The Whisky Jury Hampden Jamaica Rum C<>H 1993

What a bottle top top top( always for info)

Tasted alongside the Salon Du Rhum HD 1993 (RX11797). For me, both are absolute grenades and among the best Hampdens I've had in my glass so far. I couldn't make out any serious differences during the tasting.

Great fireworks. Creamy texture like the other world-class Hampdens. Strikes just the right balance between acidity, fruit and esters. Super elegant, light-footed rum. Slightly metallic notes on the finish.

Really nice Hampden with a great complexity, a lot of wood, grilled meat and grilled fruits. In the aftertaste the fruits are getting a bit fresher (pears and apple juice). Shout out to Tom and Quent :)

Heavenly nose. In addition to the expected tropical fruit basket, this C<>H also has this slightly medicinal pear note on the nose (I can't describe it any better), which I already liked so much about the CoR <>H and which was somewhat lacking in the RX271. On the nose it is simply incredibly round, balanced and complex, there is a lot to discover here. The impression of the nose is confirmed on the palate. Here, too, this C<>H reminds me of the CoR 2013 <>H, but again rounder, more balanced and also a little more complex than the CoR, but with a little less brine and generally tamer. The finish is long with lots of tropical fruit, brine and medicinal pear. Compared to RX271, this TWJ is definitely ahead for me, as it is simply more interesting and even more complex for me due to the more brine and medicinal pear. A really great rum, even if it's not really cheap.

Up to now, I haven't been able to do much with most continentally matured Hampdens or Jamaicans from the 90s (in relation to the price) and have a preference for tropically matured ones. But this one tastes quite good to me and is definitely one of the better/best I've tried. Reminds me of the Salon du Rhum, which I also found very cool.

16.09.2022 Going through samples at home. Notes Light in colour. Nose Intense, faint wood, faint smoke, fruity, overripe, banana, faint cherry, spice, ester. Palate Intense, faint wood, ester, fruity, overripe, banana, light polish, medium dry. Finish Very long and warm, light wood, fruity, ester, medium dry, pineapple. Extra note. Needs to rest for a good while or add a few drops of water.

Brine, old cooking fat, nail polish remover, fermented fruit. What doesn't sound very tempting is a finely balanced, highly complex wealth of aromas that make up a high-quality rum. Astringency just tolerable, but too much acidity in the finish for me. Therefore not top of the league for me.