Bacardi Carta Blanca was incredibly bland in this. I always use a honey syrup made 3:1 with raw honey... Banks 5 and 2 drops of saline solution improved this immensely... A characterful rum brand is key to cut through the bee goo.
Used a white Barbados rum and our honey syrup made from local honey bees. Also had tree ripened lemons. This was wonderful. The lightness of the rum comes through and the cocktail was nice a dry.
I substituted the bacardi for captain morgans spiced rum, and it came out with a more layerful flavour. you get the rum, the sour then the long subtle clear note of honey at the end. Increase the honey syrup and decrease lemon juice for better smoother flavour.
3.5/5. It tastes a little bit like hot honey & lemon you would drink when you were sick as a kid, which tastes good but not as fresh as I would expect from a rum drink. Would still drink again though, good for winter months :)
When I made this drink about two years ago, it's exactly that with Bacardi Carta Blanca. Lemon, honey and ethanol. A less botanical Gin Twist served cold. Since I love honey and citrus though, it's a great drink in my books. But I definitely see where you are coming from!