1998 The Colours of Rum HD 23 Year Old Edition No. 6 Cask Strength Jamaica Rum (700ml)

The locally owned Hampden Estate started making rum around 1753. It’s well known for its pot distilled high ester styles. Until 2009 they only sold unaged rum in bulk, but now they have their own brand. This rare double-decader sports a dryish nose-feel that evokes pineapple and apricot chews, dried bananas and passionfruit yoghurt; the latter defines the palate, alongside dark chocolate and char-grilled fruits echoed by suggestions of sump oil and burnt rubber. Fully continentally matured in an x-rum barrel yielding 255 bottles, this complex, drier and more vivacious expression finishes on a spicy high note. 61.9% Alc./Vol. Non chill filtered. Tasted from a 20ml sample.

Other reviews... We've had another HD (remember, that's not Harley-Davidson) from the same series just last week, and thought it was brilliant. Of course this is Hampden, the marque being 'HCLF', so Hampden with 500-700 gr esters/ HLPA. Colour: straw. Nose: new scuba diving suit (isn't Christmas around the corner), balsamico, olives, pickled gherkins, carbon, new tyres, acetone… etc. With water: more acetone, nail polish remover, glue, tarry ropes ala Ardbeg, also dried rambutans and longans, which is very specific… Mouth (neat): superlative, immense, tarry, salty, briney, even a tad 'burnt', as in 'burnt tyres'. Perhaps a wee cup of onion soup? Some sweet chilli mix too. With water: good fun, the dried longans and rambutans are back. This one is very sensitive to H2O, the lower you go down the degrees, the sweeter it gets, which is not common either. Finish: long, acetic, sweet as well. Sweet tar, even orange liqueur and then a medicinal side in the aftertaste. Comments: I think I liked last week's HD even better, for it was drier and saltier, as far as I can remember. But a great Hampden, nonetheless. 90 points - whiskyfun.com