Tasting Notes for The Hampden Great House 2021 Edition
Nose: Refined. Cocoa bean, acacia and ripened pineapple.
Taste: Taut and lively. Richly herbaceous, bright verbena, rosemary.
Finish: Persistent. Fresh pastry, coriander, lime and honeysuckle.
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Hampden Great House 2021 is the third release of the exclusive distillery edition. Available for sale at the distillery and in limited quantities in select markets.
Hampden Estate Distillery Edition is a tribute to the distillery's Great House, still standing in its original form. Built in 1779 by the Stirling family, the first floor was used for rum storage (barrels waiting to be transferred to port) until the 20th century. Today, it has become the house of representation and reception for guests and visitors
Hampden Great House Rum is a blend of different marks and vintages, evolving with every annual edition. Each new blend aims to highlight a different aspect of the rich and diverse Hampden aromatic profile.
The 2021 edition is a 50-50 blend of medium and high ester marques, Diamond H and LFCH. It reveals a complex and savory profile, a pure single Jamaican rum with defined structure and evolved integrity.
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Hampden is an old-line Jamaican rum distillery which has been in continuous production since 1753, and is by far the most unchanged from how it looked and operated hundreds of years ago. It produces the funkiest, highest ester rum of any Jamaican distillery, the direct result of a fermentation process that is unique, and impossible to replicate anywhere else. 250 years of fermentation in the same room have built up a unique microbiota of fungus and yeast which populate a mystery fluid residing in brick-lined pits set into the ground, and start fermenting. This process takes a variable amount of time from batch to batch and can last up to several weeks, with the antique fermentation room and ancient equipment monitored by the most high tech devices available to ensure that its fermented molasses is only moved to the still house when it is just right.
Hampden has four pot stills from three continents: Two Forsyths from Scotland, a Vendome from Kentucky, and the last from T&T Engineering in South Africa and is one of only 2 Jamaican distilleries which are pot still only. Maturation is done on site, and the ageing rooms are in an adjoining building, along with the large “pool” where they produce the pure sugar cane vinegar which, added at the fermentation stage, gives Hampden rum its unique and unmistakable aromatic bouquet.
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Producer Hampden Estate Distillery Style Single Pot Still Rum Age No Age Statement Volume 70CL ABV 55%