Hampden Estate 2010 VIREO Single Cask #488 TWE Exclusive

Bythefatrumpirate

Hampden Estate 2010 VIREO Single Cask #488 TWE Exclusive rum review by the fat rum pirateHampden Estate 2010 VIREO Single #488 TWE Exclusive. I could have titled this particular rum any number of different ways such is the information afforded to us on this particular bottling. However the Search Engine Optimisation likes things a lot shorter than even this title, so I’ll explain more about the bottling in this review.

For those who aren’t aware Hampden have released a series of rums entitled “Trelawny Endemic Birds”. They are all single cask rums and each relate to a different bird, which is endemic to Jamaica. This particular bottle is dedicated to the Vireo bird (you can find more details on wikipedia)

So we already know that this is Hampden Estate vintage from 2010 and a single cask. The further information on the bottle notes that it is a LROK marque (Light Rum Owen Kelly). These Hampden Rum Marques give a guide as to how many esters the rum contains. The more esters – the funkier they become.

Now LROK is seen as a fairly low ester rum. Don’t be deceived by the “Light Rum” part of the LROK marque. Despite being what some might say is fairly low in terms of esters (300-400 g/hlAA) these rums still have a fair bit of funk to them. They are far from being what you might associate as a light rum. When I hear light rum, I’m thinking Bacardi or Trini rum. This isn’t that. Definitely not!

Coming from Hampden this is 100% Pot Still rum along with Worthy Park they are the two producers on Jamaica, that use exclusively Pot Stills for their rum distillation.

This is a Single Cask Rum with just 250 bottles available for sale. As noted it is exclusive to The Whisky Exchange. The rum has been aged for a full 10 years in Jamaica. It has been bottled at 61.9%

Hampden Estate 2010 VIREO Single Cask #488 TWE Exclusive comes in a “Velier” style bottle along with a Velier style cardboard sleeve. This is because Velier are the Importer of Hampden Estate rum in Europe and they work closely with them.

Hampden Estate 2010 VIREO Single Cask #488 TWE Exclusive rum review by the fat rum pirateHampden Estate 2010 VIREO Single #488 TWE Exclusive was released on the 7th January and retailed at £195. I am saying retailed because all 250 bottles sold on the first day. I’m reviewing this even though you’ll have to buy it on the secondary market because, well because I am! Why do I do this blogging to begin with? Who knows.

I didn’t buy this rum I actually picked up a bottle of the new age statement 8 Year Hampden Estate and the new Great House 2020 Edition just a few days ago.

I was sent a sample for review from The Whisky Exchange they weren’t expecting it to sell out quite so fast!

So lets see what this is like.

In the glass we have a dark spirit with an orange hue. It looks well aged and 10 years in the tropics is certainly well aged. You’ll notice that these Tropically Aged Hampden’s tend to be a fair bit darker than the Continental Aged ones we see so often from Independent bottlers.

The nose is full on Pineapple Juice, Burnt Banana and Pear Drops (English boiled sweets). It’s rich and full and fruity. It has a honeyed sweetness which comes through alongside a hint of nail varnish and some slightly smoky and spicy oak.

It’s not as OTT as some Hampden’s but it has a nice balance and complexity to it.

Sipped it is a bit more savoury than the nose suggests with much more wood and oak spice especially on the initial entry. This leads into toffee, candied fruits and some cinnamon. As the mid palate develops you get some clove.

This is all carried along by a rich warming array of woody oak and slightly smoky spices. It has a slight astringency to it and a touch of white wine vinegar which makes a little acidic.

The finish is long and quite clean with notes of mint and some menthol ecalyptus coming through. It fades out gently with rich warming oak and some black pepper.

It’s a really lovely, well balanced example of what Hampden do. It’s funky but still keeps a nice balance to it.

Those who bought this with the actual idea of drinking it won’t be disappointed. Those looking to find a bottle will hope that the flippers try and get a quick return. It seems some bottlings are being flipped instantaneously – leading to some not selling for the high prices the speculators might have expected.

A great bottling though.

 

 

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    Bythefatrumpirate

    Revolte Rum MTQ 2014 by the fat rum pirateRevolte Rum 2014 MTQ. Revolte is a relatively new rum brand from Germany. I have previously featured their unaged White Rum. With this release Revolte are letting us try an aged offering of their rum.

    Revolte Rum 2014 MTQ was distilled in August 2014. It is the first Single Cask rum from Revolte to be released. After a three-year maturing phase in ex Rhum-Agricole barrels from Martinique the MTQ was bottled in September 2017, at cask strength 56% ABV. 377 bottles of this rum are available. An Angel’s Share of 21% overall has been noted.

    It is presented in an angular 3/4 sized bottles. The rum comes in a 500ml size bottle which retails at around €60-65. It’s currently still available from RumundCo and Limited Whisky Investment both are German based sites and I don’t know what their policies are for shipping abroad.

    Presentation is modern with the distinctive Revolte logo. Rather than fairy tales on the bottle, Revolte opt instead to give us facts own the side label. Which I have used to help describe the rum earlier. Such information, readily available on the bottles is a god send for rum reviewers. Even the information is in German. Thank you Google translate and my secondary school education in German. A “C Grade! at GCSE level 24 years ago, just about got me through with this one.

    Revolte Rum are gaining quite a following in their native Germany and are a producer that do not believe in additives or any kind of funny business. They are producing small batch Pot Still rum from imported molasses. They have recently expanded their range Revolte Rum 2014 MTQ Rum Review by the fat rum pirateto include a Spiced Rum and a Swedish Punsch.

    In the glass, Revolte Rum 2014 MTQ is a yellow/light brown colour.

    The nose on the rum is equal parts pot still funk and Agricole rhum. Notes of funky burnt banana and pineapple juice, rub alongside more grassy sweet sugar cane notes. Beyond this there is a note of slightly fermented grape juice and some more savoury like notes – a touch of gravy even!

    It’s a very interesting and complex nose. These small batch pot still rums from small distillers are really interesting. This is another rum which is quite aggressive and fiery in its delivery. I would imagine “older” rums may have been a little like this. Yeasty and full of flavour. Definitely a rum to put hairs on your chest.

    Sipped the rum has a surprisingly sweet and relatively gentle entry. The initial burst of caramel and toffee subsides leaving behind a dry and quite woody taste. You really get the Agricole notes. The ageing in the Martinique rhum barrel has certainly worked with this one.

    The rum has a really nice build up of oak spices, lemon zest and some slightly salty notes in the mid palate. This is quite a distinctive and very interesting rum. It has a Jamaican like funk to it but this is tempered by the oak and the slightly dry, grassy Agricole notes from the cask.

    Finish wise its pretty long and very fiery. You get quite a lot of white pepper on the finish and a good burst of burnt caramel and oak spices. It’s very long-lasting.Revolte Rum 2014 MTQ Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    This is an intense, complex sip. It’s not a rum I could drink a lot of – maybe two or three glasses. I do like the full flavoured aggressive nature of it though.

    Not everyone will appreciate this one. it certainly isn’t the most perfectly balanced rum but if you are exploring more full blooded rums, this might be for you.

    It works well mixed as well. Especially with cola and ginger beer. It really stands up to them and delivers a really flavourful mixed drink.

    Relatively young but very tasty.

  • Dead Reckoning Mhoba – South Africa

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Dead Reckoning Mhoba - South Africa rum review by the fat rum pirateDead Reckoning Mhoba – South Africa. We have in the past, reviewed both Dead Reckoning’s offerings and a few of Mhoba’s own wares. Today we are combining the two in a quite youthful independent bottling, which unfortunately for those of us in Europe is an Australia only release. Well, initially it was anyway………..

    Dead Reckoning Mhoba – South Africa as mentioned is a fairly young rum. Coming in at 2 years and 5 months (or 29 months if you prefer). It has been aged for 2 years in “Boutes French Oak Ex Vrede Em Lust Red Wine Cask” a South African Cape Red Wine.

    The Australian “Dry Ageing” took place in a Maker’s Mark “Level 3 Char” cask. For those who don’t know Maker’s Mark is a Bourbon Whisk(e)y. For those unfamiliar with Char Levels it runs from 1-4 with 4 being the most heavily charred.

    The topic of Australian Dry Ageing is a fairly recent thing – in terms of it being talked about with this terminology. Justin Boseley the man behind Dead Reckoning was recently interviewed by 88 Bamboo, so for further information read the interview here.

    May as well get it straight from the horses mouth.

    ead Reckoning Mhoba South Africa is a Single Cask release comprising of 377 bottles. I have bottle number 306. It was released in Australia in December 2022 and has sold out. It is 100% Pot Distilled.

    However, Justin has kept 42 bottles back from the release for distribution in Europe later this year. One of the stockists will be the wonderful Richard Blesgraaf who owns Zeewijck. So keep an eye out for them arriving.

    Mhoba are a very interesting distillery. One of the few that sees the entire process through on their own, from growing organic sugarcane in their plantations, fermentation and distillation on their self-designed and built Pot Stills. Bottling and labelling is also done by hand at the distillery.

    Mhoba produce mostly rums from freshly pressed Sugar Cane Juice in the agricole style rather than rum from molasses. It has been bottled at Cask Strength of 56% ABV.

    Dead Reckoning Mhoba - South Africa rum review by the fat rum pirateI am unsure at present how much the rum will retail for in Europe. In Australia it was around $150 dollars.

    Well thats all the information I have on this rum so lets get on to the fun part.

    In the glass Dead Reckoning Mhoba – South Africa is a medium/golden brown with a yellow/orange hue.

    On the nose I am getting fresh vegetal sugar cane spliced with some rich red wine, dark fruits and a touch of wet tar.

    It’s rich and inviting – straddling the line between a agricole style rhum and a long wine aged molasses bases rum. It certainly noses a lot “older” or rather more “mature” than it’s age statement.

    Further nosing reveals more lighter fruits such as strawberry and a touch of apricot. There is something slightly soapy and medicinal lurking as well but it works quite nicely.

    On the sip it shows its 56% ABV. It’s quite hard hitting and very full on. Again it doesn’t seem to be running completely as you might expect a cane juice rum. I’m not sure if I would identify this as a cane juice rum in a blind tasting. Pretty sure I wouldn’t.

    That said there are vegetal and grassy notes which seem to appear the more you delve into the rum and the longer you leave it in the glass.

    There is a good hit of barrel influence on the rum – the initial entry is rich with lots of stoned fruits and hints of cranberry, peach and blackberry. This leads into a progression of more vegetal and grassy notes. As we get to the mid palate we move more towards the strong barrel influence. Lots of charred oak and spicy wood notes.

    This is a complex and challenging rum. It’s interesting to see how much influence the barrels have had on this rum.

    Dead Reckoning Mhoba - South Africa rum review by the fat rum pirateAs we move into the finish Dead Reckoning Mhoba – South Africa once again, seems more mature than its years. The finish is full, rich and complex with lots going on. It evolves and the cane juice elements re-appear but they come along side the rich red wine notes from the first cask maturation. Woody spice and vanilla also move along nicely leaving to a long vibrant finish.

    Overall this is a very nice rum. Quite a curious rum though as it shows elements of both young and more mature rum. It’s another example of Dead Reckoning and Justin Boseley being happy to push things and issue something a little different.

    There is nothing safe about this release. Kudos to Dead Reckoning for releasing this. It’s bloody good stuff!

     

     

     

     

     

  • Privateer International Distiller’s Drawer The Queen’s Share Rum Maggie’s Cut 26

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Privateer International Distiller's Drawer The Queen's Share Rum Maggie's Cut 26 Rum Review by the fat rum piratePrivateer International Distiller’s Drawer The Queen’s Share Rum Maggie’s Cut 26. They do like their short and snappy names for their rums don’t they? Well the thing is they release a lot of Single Cask rums. Privateer are very keen to give us rum fans as much information as possible. So the names do get a bit lengthy.

    This particular cask was selected by former Privateer Head Distiller Maggie Campbell for Norfolk Whisky Group. Despite the spelling of Whisky, they are not from the home of Bernard Matthews rather they hail from from Norfolk, Virginia in the US of A. Which really, makes much more sense.

    I found details of this rum listed at Norfolk Wine & Spirits.  So I’ll give you a run down of all the information available, regarding this particular bottling. It is not detailed on the Privateer site. So lucky I came across this site really.

    First up this is another bottling which is sold out. Conceivably you might one day come across it at auction. Reviews of Privateer rums aren’t all that prevalent online, due to the fact most of their releases have been in the US. With limited supply elsewhere few European bloggers have covered them. Whilst a few years ago the US had a number of prolific rum reviewers – the numbers do seem to have dwindled more recently. Privateer don’t go down the free samples for reviewers that some bigger US brands tend to utilise.

    Privateer International Distiller’s Drawer The Queen’s Share Rum Maggie’s Cut 26 retailed at $69.99 for a 750ml/75cl bottle. It was released at Cask Strength 58.6% ABV. It was aged in American Oak Char #3 barrel for 2 years 11 months and 24 days. I’m disappointed hours, minutes and seconds have not been included………

    It was distilled on the 8th November 2015 and barrelled on the 16th of the same month. It was bottled on the 9th November 2018. The cask barrel number is P66. The mash bill (very Bourbon-esque) is 95% Navy Yard Seconds (Molasses), 5% Silver Reserve Seconds (Cane Juice Crystals, Real Boiled Brown). The rum has not been Chill Filtered or Coloured in anyway. No additives are used post distillation.

    Presentation wise the rum comes in the tall thin contoured bottle favoured by Privateer for these rPrivateer International Distiller's Drawer The Queen's Share Rum Maggie's Cut 26 Rum Review by the fat rum pirateeleases. The presentation is reminiscent of how bottlers such as Cadenhead’s often sell their “Cask End” rums with a simple printed label with hand written effect details of each rum. It is sealed with a cork stopper.

    I think that’s enough information on the rum.  So I may as well move on to the nosing and tasting part of the review.

    Despite being less than 3 years old, the rum has already taken on a golden brown appearance. It has a distinct orange hue running through it.

    The nose is woody with some nice bourbon-esque spicy/oak notes. There is also a nice hit of vanilla and a big chunk of dark treacly molasses. There are also notes of stem ginger and some barrel char.

    The initial sip is a lot sweeter and a bit smoother than the nose suggests. I was expecting a lot more wood. The nose definitely suggested this. Instead, I get a nice balance of spicy oak, toffee, vanilla and some traces of dark roasted coffee. I also get a little trace of ginger.

    It has a spicy note at the back of the throat as you move onto the mid palate but the woodiness and oak is tempered by the sweeter toffee and vanilla notes. These remain through the mid palate and towards the finish.

    In some ways this rum tastes older than it is. However, in other ways you still get plenty of the youthful, sweeter alcohol notes you often find in unaged or lightly aged rums. A kind of mix of aged and “fresh” rum if you like.

    Privateer International Distiller's Drawer The Queen's Share Rum Maggie's Cut 26 Rum Review by the fat rum pirateIt’s age is perhaps most noticeable by the slightly short finish. It does “dry out” and fade away quite quickly from the mid palate. This leaves behind only some light spices and wood. In terms of alcohol burn for 58.6% ABV, this really is quite minimal throughout.

    It has a really nice balance. Whilst I would hardly call it a light sipper, it has a profile quite similar to something like R.L Seale’s Old Brigand. Certainly in terms of the balance of sweetness and wood.

    Going forward things have changed at Privateer. Maggie Campbell and her husband (also a distiller with Privateer whose name escapes me) have now left. Privateer have also began distributing more in Europe via Velier. It will be interesting to see how things go, as Privateer moves more onto the International stage.

     

     

  • Kill Devil Jamaica Worthy Park 10 Year Old

    Bythefatrumpirate

    KILL DEVIL JAMAICA worthy park 10 year old rum review by the fat rum pirateKill Devil and Worthy Park have already been covered on the website. I was very keen to try out this 10 Year Old Jamaican Rum.

    Kill Devil are part of Hunter Laing (an Independent Whisky bottler). This archaic slang term for Rum is used to brand their run of Single Cask rums.

    It’s encouraging to see more and more Independent bottlers coming to the fore.  Kill Devil offer very limited “one off” cask bottlings.  These initial releases are not at Cask Strength, so far all releases have been capped at 46% ABV. This may upset some purists.  I understand their next release of rums will be at Cask Strength.

    The pricing of the various Kill Devil’s ranges from around £45 for an 8 Year Old Guatemalan, upto around the £150 for a 25 Year Old Enmore from DDL.  This rum is priced at £53.99 from Master of Malt or for our European cousins you can find the Kill Devil Range at 4FineSpirits. As well as a few other online retailers.

    The presentation of the Kill Devil series is very good.  A nice sturdy cylinder to store your rum. With a lovely opaque 3/4 style bottle.  The branding is consistent through the range and you get a fair bit of information about the bottling.

    This is a 10 Year Old rum from the rejuvenated Worthy Park Estate.  It boasts a distillate from the first year of rum production at the re-vamped distillery  -2005. No rum had been produced since the 1960’s.  It was bottled at 10 years old in 2015.  It is believed that it spent roughly half its time aged in Jamaica and half in Europe (Scotland to be more exact).  It has been aged in an American White Oak and from what I can gather is not a blend of rums. Just a Single Cask Pot Still rum.  It was then diluted down to 46% ABV giving a total of 310 bottles.  There has been no caramel colouring added, though I suspect it may have been lightly filtered.

    KIll Devil Jamaica Worthy Park 10 Year Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    In the glass the rum is a light golden brown/straw colour.  The nose is quite pungent – a grassy almost agricole like note. Wafts of rich toffee, almost treacle like.  After a little time in the glass it becomes slightly lighter and less aggressive.  More richer milk chocolate like notes.  It’s quite high in esters on the nose. Reminiscent of a Hampden or Monymusk.  It has its own unique layer of richness making it slightly less “in your face” than those heavy Jamaican rums.

    Sipping the rum – and it is best sipped very carefully at first, the flavour is huge.  It has a very Scotch Whisky like spiciness, to it especially in the finish.  The initial sweetness is taken over quickly by some oak and then the very savoury spicy whisky like middle and finish which is long and pretty fiery.

    It is a rum which you would perhaps need to be in the mood for.  It is quite malty and earthy and much less rich and sweet than Worthy Park’s Rum Bar Gold.  There are still the familiar sweeter notes, found in the Rum Bar Gold but they are less prevalent in the overall mix.  You do get that rich chocolate and toffee its just a lot more subtle.

    This won’t be to everyone’s tastes.  Jamaican Pot Still rum is not for everyone.  More often than not you’ll taste it unaged or as part of a blend.  I often use Jamaican rum as a mixer. It makes amongst the very best if not the best rum and cokes.  I’ve tried quite a lot of Jamaican rums but not so many Single Cask Pot Still  Jamaicans

    With that in mind I will give this a score I think is fair.  If I taste better in future it could move.  Part of my scoring system is to recognise certain standards in rum styles so to be a 5 star Jamaican Rum you have to be better than nearly all the rest and so on…….

    This is very good and well worth the asking price.

    4 stars

     

     

  • Lost Years Four Island Rum

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Lost Years Four Island Rum review by the fat rum pirateLost Years Four Island Rum. Up for review today is another offering from Turtle Savers Lost Years. This rum follows on from my review of their Navy Strength Rum a few weeks ago.

    Lost Years Four Island Rum as the name suggests is a blend of rums (yes you’ve guessed it) from four different Caribbean Islands.

    Firstly the blend is a little unusual in that it is a mixture of both molasses based and sugar cane juice r(h)ums. We have an 8 year old rum from Foursquare Rum Distillery, Barbados alongside a 5 year old rum from the Dominican Republic, 2 year old pot still rum from Jamaica and finally some unaged white agricole rhum from Guadeloupe.

    The Lost Years website notes that no additives or colouring has been used in the blend. The additives bit I can confirm via a clean Hydrometer test.

    Presentation wise Lost Years Four Island Rum comes in a short necked,rounded stubby bottle with a natural cork wooden topped stopper. The branding is clean and modern. The rear label gives the information on the blend and other relevant information relating to the rum and their work with the Sea Turtles. Expect to pay around £38. It is bottled at 40% ABV. Lost Years Four Island Rum is currently in stock at The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt or you can buy direct from the Lost Years website.

    I’ve mentioned already that “blended” rum seems to have made a bit of a comeback over the past couple of years. New brands from the UK in particular have been popping up with great regularity. Especially at a similar price point to this rum. So lets see how it stacks up against the competiton…….

    In the glass Lost Years Four Island Rum is light/golden brown. The nose is surprisingly robust. Lots of oak, tobacco and some underlying funk and grassiness which adds an extra layer to the nose.

    Further nosing reveals some light toffee, banana and papaya. The Guadeloupe element shows itself in the shape of a sweet, grassy aroma. Hints of vanilla float in and out of the mix. I get some green apple and some smokiness as well.

    Lost Years Four Island Rum review by the fat rum pirateAll in all its a very interesting nose. The profile overall is quite “dry” and you can really notice the barrel influence but that is balanced by the sweeter rum from Guadeloupe and the Dominican Republic.

    As a sipper Lost Years Four Island Rum is surprisingly rounded it has a really nice balance. Even at 40% ABV it is still quite “punchy” and has a nice weight to it. The oak and spices work nicely alongside the fruitier elements in the blend.

    My concern was that the Guadeloupe rhum might have dominated the mix. Maybe caused it to develop to the point, where the other rums were lost. That hasn’t happened. The Guadeloupe rhum sits nicely within the blend and doesn’t make is taste “odd” – like you might expect.

    The initial sip is quite woody and dry but further sips reveal more of the fruitier and sweeter notes of the blend. Toffee and caramel mingle alongside the oak spices and the tobacco notes on the initial entry.

    On the mid palate the Lost Years Four Island rum becomes fruitier with more sweetness. Some grassy funk comes in with plenty green apple, banana and a touch of raisin. It has a really nice balance to it and everything works together nicely.

    As a sipper possibly due partly to the ABV and the use of some younger rums – the finish isn’t quite as long as you might like. That said it has a very nice, clean finish which fades out gently. The flavour does disappear a little quicker than I would like though.

    Lost Years Four Island Rum review by the fat rum pirate

    Lost Years Four Island Rum is at a price point where I would still consider using it as a “Premium Mixer”. It makes for a really interesting and quite different rum and coke. I would also imagine that due to the different rums used in the blend that a talented mixologist could find a lot of uses for this particular blend. It could work as a shortcut to using 2 or 3 different rums?

    Lost Years Four Island Rum is a very nice “everyday” kind of sipper. That said it’s not what I would call soft or overly easy going. It’s still quite a “rummy” rum – ie it still has a bit of “menace” about it.

    It’s not quite as good as their excellent Navy Strength Rum but its still more than decent. Certainly well worth the price.

     

     

  • Hampden Diamond H 2010 7 Year Old

    Bythefatrumpirate

    Velier Hampden H Diamond 2010 Rum Review by the fat rum pirateHampden Diamond H 2010 7 Year Old Velier 70th Anniversary. Quite a mouthful. I have chose to write out the “Diamond” part of the marque rather than as its shown on the bottle as WordPress doesn’t like you using those arrows and it strikes through the rest of the text.

    Enough of my publishing difficulties though. Hampden Diamond H 2010 is as mentioned a 7 Year Old rum. It was released to commemorate the 70th Anniversay of Italian Importer and bottler Velier.

    This is part of the Warren Khong series. Mr Khong designed the bottles – he did not take part in the production of this rum. Which of course took place at Hampden Distillery in Jamaica. This is a 100% Pot Still rum and it is a blend of 5 casks of the Diamond H marque. Yielding 1659 bottles in total. All of which were bottled at a Cask Strength 62% ABV. The ester count for this one comes in at around the 900-1000 g/hlaa – which is pretty high even by Hampden standards. It has been aged for 7 years in Jamaica in ex-bourbon casks. Upon release it was not imported to the UK so finding a bottle in mainland Europe and paying the courier costs to have it mailed would have set you back around £200. Pretty pricy but these things are in high demand. So you pay a premium.

    As with Velier bottlings you get all the information you could need on the bottle so that just leaves me to give my thoughts on this particular rum.

    In the glass the rum is a golden brown colour with a tinge of orange.

    The nose is instantly recognisable as a Jamaican rum – the differences between what I would have previously thought to be a Long Pond distillery rum and a Hampden one are becoming increasingly blurred. Especially as the esther count increases.

    Very sweet concentrated pineapple juice. Maybe slightly fermented but still showing its Velier Hampden H Diamond 2010 Rum Review by the fat rum pirateintense, concentrated sweetness. Black toasted bananas by the bucket full. Vanilla – yes concentrated sweet vanilla pods. Almost extract like its so intense. Mangoes, stewed bitter cooking apples and pears. Brown sugar, a touch of marzipan/almond.

    All housed in a wonderful wrapping of fresh wet nail varnish and a touch of creosote. You could probably put a drop of this into a rum and vodka and have all the Jamaican funk you could ever ask for in such a drink.

    I could nose this all day long.

    Sipped it is slightly bitter at first but quickly rounds out into some intense sweet pineapple juice, stewed almost rotting apples, lemons and some really zesty lime.

    It’s surprisingly spicy. With some allspice and cinnamon notes alongside intense ginger and a hint of chilli pepper. A decent amount of oak spice giving a very moreish mouthfeel. It’s sweet and dry at the same time. There is a lot of complexity going on and a lot to pick out.

    In terms of balance it does tend to come in slightly too bitter for my palate. It is maybe a touch too dry . I prefer it with a couple of spoons of water to temper some of the spice and this also seems to make it less drying.

    Even still its still very spicy and fiery with notes of chilli pepper and jalapeno. A lot of the sweetness on the nose. Unfortunately doesn’t follow through to the sip. The nose is better than the sipping experience.

    The finish is good – nice weight of spices, combined with some of the sweeter elements and a good hit of varnish. Unfortunately it dries up pretty quickly leaving quite a lot of woodiness and funk behind. Compared to the intense taste explosion earlier it feels a little disappointing.

    I like it a lot  I’m being pretty critical of it – I’m aware – but it has so much competition from other Hampden’s. So it won’t be getting a top score from me.Velier Hampden H Diamond 2010 Rum Review by the fat rum pirate

    If money isn’t an object then try and get a bottle. If not the Habitation Velier HLCF and LROK (and the combined offering) are available for less money. There are also some really good Hampden’s out there from the likes of Kill Devil. Also some banging Long Pond Jamaicans from Duncan Taylor.

    This is probably best served up in a blend (with other marques). Rather than an individual marque. I’m being pretty finickity – its really good stuff. If you like your rums on the more brutal side you may find this more to your tastes than a fruitier Jamaican.