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Hampden Estate Great House Distillery Edition 2020
During our first visit to Jamaica in 2019 my wife and I had the honor of visiting the historic Hampden Estate Distillery located in the northwest region of Jamaica. During our visit, we toured the grounds and the historic Great House is a memorable focus of the property. Founded in 1779, the Great House was used for storing barrels and later selling rum to locals out of the first floor until the early 1900’s. This vintage of the Great House release was created by the Master Distiller, Vivian Wisdom, and is a blend of two different rums of different marks and vintages: 80% is Hampden OWH 2013 and 20% is Hampden <>H 2017 and bottled at 59% ABV.
Hampden Great House Distillery Edition
Appearance
The darkly tinted bottle conceals the color of the rum while the white and green labels provide the basic information about the product. Pouring the rum in the glass revealed it had a shiny, copper-amber color. Agitating the liquid created a thin line that thickened and released legs that ambled down the sides of the glass, gaining momentum until they returned to the rum in the bottom of the glass. A second set of legs began to form and as they started to drop they evaporated and beaded up before they descended.
Nose
It is no surprise that nosing the rum right after the pour delivered a strong hit of alcohol, a chemical/medicinal floral note, roasted pineapple, charred wood, and minerals. I let the glass sit for a few minutes and when I returned to it I discovered the aroma had mellowed revealing notes of ripe peaches, rose water, sweet vanilla, and orange zest.
Palate
The first sip delivered the heat of the rum along with the expected funk that manifested in a swirl of molasses, cooked fruits, minerals, and char. Subsequent sips revealed anise, sugared pear, iron, dried tobacco, cooked pineapple, cacao nibs and orange zest. As the rum began to fade sugared-cinnamon and vanilla cream icing take over and lingered in a long pleasant finish.
Review
Every high ester rum I have experienced is its own mini-adventure for the palate and this one was not what I expected in a good way. This rum is very different than the 2019 vintage with the aroma and flavor profile being more intense and varied compared to the newest incarnation. The 2020 vintage is much more targeted with the strength of the flavors concentrated in the notes I discovered. In my opinion, tracking down the yearly vintage and exploring them should be a goal for any fan of Jamaican rums and specifically Hampden. Knowing the team at Hampden they are probably already plotting what their next vintage will offer our senses. As far as availability, this rum is being imported in small amounts to Europe and the United States by La Maison and Velier and can also be found for purchase at the Hampden Estate Distillery. If funky, high ester Jamaican rums are your thing, then this is a must purchase for the year.
