The Whisky Jury The Duo - Jamaica Rum 1998

In my opinion, the Long Pond is pushed into the background here. You can hardly recognize anything of the Long Pond. Even after some time in the glass, it is only faintly discernible. The 2014 Hampden is typical of the vintage as far as I can remember, but doesn't stand out either. Pleasant blend, but unfortunately nothing more

Interesting drop, not here, nor there, obviously, but overall a nice bouquet of fruity esters, brine, olives and cucumber. The palate is more on the dry vanilla wooden caramelised side, accompanied by fruity esters. There are also a lot of tannins, but just at the right level. Some time in the glass also brought additional nuances. So don’t rush things, you will be rewarded.

The Whisky Jury presents an interesting blend of Long Pond and Hampden. "Big" sips are more fun here and allow the full potential of this rum to unfold. Typical Jamaican aromas, plus cookie dough. Oiler and smoother on the palate than expected, not an astringent ester bomb that bombards the mouth with fruit from tropical regions. It's a shame that the finish is very short, reminiscent of the disappointing Nine Zero Hampden 2014.

I was somehow not looking forward to this. With indie Blends i am somehow always doubtful. And here is a good example why. I really like the dominating Long Pond here. But it honestly feels as the Hampden ruined the show here a little bit. It stands next to each other and does not become a new third thing.

Almost only Long Pond on the nose. On the back of the mouth, however, esters from Hampden. You discover more with every sip. A great combination, simply a delicious rum. The bottle is an absolute recommendation to buy and I also love the bottle design.

Ester, Lösungsmittel, Banane, Ananas, Erdnuss, sehr rauchig. Schöne, kräftige, komplexe Nase. Im Mund Karamell, Würze, Plastik und Banane. Kräftig, funky und pelzig. Marshmallow, Würze und Plastik im Abgang. Gelungener Blend mit eindeutiger Hampden-Dominanz. Hat mir sehr gemundet. Danke nach Bonn für das interessante Sample und der Beharrlichkeit, mir Ester schmackhaft zu machen. 😀😀😀

I think the 2014 HD + 1998 LP experiment was quite successful. The HD is not too dominant, the LP comes through nicely, especially when the glass is left standing for longer.

Well executed blend. Round and balanced.

To me this was an interesting blend. On the nose this screamed Hampden to me - banana, vanilla, caramel, wood, some solvents, ester and glue. On the palate however this one leaned Long Pond - ester, wood, vanilla, caramel funk, some fruit and smoke. The finish was spice and esters.

Hampden clearly dominates at the beginning. Lots of fruity estery notes, olive, pleasant acidity. The more time it gets in the glass, the more LP comes through with other fruity and woody notes. Could have been a little more LP.

Schöne Balance, die Anteile von Hampden und Long Pond ergänzen sich sehr gut. Der Alkohol ist nicht ganz perfekt eingebunden, aber trotzdem geschmacklich eine sehr runde Sache. Gefällt mir gut!

Très belle complémentarité entre le HD qui domine un peu au début et au bout d’une heure le LP qui arrive tranquillement. Superbe blend. Je kiff 😍 Belle richesse aromatique, très bonne longueur, une réussite 🤩🤩🤩

Tasted at SDR’24 An interesting balance of citrusy liveliness and high complexity on the nose. It opens with bananas, all sorts: green, yellow and even bananes flambées. Then it turns into soured pineapple juice and lemon, intertwined with plastic, frankincense and jasmine tea. In the mouth complexity is dialed up even further with the same banana and citrus combined with fresh berry mix and crushed juniper. Intensity is driven up with even more myrrh essence, flanked with gardening peat and a hint of rubber. The finish is very long, fruity and with perfect integration of all components; banana, marzipan, green tea and again a faint undertone of rubber. Absolutely fantastic bottling with a great release price.

I’ve enjoyed the bottle, nice blend of Long Pond and Hampden. Especially the nose with the nice mix of esters, tropical fruits and pastry with marzipan.

Nose: blood orange and glue? You can smell the barrel a little, and the alcohol pinches your nose a little if you hold your snout too deep into the glass. After a while, a slightly musty note. On the palate, you can literally feel the battle between the woody, fruity LP and the pineapple-estery HD. Neither has the upper hand. It remains a draw. Can this be considered a successful blend? The result is quite pleasing, although I have the suspicion that I would have preferred the 2014 HD straight in the glass.