Background Image
Preload image
Rum Fire White Overproof rum

Rum Fire White Overproof

Jamaica | Light | 63% ABV | Pot and Column Still Distilled

7.6/10
67 ratings
Recommendable to most
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1
2
1
3
4
11
28
14
3

Rate Rum Fire White Overproof

Tap to Rate

Advert Image

Advertisement | Go Premium to remove

Review Images

User review image
User review image
User review image
User review image
User review image
User review image

67 Rum Fire White Overproof Ratings

Sort by: Popularity | Newest | Oldest | Rating

eddieo 🇺🇸 | 107 ratings
Posted almost 5 years ago

I had been reading about how this may be the closest contemporary equivalent to the original British Royal Navy style made famous throughout history, and was really curious to try this. Don’t be deterred by its cheesy labeling (Hampden runs the gamut when it comes to branding graphics, but surely makes a fine product) and below premium price point (Under 30 US), this is a vital staple for your collection of cane spirits and cocktail arsenal.

I won’t retread copious reviews recounting the woolly blanket of funk this throws, and instead focus on how it pairs with a simple stepping of additions to the glass.

Off the bat, this reminds me of tasting rhum agricole on Marie-Galante, straight from the tap before any rainwater is added. The abv is so high it is perceived as sweet the instant it impacts the palate, but quickly gives way to that peppery aguardiente heat. Hampden couldn’t have been more imaginative in naming this, it is pure fire. Tamed /just/ enough to bottle and sell; otherwise, we might find it clambering up the Empire State Building with a damsel in distress. Maybe a handful of rummies, willingly…

One small cube of ice turns this into a sipper - voila. Truly worthy as a sipping spirit, a more adventurous, wild counterpart to aged spirits that will undoubtedly overtake anything the follows.

With the addition of a lime squeeze, I question the flavor of the spirit. Here, we’ve unearthed some of the more sourly pungent and astringent aspects of the spirit, pushing the sweet smelly fruit aspects, like bananas, back, and bringing the citrus rot to the fore, as one might imagine the lime would do to this. It almost becomes acrid and unenjoyable, but we’ve left the ice cube in and haven’t added sugar yet, so we’re in the nether regions of a navy grog and far from a daiquiri at this point. Let’s move on…

Adding a fresh squeezed clementine orange does bring it back to cocktail territory, with just enough sweet and tart-ness to balance it out. Don’t worry, the funk is still there, but now we’ve gotta balance the strength with the addition of a couple more ice cubes, and a splash of beirão (weird flex but ok) to heighten the sweetness a couple notches. Would’ve used simple syrup from demerara sugars instead if that had been around.

It evolves exquisitely, almost like a history of Jamaican rum in a glass, and really, you should be pouring this in your cocktails or snifter.

Skipper Joe 🇺🇸 | 37 ratings
Posted over 1 year ago

This rum is a full kick of flavor - not just because of the high proof, but also the intensity of Jamaican rum signature flavors. Super funky, strong smell (and taste) of ripe banana, other tropical fruits, and rich sugars. Very bold and robust flavor that stands out even in moderation. I find myself adding just a half ounce or less to mixed drinks when I want to bring some punchy flavors but and add an extra “chord” to a Rhum rhapsody, especially when combined with very dark, one-note bottles. Certainly bites when consumed on it own, but goes down easier than Smith & Cross - a similar bottle that I have a lot of respect for - and MUCH easier than Wray & Nephew. Good buy

Mujuru 🇺🇸 | 152 ratings
Posted almost 2 years ago

This is a rum I have been meaning to review for quite a long time now but have been a bit intimidated by in terms of its strength, intensity, and heat. This not a “beginners” rum and not a rum to be gulped willy-nilly. That said it is an essential rum and a rum many would call the gold standard of the high ester Jamaican style.

Another reason it has taken me a while to get to is that, for the most part, I usually prefer the Worthy Park style and haven’t necessarily been enamored with Hampden rums (though there are exceptions…hello Hampden Great House 2020). Anyway, regardless of my generalized preferences it is high time that I review this staple of the rum nerd world. So without further ado…

This is an unaged molasses based pot still distilled rum from Hampden’s high ester marque HLCF with an ester count of 500-600 g/hlAA. It’s wildly intense aromas and flavors come from the esters produced by Hampden’s muck pits and the bacterial overgrowths in the fermentation tanks.

The nose on this rum is powerful and has all the hallmarks of what I associate with Hampden to an intense degree. It starts with intense Banana Cream Pie filling and Sangria soaked apple chunks. I also smell acetone and the faint aroma of a medical office before the nose returns to the world of fruity goodness. Next comes faint artificial strawberry syrup and Apple Moonshine before my olfactory senses become inundated with the aroma of raw slightly unripe pineapple chunks. It’s intense and frankly a lot to take in.

Taking a sip the palate is far different that what I had imagined (and far different than what I feared). The palate is intensely and overwhelmingly fruity and sweet. The first flavors are hard to separate but best I can describe is if you made a homemade fruit punch from a menagerie of extremely ripe tropical fruit. It’s intense but hard to pick out any one specific fruit note - my mouth just screams “FRUITY!!”. After the shock of the fruit menagerie passes I can start to pick out some clear individual notes. I get cherry pie filling, pineapple chunks soaked in Everclear, guava, raw white sugar (like literally eating a spoonful of sugar)…and then downing it all with tonic water. To my delight there are no medical office notes on the palate like there are on some Hampden rums.

The finish is weird and where the odd things come out to play. As the rum leaves my mouth my senses detect a faint burning rubber and an acrid electrical fire. But after a few sips a raw white sugar note lingers and after a while I could swear I just drank a gin and tonic.

This rum is as unique as many on here claim. It was far more delightful and enjoyable straight than I had imagined it would be given my preferences. It is crazy sweet to my tastes, almost like literal pure sugar at times, despite the sugar being all burned off and no sugar being added. I guess that is just the esters playing with me…but it is very nice. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to Overproofs I still prefer Rum Bar and it’s crazy intense Banana overload, but honestly this rum is not terribly far behind. It is as intense but with a different profile. It turns out unaged high-ester Hampden juice is pretty darn good.

To come clear, I have been mixing with Hampden Rum Fire for a couple months now and it works excellently in both Mai Tais and in Stingrays. In fact it’s downright excellent as a mixer. One of my current bends is mixing Hampden Rum Fire with Worthy Park 109 as the Jamaican side of a Mai Tai. It works just as well as Hamilton Pot Still Jamaican Black.

All in all this is indeed an excellent rum. If it were not for the existence of Rum Bar Overproof this would absolutely be my Jamaican OP bottle of choice. Alas I do prefer my Rum Bar OP though. However, I will absolutely enjoy this bottle until it is gone. I can definitely see how this rum earns it’s hype on here.

Short Description: Intense, raw tropical fruit mashup soaked in Everclear and topped with raw sugar. Alternatively, it could be described as a wildly fruity gin and tonic at 63% ABV.

ABV 63%

Country of Origin: Jamaica

Distillery: Hampden at Trelawny Estate

Nose: Banana Cream Pie filling, Sangria soaked Apples, acetone, faint medical office, faint artificial strawberry syrup, Pineapple chunks (strong), Apple moonshine,

Palate: immensely fruity but hard to pick out the individual fruit profiles (let’s say homemade tropical fruit punch), Cherry pie filling, pineapple chunks soaked in everclear, guava, raw sugar, tonic water

Finish: burning rubber, electrical fire, raw sugar, gin and tonic

Kamamura 🇨🇿 | 37 ratings
Posted 2 years ago

Very unpretentious bottle, humble looking even, with motifs of cyan and orange, and of course a raging inferno of flames.

I braced for the onslaught of alcoholic rampage, and indeed, the nose arrives with sharp, tingling fumes of the raw power of the overproof expression, but quickly subsides to soft, warm, caressing, calming notes of candied fruit and sweet, summer notes of bananas, plums, and dried pears.

The palate is super sweet - come on, I know that Jamaican rums are never sweetened, so tell me, how is this possible? The rum does not taste like 63ABV alcohol at all, I mean the wallop is certainly there, but sipped with respect, it exudes nothing but warm, gentle candlelight of fruity, funky, comforting notes - dried bananas, apricot marmalade, honey, fruit candy, pears.

The finish is gentle and reassuring, like a wave of a hand of a beautiful, mature woman, with a swift, delicate memory of mellow cordiality, and a fleeting promise of more intimate moments to come in the future.

This is a fantastic, fantastic rum!

Paul B 🇺🇸 | 472 ratings
Posted 3 years ago

Of all 17 rums that I bought a week ago on my rum running trip to central Florida, I saved this one for last out of fear of it being just like that God awful Wray & Nephew Overproof that I tried three years ago. This time around, I read all of the reviews on here first and took the advice from one to add one small ice cube to the pure rum first. I let that cube melt entirely. The initial smell from the newly opened bottle also did not put me off like the W&NO did.

I then sorted my spreadsheet by Overprroofs so that this one could find it's proper place in my rankings for that classification. To my surprise, it climbed up to my rating of 8, but still not better than Smith & Cross. I now have it rated in my low 8 Ratings.

Others have described the taste from this one much better than I can. All I can say is that if you love Smith & Cross, you owe it to yourself to try this one CAREFULLY. This one is a pot still rum from Trelawny, whereas W&NO has column still rum in the mix. That is my only reason that I suspect that I love one and hate the other.

On another note, when the topic of what rum to use for rum punches came up in the Discussions, my European friends suggested Jamaican overproofs such as this one. I had my doubts. Well, being down to the last third of this bottle after more than a month, it was time to experiment. I mixed it with watermelon juice for an awesome Funky Watermelon (my own name for it). Then I used it with pineapple juice and premium coconut water to make funky pina coladas. And now I see how this rum would make great rum punches!

By the way, this rum has been the flagship of Hampden for many years until some very expensive releases were released in the last few years as a marketing ploy. If it works, don't fix it!

Stefan Persson (PREMIUM) 🇸🇪 | 507 ratings
Posted 3 years ago

This is a triple distilled pure pot still HLCF rum. HLCF stands for Hampden Light Continental Flavoured and an ester level of 500-600.
In nose it’s funky and a little pungent and it’s possible to recognize fruits, fresh as well as overriped.
In mouth and palate it’s still fruity and I recognize Pineapple and Banana. I also recognize Pepper, Nutmeg, Raisins and som Citrus.
The rather long finish goes the same.
Overall I think it’s the best of the three big ones from Jamaica. It’s Funky, potent, complex and powerful without being too pungent.
Pictures: The Jamaican big three & My opened bottle.

Smovens 🇺🇸 | 187 ratings
Posted almost 5 years ago

You can smell this rum from across the room. Super funky, along the lines of rotting pineapples and bananas more than barnyard funk. Overproof and harsh but the depth of taste and funk is amazing.

Cory Wid 🇺🇸 | 97 ratings
Posted over 5 years ago

It took me a very long time to track down a bottle in Illinois. I believe there is only one distributor that carries it, and they don't even advertise that they do. Eventually got it through special-order at Binny's, after some investigation.

Wonderfully flavorful rum, hogo heaven. That classic untamed Jamaican pungency, but not so much of a banana note - maybe more of a spiced berries smell, if that makes sense? Very powerful yet not off-putting, as some overproofs can be. Surprisingly clean on the palate and quite delicious, I can even sip it (though I wouldn't recommend that to beginners).

This is incredible when used with fruit in drinks, as well as with certain spices or spiced liqueurs, such as allspice dram. A few splashes in a fruit smoothy dramatically enhances the drink. It will also work tremendously well when used for "arranged rums", such as the french style steeped fruit rums.

Its a Hampden pot-still rum - If you rate this below a 7, you're nuts!

Alan 🇺🇸 | 89 ratings
Posted almost 6 years ago

Bottled at 63% abv, this Jamaican high ester pot still is as funky as Jamaican rum gets. Definitely not a sipper, Rum Fire is best enjoyed when mixed with ginger beer, heavy citrus or even coconut water.

WhatZitTooya 🇺🇸 | 32 ratings
Posted 7 months ago

Probably one of the more unique funky Jamaican rums I've had, taking it in more of an almost fruity direction compared to a lot of others. Might have to get a bottle of W&N to see how it stacks up in various drink applications.




Brand Details

Name: White Overproof
ABV: 63%
Type: Rum Fire
Raw Material: Unknown
Process: Unknown
Distillation: Pot and Column Still
Women leading Rum: No