Law.com reported today that a woman who claims she was severely burned when a bottle of Bacardi 151 rum caught fire during a restaurant bartender’s pyrotechnic display has won her attempt to proceed with a personal injury and product liability action against Bacardi and the restaurant.

Lauren Sclafani alleges that Bacardi knew or should have foreseen that its high-proof rum is being widely used for dangerous, flammable displays. She accused the company of using a poorly designed flame arrester on top of its bottle that could be easily removed by bartenders.

Sclafani was at Brother Jimmy’s restaurant on the Upper West Side, New York, in April 2008 when Kevin Bulla, a bartender, allegedly poured Bacardi 151 onto the bar and ignited it, engulfing her in flames. According to the plaintiff,  the bottle’s flame arrester had been removed (though how this would have stopped the bartender pouring the liquid in the first place is beyond us).

On a motion to dismiss, Bacardi insisted that the flammability of rum does not qualify as a design defect under New York law and argued that it should not be held liable for the bar’s removal of the flame arrester.

Bacardi had “nothing to do” with Sclafani’s “misfortune,” it argued in court papers.

“It was not Bacardi that staged a fire show at Brother Jimmy’s, and it was not Bacardi that allegedly poured alcohol on the bar and set it on fire,” it states in court papers.

The company argued that it puts “numerous warning labels” on its bottles and attaches a flame arrester, even though it has “no legal obligation to do so.”

Bacardi called it ironic that it was being sued by Brother Jimmy’s given that “were it not for Mr. Bulla’s reckless and criminal acts, there would be no case at all.”

Whilst the law suit is taking place in the US, the incident is a wake up call for bars dabbling with flaming drinks - leave the pyrotechnics to professionals or, if you must, exercise extreme caution.

NB. Leeroy Petersen  from Twisted Liquid informs us that Robbie, in the image above, is actually using a special accelerant that combusts quickly and more completely than high proof spirits. Overproof spirits are often not flammable enough and can be dangerous when used for anything other than drinking!