Vidya The River Mumma. I’m pleased to present today the first Independent bottling from UK based importer/distributor Skylark Spirits. As you will learn from this review they have started things at the more daring end of the rum spectrum.
I think it was Rumfest 2018 that I first became aware of any aged rum from the New Yarmouth Distillery on Jamaica. I tried a Compagnie des Indes bottling and reviewed the higher ABV Denmark only release.
Habitation Velier Privateer 2017. For many Velier will need no introduction. For those that maybe aren’t as quite far on in their rum journey, I’ll give a little background on Velier and the Habitation Velier releases in particular.
Velier SpA was founded in 1947 (it celebrated it’s 70th birthday in 2017) they are primarily a spirits and wine distributor. They also Independently bottle rum in particular for the European market.
Hampden Great House Distillery Edition. It is always good to see producers such as Hampden putting out their own bottlings of aged rum, rather than selling bulk rum for others to profit from. It seems the distillery has grown in confidence and they now have a commercial bottling of the rum they drink on the estate.
S3
Stolen Overproof Rum. This is a rum which has been much spoken about on the other side of the pond. Much Like Doctor Bird it is an independent bottling of Jamaican rum, which the Yanks have been able to get their hands on ahead of their European counterparts. Which is pretty unusual in the grand scheme of things.
Velier National Rums of Jamaica Ltd Cambridge ST♥CE 2005. In 2018, Independent bottler Velier released four rums from National Rums of Jamaica, this is the second of those releases that I have reviewed.
This rum was distilled at the legendary Long Pond Distillery. It has been given the Cambridge moniker, in reference to the ester classification used at the now closed Cambridge Distillery. Cambridge ST♥CE refers to rums with a ester level between 550 and 700 gr/hlpa. In the grander scheme of things, this is mid level ester levels but most commercially available Jamaican rums are much lower in esters. This is funky stuff!
Kill Devil Hampden Distillery Jamaica Aged 35 Years. Another bottling of Jamaican rum from Kill Devil but this time you can find this particular bottling at a few different online outlets as it isn’t a Whisky Barrel exclusive. Though you can still buy it from them should you wish.
As you can see from the photo the presentation for this one strays from the usual Kill Devil bottle and presentation tube. It perhaps might not surprise you, bearing in mind the age of the spirit in the bottle that the pricing is also significantly different. The most expensive Hampden from Kill Devil before this bottling was £200 for a 24-year-old rum.
Velier National Rums of Jamaica Ltd Long Pond TECC 2007. I’ve got all four of these Jamaican Rums to review, from the series issued last year by Velier. I am starting with this bottling because it is the youngest. So we’ll do them in “age order” and see how we get on.
These rums were undoubtedly another highlight of 2018, along with the official Hampden releases and yet more excellent Jamaican rum from the likes of Worthy Park and Appleton Estate. 2018 was a very good year for Jamaican rum.
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