Hampden Estate Great House Rum 2024

Hampden Estate Great House Rum 2022: A Jamaican Elixir of Distinction

Burnished gold with copper tinges. Rich, powerful. The very medicinal and camphoric first nose is also hot (Cayenne, paprika), fruity (banana, very ripe pineapple) and slightly tarmacy, tarry and rubbery. It gently develops into molasses, notes of pipe tobacco, cut hay and heady florals (lily, tuberose, daisy). With time, it opens up into different fruity (pear, peach, candied apricot) and honeyed (cherry, royal jelly) registers whose balance are equalled only by their beauty.

Taut, lively. The very powerful attack is mineral (basalt, manganese), chocolatey, liquorice and fruity (pineapple, greengage plum, Mirabelle plum, Williams pear). The mid-palate is empyreumatic (rubber, tar), vanilla, chocolatey and herbaceous (tobacco). The deliciously tannic end of the palate reveals remarkably smooth flavours of citrus fruit zest, banana and dried fig. The fruit brings just the right amount of freshness to balance the end of the palate.

Long, creamy. The start of the finish invites us to sit and admire the path travelled since the start of the tasting. After the power of the nose and the energy of the palate, with rare richness, the palate reveals incredibly natural flavours of vanilla cake, rum baba and mille-feuille. On the retro- nasal olfaction, cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa powder delicately envelop the palate in a particularly refreshing bitterness. The empty glass reveals superb notes of warm molasses, toasted walnut and sesame.