CoR Hampden Jamaica No. 7 HLCF 1998

01.09.2024 Relaxing at the German Rum Fest 2024. ---------------- 16.05.2023 Normally I don't do tastings during the week because I have to go to work pretty early the next day. This blind tasting just stating "Colours of Rum" just tickled my brain to say "book and participate" and I didn't regret it. It wasn't only a great experience, but we had a blast of an evening with many new faces around the table. Not a bad rum though I think the price tag is slightly higher than I'd expect for the quality. A very fruity and fresh profile with light ester and roasted wood. The palate is intense and dry but still fruity with some ester. The finish is long and dry with a warm touch to it.

Got a sample of this for free from RumX. It’s a pot still single cask rum distilled in 1998 whereafter it has been continental aged for 23 years in an ex-rum oak barrel before bottled in 247 bottles at 58,7%. It’s an HLCF, which is quite esters rich. Overall a complex, funky, esters rich and flavorful rum.

This Hampden is not bad, but for me it is an absolute disappointment! Smells and tastes like a Hampden light. It fails to deliver, especially on the palate and in the finish. The alcohol is poorly integrated.

A rum tasted at the GRF in 2024, CoR masterclass. Lots of esters on the nose, but still contained. Overripe pineapple and yellow fruit, especially apple. The first palate is almost sweet, then the esters rise with licorice and walnut in addition to the nose. The finish is moderately long, almost exclusively fruit, with an interesting salty edge.

Unfortunately, expectations were not met here either. Alcohol better integrated here than in No.6. In addition to tropical fruits and minimal marzipan, there is somehow a salty note on the nose (yes, you can smell salt 😅🤣) but that somehow bothers me here. Alcohol is also quite okay on the palate. But there is less fruit here ... more wood and bitter notes. More of an easy sipper ... if it weren't for the price.

CoR Tasting German Rumfestival 2024 The impression remains that this is going in a rather spicy direction. However, it lacks a little depth to perform better. The alcohol could also be a little better integrated. Fruity, funky start and a nice, slightly salty licorice note at the end. Very round, perhaps a little too well-behaved.

Nose on this bottling is significantly less fibrant and engaging compared to the TRC and Sponge ‘98s. More muted yet with sharper edges to it.

Let's go vertical: the '98 Colours of Rum HLCF vs the '92 RumClub Ed. 18 Treasure Cask (which ranks right up there with the '92 HLCFs for me). The CoR stings a bit more on the nose though the ABV is virtually identical on both (58.7% vs 58.6%). As for the aroma palette, the longer aging is clearly noticeable on the RC: the CoR is more on fermented fruit, citrus notes and sour cream. On the RC, I got slightly sweeter lemon marmalade, baking spices, orange zest, and a bit of green apple (I hadn't made it out that way at first tastings). On the palate, again, it's more minor things. The RC goes (esp. in the finish) something more in the direction of barrel / vanilla.

Unfortunately, rather a weaker representative of the 98 vintage. A profile which I appreciate very much. Benchmark is for me here the RA HD 98 and TRC HD 98 "The Beast". Have the two new bottlings of Colours of Rum directly compare and No.7 is a tad worse than No.6 in my eyes. The longer storage has not done the rum good. Neither in the nose nor on the palate wants to set real HD 98 feeling. In the finish still some woodiness. Price with 220 € for 0.7 liters also sporty settled. No bottle of this will go into my collection. Edition 7 gets 83 points.

Store visit Rhum Attitude Brussels May 2025. Taken along as a sample. This one feels more like Jamaica ;-) Lots and lots of esters, but also lots of tropical fruits like pineapple and banana. Tastes overripe and delicious.

A so just very good HLCF, I lack a little complexity and depth. The nose I found most convincing (with a fairly high number of aromas: esters, spices, fruit and vegetal structures), the palate is good (can not confirm the nose, spices and wood predominate), the finish is relatively one-sided (salt and olive), the PLV is not successful here.

Crosstasting with RX14116This is not as lively and versatile on the nose as RX14116. For this, there is a nice yogurt/butter note.On the palate milder than RX14116, seems like about 8% less alcohol content, in fact it is only 3% less.Great long finish with nice transition from woody-spicy to dry-salty with olives!The finish of this rum pleases me very well and therefore I put here 3 points on it.Bottom line, the two bottlings are more different than I expected. This seems to me like a more intense version of the HD GH 2020.TOP!

On the nose, floral notes, something medicinal, tropical fruit, esters and glue. Quite round on the palate, but lacks some intensity. All in all, a solid Hampden, but I wouldn't need a whole bottle of it.

GRF 2014 CoR tasting: typischer Hampden, medium esters with some fruits, wood & saltiness. A bit weak, although the abv is there. Not bad, but also a bit disappointing. Not the best release that CoR has

Good rum, but for a 1998 HLCF no firecracker. Especially not at the price called. The two (No6 and No7) are very similar. The almost identical color of the labels is therefore actually almost funny. The 7 wins for me on the nose, the 6 on the palate