curious--personally, I wouldn't pay money for a drink that wussifies itself).

[I see my hands]

Alcohol, the socially accepted drug.

[oldleft]

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

does rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol even burn with a real visible flame, like Bacardi (75% ethanol) does?

If not, why would a bar even have a bottle of isopropyl on its premises?

(I know that methanol burns pretty much invisibly, and that ethanol is similar and that the other ingredients make rum burn so pretty.....but not certain about isopropyl which is wood alcohol)

[ArrogantBustard]

does rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol even burn with a real visible flame, like Bacardi (75% ethanol) does?

Yep ... grab a cotton ball with pliers, soak in 'rubbing alcohol' and ignite. It makes a dandy field-expedient, improvised torch; has a nice blue and orange flame.

[ArrogantBustard]

It also works well for the "set your hand on fire" trick.

[martin_fierro]

lolz

[John D]

Looks like you have been to the Kon Tikki. I have a mug just like it only it is about 20 years old.

[Cicero]

So, the lawyers are saying that Bacardi needs to come up with a bottle cap that can't be removed?

Wouldn't this rather defeat the purpose of a bottle of rum?

[M1Tanker]

Bacardi said its 151-proof rum was not the cause of burns suffered by three women who sued the spirits company and alleged that their injuries were caused when a bottle used to pour shots turned into a "flame thrower."

Idiot lawsuit alert!

First, the rum didn't cause the fire, a match and a dumb idea, perpetrated by a dumb person, did!!! Second, to have a "flame thrower", there must be projection of flame a considerable distance. Since the drink is probably not pressurized, this was no "flame thrower". I doubt the woman or her lawyer have ever seen a flame thrower outside Hollywierd.

Let's see, drunk, dumb person, alcohol, and a match........ I can see Carlos Mencia saying "Dee Dee Dee" right now.

[DBrow]

Methyl is "wood alcohol", it used to be distilled from wood.

Methyl has one carbon, ethyl two, and propyl three. If the -OH that makes it an alcohol is on the end, it's n-propyl alcohol short for normal). If the -OH is on the middle carbon it's called iso-propyl alcohol.

Yes it burns and the flame is a bit more luminous than ethyl alcohol, probably because it has more carbon per molecule. It's much cheaper than pouring Bacardi on the bar.

[AppyPappy]

Light an empty 151 bottle after shaking it profusely. Instant flame thrower.

[M1Tanker]

As I said, the open drink was not pressurized. Shaking the bottle pressurizes it.

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

OOOO-PAAAAAAAAAH!!!!

at least they hold the cheese overhead