Hampden Great House (Distillery Edition 2024)

Freshly opened and tasted both neat and as a CubaLibre. Personally, I don't find it one hundred percent convincing neat, as it's a little too aggressive on the palate. Perhaps it should have breathed longer. But it delivers all the better in CubaLibre. I'll probably have to give it more time again.

So, there it is. A little earlier and also much more available and in larger quantities. This range is clearly going downhill - as is the rum itself. While I find the combination of HGML and LFCH quite cool and interesting (I really liked the HGML in 2022), I find the maturity a little lacking here. Without knowing the blend and the age exactly, I would say that it could have stayed in the cask a little longer - especially the low ester part. I certainly won't be getting one this year.

Didn't expect much... therefore not disappointed. On the whole a Hampden as you know it... Fruity, estery and funky ... for me completely dull and nothing that would justify the price. The rum has clear off-notes, tastes very young and bitchy with a disturbing (Virgin Oak?) influence. Quite ok in Mai Tai but doesn't win me over here either.

This Great House doesn't convince me at all. The nose is still the best thing for me. Beautiful esters, lots of fruit and subtle sweetness are perceptible here. On the palate, however, it loses me: initially a strong sweetness, then it immediately changes to a spicy woody side, fruit and esters are hardly recognizable...only the alcohol is quite well integrated. Funk has been completely lost here. The finish is dominated by spice... Clearly the weakest Great House bottling for me

#4902 Whisky Live in Paris 27.09.2024-30.09.2024. Another great event meeting a lot of RumX new and old friends. This year three weren't as many new releases as in 2023, but I still had a great time. Nose Fresh, medium intense, light wood, fruity, light mint, light pineapple, light earthy, light orange, faint chocolate. Palate Round, balanced, light wood, fruits, light coconut, faint pineapple, faint mint, faint earthy, faint herbal, sweet. Finish Medium long, round, balanced, sweet, fruits, light orange, faint chocolate, light caramel, light wood. This has been turned into a mainstream release and they are close to each other. Would have loved a higher ABV and more "umph" in the profile.

I quite like the nose with lots of fruity notes, especially pineapple and mango. I also perceive floral/flowery aromas and some vanilla. Unfortunately, it completely fails on the palate. Very unbalanced, pungent and peppery. One of the weaker GH releases for me.

Doesn't pick me up completely. Somehow not round. Woody, but still young. For me, one of the worst in the series. Solid but not super good. Now comes the Mai Tai test

Solid Hampden without recognition value

8,6:On the nose, the first impression we get are estery overripe tropical fruits like pineapple, banana with roasted, spicy wood notes like caramel, vanilla, as the molasses is vegetal and unavoidable nail polish. On aeration, we get some nice nutty pastry with mango and cherry, grass notes, nicely round. 8,6:On the palate, the attack is fruity and woody with overripe tropical fruits, dried ones with figs, the wood is roasted, dry, spicy with burnt sugar, caramel, vanilla, salty.The molasses is vegetal with an olive, hay, artichoke. Very creamy vanilla with strawberries, citrus balances vegetal notes very nicely, as some licorice also pops up. 8,5:The finish is long, dry, fruity with overripe tropical fruits, the wood is roasted, creamy, spicy, the molasses vegetal.Some earthiness crawls in with peat...In the end very balanced. Very consistent...underestimated, more balanced as 2023, 2022 Edit:16.3.25 Well, tasty, 0,1 up

Not massively impressive overall but the typical hampden notes are still there. On the nose typical hampden, tropical fruits, banana, pineapple and funk. Fruity on the palate but its a bit out of whack and rough. Punchy.

Classic Hampden notes on the nose with grilled pineapple and some wood. Fruit acids are a bit too intense for my liking. Funky on the palate, again with some fruit acid. Feels a bit young and harsher in comparison to the previous editions.

Typical Hampden nose. A little rough and "unrefined" on the palate. Not really bad, but still quite young, also lacking a little refinement and maturity. For me personally, the weakest Great House so far.

By and large as expected. Fits seamlessly into the range, no outlier up or down. I find it better than the 2023 and worse than the 2021. A whole bottle is only worth it for the collection.

Every year I think about whether I should still take part in the circus surrounding Hampden's Great House and every year I end up buying it. This year's edition is still convincing on the nose, although the profile is starting to bore me. But the fun stops on the palate with the 24. Woody, wild, dysharmonic and almost completely devoid of fun. The alcohol could also be a little better integrated. We won't be friends on the finish either. I'll try it as a mixer, but it's not really fun on its own.

Compared to GH21, I find this one a bit more estery, you could say sweeter. Maybe it reminds me of Younger. Very good for me. A lot of esters, molasses, pineapple. Molasses on the finish, caramel, overall it sounds like something from Guyana. Quite different from GH21, but I'd rate it the same. Both are good rums. Edit: this is the first time I'm testing this one and I'm not changing anything on the rating. It's a good vintage