Hampden Estate 2016 The Younger LROK 5-Year

Glue, flower, exotic fruit in aroma; sweet fruit start, light technical body; decent technical tail.

Good rhum 👍 *****хороший ром по хорошей цене *****

En kraftig sipper fra Hampden. har lige en tand mere power end 8 year (grøn label)

I am not a huge collector, so I don't have a lot of cherished rare bottles, but this is one that I dole out an ounce at a time, straight, as a look at what my golden mean is for Jamaican rums, as close to a one-size-fits-all burst of sippable hogo as I have found. Remarkably sippable for the amount of flavor it packs. It's like taking the charm of an unaged overproof and doing just enough aging to round out the rough edges of a younger rum without fundamentally altering or overlying its character with more "mature" elements.

As a newcomer to rum, this is a perfect bottle to help understand the impacts of aging has on spirits; you can really taste the "in-betweenness" of this and say, a Rum Fire and the Hampden 8. Inject this into my veins.

So I went out looking for this rum because I had run out of Hampden juice for Mai Tais. There is just something about Hampden that makes the best Mai Tais, but for the most part I haven’t been too keen on Hampden rums as sippers. So anyway, I went looking for this for making Mai Tais. I finally found it in my favorite rum stomping grounds and picked it up alongside the Velier Papalin Haiti I reviewed last week.

Before I start doing anything with any rum I like to test it straight to discern it’s qualities. Given my, at this point decently lengthy, experience with Hampden rums I am not expecting a superb sipper but I do expect a vibrant funky fruit bomb for my Mai Tais. None the less let’s see what this rum has to offer all by itself.

This is a high-ish ester molasses, LROK Marque based, pot still rum that has been tropically aged onsite in Jamaica at Trelawny Estate for 5 years. The rum supposedly has an ester count of 314.8 g/hlpa and a 1,576.1 g/hlpa Cogener count. Cocktail Wonk can tell you a lot more about that than I can, but it’s a pretty funky rum. I might be mistaken but I think this is the first LROK marque rum from Hampden that I have had.

On the nose I get bum rushed by Sharpie markers, Super Glue, and incredibly sweet smelling overripe but grilled pineapple (like taking a pineapple past it’s sell by date and slapping it on the grill). Then I get Mulberry Jam and perfectly ripe Strawberries. Nosing deeper reveals Banana Skins, Brown Sugar, and rich sweet Early Harvest Red Wine. It’s a delightful nose…and I have come to expect that with Hampden. Unfortunately, Hampden rums rarely mirror their incredible noses on the palate in the same way for me, which is why I don’t often rate them highly as “sippers” per se even though I love them in cocktails.

But not today! Hot damn this one explodes on the palate even more richly than it does in the nose. Ooh, this one is different…and I like it A LOT. My first impression is “Wow! Yum!”. As I take a sip I get an explosion of Mulberry jam and Ripe rich Strawberry funk permeating my entire mouth. Then Banana Pudding, Brown Sugar, and Caramelized Plantains. And across it all an exceedingly funk and distantly familiar taste that it took quite a while to discern: Mamey/Sapote. But this is an overripe Mamey/Sapote 5 minute before it hits outright rotting. My goodness this is just delightful and it just gets better with every sip. This is real damn good.

The finish is rather interesting, and I suspect will be alluring to some. It’s dirty. A nasty grimy, Auto mechanic shop. I get Gasoline followed by Paint Thinner and a touch of Chlorine Pool Water (hello Worthy Park?). But it wouldn’t truly be a Mechanics garage without stale coffee that someone left out two days ago. Toss that in there. Oh yeah and rotting Mamey/Sapote. Finally, a rubber gasket overheats and fills the shop with burning industrial rubber. That about sums up the finish. But somehow in appropriate amounts that only accentuate the lovely overripe tropically fruity nose and palate.

On the whole this is way more delectable to
my tastes than I anticipated coming from Hampden. To my great surprise this is a fantastic sipping rum, and one that I will absolutely be buying a backup bottle of. Now I almost don’t want to waste it in Mai Tais. What a delightful, unexpected curveball from Hampden. Figures my local shop would run out of this one. This is the best Hampden rum I have had since Great House 2020. This is the exact kind of funk that I can dig. In a way it reminds me of TCRL Jamaica WP 2015. Not that the notes are the same, but the intensity and richness are and the nose matches the palate on both.

To be succinct, this is a keeper for me. And to boot it’s cheap enough that I don’t mind using it in Mai Tais, even though I am equally liable to just pour some over an iceball. What an unexpected Hampden gem for this Worthy Park fanboy.

Short Description: Overripe Mamey with Strawberries and Mulberry Jam enjoyed in a Mechanics shop

ABV: 47%

Country of Origin: Jamaica

Distillery: Hampden Estate

Marque: LROK

Nose: Sharpie, Super Glue, Grilled Overripe Pineapple, Mulberry Jam, Ripe Strawberries, Banana Skins, Brown Sugar, Early Harvest Red Wine

Palate: (wow!, yum) Mulberry jam, ripe Strawberries, Banana Pudding, Brown Sugar, Caramelized Plantains, overripe Mamey/Sapote

Finish: (dirty) Gasoline, Mineral Spirits, slight Pool Water, Stale Coffee, Mamey/Sapote, Burning Rubber

Rum zrál 5 let v sudech po bourbonu v tropech. Značka LROK (Light Rum Owen Kelly) značí 300 - 400 g/hlpa esterů; přesně má 314,8 g /hlpa esterů a 1567,1 g/hlpa těkavých látek.
Andělský podíl: 34%

Aroma: Na Hampden nezvykle zasmrádlé - shnilá jablka, citrony, nakyslost, travnatost, nemocniční dezinfekce.
Chuť: Ovocná žvýkačka, lehce kořenitá, medově sladká. Opět závan dezinfekce.
Dozvuk: Závan dezinfekce a kořenitosti, trpké sušené ovoce (švestky). Delší, lehce hořký.
Sladkost: 0/3
Zvláštní, zasmrádlý Hampden. Opět platí to, co u LROK 2011 - dobrý rum, ale díky přemrštěným investičním cenám je lepší pořídit 8yo či Overproof. 8-/10.

Al naso esteri, fermentato, frutta tropicale(ananas), solvente, note funky.
Al palato sempre esteri e fermentati così come formaggio stagionato, ananas,pepe, dal finale molto leggero e delicato

Nose - super mellow citrus funk, carmel, oak, light tobacco, brown sugar, chocolate chip cookie dough

Palate- pineapple, burnt cola, oak, lemon, bitter tobacco, slightly more bourbon like than other LROK’s

Finish- sweet oak funk, black pepper, light heat, tiny fireworks

Thoughts- at a friendly, 47% this drinks more like a bourbon than most of the other Hampden’s but with a light handed touch of Jamaican funk. Very good, very palatable. Possibly a good transition from bourbon to Jamaican rum for bourbon drinkers?

Rating - 8.3 out of 10

Az első hampdemem, nagyon finom és erőteljes rum. Karakteres hosszú lecsengés. Az adatlapon nem jól szerepel az alkoholtartalom mert "csak" 47%. Éljen Jamaica 😁

This is a stunner .

Nosing
Bannana,papaya and mango

Tasting
Heaven , more ripe Bannana , toffee and soft fruits

This is an amazing drop .

Hampden 2016 LROK The Younger combines the aromatic intensity of tropical maturation with the freshness of a young rum. With an ester content and an overall high proportion of flavour-bearing congeners, exotic aromas unfold from mango to fresh pineapple juice and orange peel to cloves.