Velier Hampden Habitation Velier 2024 LROK <>H LFCH Blend with PM Spirits and Prestige Ledroit

 First of all, many thanks to adrianV for getting and sharing the bottle. Tasted it right after the 2014 Hampden Rumclub and my conclusion is that it tasted much better, even though it's a blend of different brands. Very cool bottling, unfortunately only available in the USA, otherwise I would go for it like a madman, definitely a hit in MaiTai.

 After a few less exciting HV release, I like this one very much. Intense and diverse tropical fruit basket on the nose. The <>H component is in the driver seat here. On the palate also very nice. Balanced with tropical fruits and quite some wood despite the moderate age. LROK is dominating here. All in all a very nice blend. The dirfeent marks work very well together, adding complexity. Moderate age brings a vibrant expression yet with „enough“ notes from the cask to add maturity and complexity.

 Solid Hampden with the expected ester and fruit notes, clean and typical. Fun in the glass, but offers no special surprises or unique selling points. A good, reliable representative, no more, but also no less.

 Iam not Hampden expert to benchmark (yet), but I like this one a lot. Secured few bottles in NYC and tasted it at lical liquor store. This 2014 blend of LROK, <>H and LFCH is for US market only. Nose is accelerating to strong exotic fruits concert, some roasted bananas, smoke, mint and nice esters. Balances on palate, like velvet, fruity, floral, tropical bomb, lot of pineaple, nice finish, very good and also rare rum given it wont be available in Europe.. you can find it just few weeks after release on secondary market for double price... Preparing few samples for RumX community now:)

 The nose is the usual combo of grilled pineapple and ripe banana with smokey industrial tones and noticable wood, but the thing that really sets this blend apart is the incredible level of creamy output that this just trucks in on the palate, particularly with dilution. Rich tropical fruits flow out, with mango and cherry joining the party, but always with an expansive vanilla bean whipped cream aspect. There is a lot of density even with substantial water. Very pleasant to surf down its dilution spectrum. The finish is assertive and lengthy. It makes an incredible daiquiri as well.

 Very tasty LFCH! You definitely can't complain.

 Able to try this thanks to Adrianv! Bursting with tropical pineapple and sour cherry, but also wonderfully creamy and buttery. It’s a real delight to sample this perfectly balanced rum. It even feels umami to me, especially in the aftertaste. There are fermented and smoky facets as well, which make the whole experience really enjoyable.