The Hampden Jamaican Rum 1 Year Old 8 Marks Collection, II: 🔷H, HGML, C🔷H, DOK reviews + I freak out

Описание: The morning of December 6, 2024 is a hell of a time to try to review rums. But there's nothing else to do and no other time to do it, so it's time to brush off the sleepless night and a morning of ugly-crying to try to create useful consumer commentary.

This is the second half of Hampden's Year Old 8 Marks Collection (the first, along with an introduction, is at    • The Hampden Jamaican Rum 1 Year Old 8 Mark...   ), comprising the higher-ester marks on the list. Which are, of course, some of my favorite rums on the planet, albeit in very young form. And here's how it went:

Hampden Estate "🔷H" 1 Year Old Single Jamaican Rum (bottled circa 2024; pot-distilled molasses, 900-1000 gr/HLPA esters, aged one year in ex-bourbon; 52% ABV), 88/100
Hampden Estate "HGML" 1 Year Old Single Jamaican Rum (bottled circa 2024; pot-distilled molasses, 1000-1100 gr/HLPA esters, aged one year in ex-bourbon; 52% ABV), 87-/100
Hampden Estate "C🔷H" 1 Year Old Single Jamaican Rum (bottled circa 2024; pot-distilled molasses, 1300-1400 gr/HLPA esters, aged one year in ex-bourbon; 52% ABV), 88-/100
Hampden Estate "DOK" 1 Year Old Single Jamaican Rum (bottled circa 2024; pot-distilled molasses, pot-distilled molasses, 1500-1600 gr/HLPA esters, aged one year in ex-bourbon; 52% ABV), 89+/100

So they're good, but on the whole just a notch below the unaged versions. Above all with the HGML, which feels like it's just hitting a wall as it tries to show itself off. The C🔷H, meanwhile, is a bit weird and awkward but still very serviceable. The 🔷H kind of isn't showing any oak influence at all, to be honest, and that's actually helping it in this context. Meanwhile the DOK is just a pretty darn good DOK, no more and no less, similarly showing minimal effects from the wood. And as with the previous four marks, I do think this is "the aging ditch" (   • The Aging Ditch (Or, When Barrel Aging Mak...   ) at work: in a bunch of these bottles the Hampden spirit, even in these more potent marks, just hasn't sufficiently reasserted itself after being dumbed down by first contact with wood. It's still a fun set, mind, and definitely something nerds and completists are going to want to try out, but the Unaged one is still the one I'd buy

And at the end I pretty much lose all remaining composure and share thoughts about my two girls, and about visiting (or not visiting) Vilnius and their extended family, and about how in the heck this channel even makes sense in the context of a global trade war, and I'm keeping it all in there - hell, I'm posting this video early - because it's absolutely relevant to spirits fandom. Sorry not sorry. Even if last night isn't going to affect you as a person - hell, even if this is the result you were looking for - you should still brace yourself, because if you're a spirits fan in the US the next few years are likely to get rough.

Extra special thanks to my Different Spirits on Patreon (  / differentspirits  ) -

Eric Amig
Anthony
Jamie Brown
Kingsbury bushcraft
Clematis
Rob D
Liam Davitt
Joe Devine
Samuel Dose
Stephen Eckert
eon Ingmar nine
Steve Frazee
Ian Gendler
John Halliday
Alex Hurd
Trevor Jarrait
Jonathan Lestingi
Kyaru
Ariel Mserious
Jason Newquist
No Thanks
Chris Rhodes
Randy Rice
RumSquirrel
Chris Sherman
Gordon W
Zach W