Hampden Estate Great House (Distillery Edition 2020)

First smell of this when I opened the bottle was "tire shop". Industrial funk all over, but as it opens up, nutmeg and vanilla start to come out. The palate started out funky, with something I can only describe as "probably mango peel", but as it airs, I get some chocolate, cola, tiramasu, and more tire. Might be my favorite Great House, but I need to do a Round Robin tournament to be sure.

My friend literally ran into a Jamaican guardrail to bring this home. It’s got a funky burn and I mean that in all the best ways. A rum that demands to be taken seriously. Sampled neat and loved it.

A very good rum, with a rich and complex funk that punches above its ester count. Plenty of overripe fruits, cola, and gasoline to entertain your palate.

Deep copper color. The nose has an array of tropical fruits with mango, papaya, pineapple, roasted plantains, along with banana taffy, pine needles, vanilla bean and salted caramel. The mouthfeel is heavy and hot. The palate is a continuation of the tropical fruit on the nose, along with a significant amount of toasted oak, cinnamon, nutmeg, toffee, cocoa powder, white pepper and sea salt, with faint notes of charcoal, turpentine and gasoline. The finish is long and hot, more tropical fruits and baking spices, promenant lingering notes of over-ripe bananas, cinnamon, vanilla bean, toasted oak, with notes of sea salt and gasoline that rise to the forefront as the other notes fade. Compared to the 8yr overproof, the proof is lower but this feels hotter. The tasting notes are similar, but this excites the palate a bit more. I'm getting somehow even more depth and complexity on this than the 8yr overproof or the Habitation Velier 10yr. I would definitely choose this Great House over the more expensive HV pick. Is it worth roughly 30% more $ than the standard 8yr overproof? Well, I know where I can get one more bottle of this, and I'm trying to come up with an excuse to tell my wife for making the trip.

Imagine walking into a car repair shop. I’m not talking the fancy ones where you’re in the waiting room enjoying the free lattes. But the old school ones. The ones where you’re standing right outside, watching the men work on your car that’s been hoisted 10 feet off the ground. All you smell is oil and gasoline. Now imagine standing there smelling the grease, but eating sweet cotton candy at the same time. And that there sums up this funky little rum. Forget the very notion of what you think of when you think “rum”. This is closer to a Springbank than rum. Almost like a Caroni. I bought a small 3cl sample, namely because I wasn’t sure “funky” and my taste go together. But yeah...kinda liking this. I only took a sip...saving the rest for the weekend. But, from the one sip I took...this is a strange little pour, in a really good way. Almost like the mini-me of Caroni

Loads of funky tropical fruit and cola. Nose: Cherries, Raspberries, Bananas, Honey, Coconuts, Caramel, Apricots, Cola, Maple Syrup, Violets, Pineapples, Mangoes, Vanilla, Cotton Candy Palate: Cherry Cola, Bananas, Honey, Maple Syrup, Dark Chocolate, Prunes, Figs, Molasses, Root Beer Finish: Cherry Cola, Raspberries, Strawberries