Hampden 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.
Tag Archives: Jamaican Rum
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.
Appleton Estate 8 Reserve. Whenever a new bottle design is revealed in the rum world, it’s immediately met with suspicion of price increases and changes to the liquid. Downgrading of the liquid of course no rum gets better in time you must understand!
For once the conspiracists are right – well they are about the slight price increase and the change in the liquid. The blend in this is different to its predecessor. Quite whether the quality has increased or decreased, well I’ll come to that later in the review. First I’ll give you all the background I have on this particular release and the recent history of this “mid tier” Appleton Estate rum.
Rum Fire Velvet Jamaican White Overproof Rum. There are a lot of words and phrases I have used over they years when reviewing White Overproof rum from Jamaica. Velvet is certainly not one I have ever thought to use before, if I am being honest.
Rum Fire Velvet is produced at Hampden Estate. There has been a bit of confusion over this bottling for the European market and the Rum Fire (minus the Velvet) bottling which is widely available in the US. This European edition of Rum Fire is presented in a stubby stylish bottle, with a modern stylised look. The US Rum Fire appears in a normal “bar bottle” and looks a lot less premium.
Royal Jamaican Rum Aged 12 Years. This is a rum brand from National Rums of Jamaica (NRJ) and hails from the Monymusk distillery. I have seen this brand online but have rarely seen any reviews or discussion around it.
Monymusk does rather fly under the radar a bit, when it comes to online rum discussions etc. Appleton, Hampden and Worthy Park get much more coverage when it comes to Jamaican Rum. The only review I could find on this brand from any serious writer was a 20011 review of their Gold entry level rum by Lance over at The Lone Caner.
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.
That Boutique-y Rum Company Blended Rum No.1 – Jamaica 9 Year Old Batch 1. Nice short and snappy name for this particular rum from the sesquipedalian orators That Boutique-y Rum Company. Anyway I’ll get my head out of my Thesaurus and get this particular rum reviewed.
For the purposes of brevity I think we’ll call this one Blended Rum No.1 – Jamaica 9 Year. It’s a bit less of a mouthful. The SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) might not like me not using the full title but bugger it for this review.