Roots Hampden Jamaican Rum <>H 2013 <>H

After the first sip straight from the freshly opened bottle, I was a little disappointed. For me, it was like a missing note. After a longer period of breathing, it developed positively and acquired a nice creaminess. However, I will start another crosstasting and then rank it more precisely.

Pur garnicht übel ... Fruchtig Ester und etwas Bitterkeit, nix neues und nix was man nicht kennt. Schon lecker . Im Mai Tai leider nicht ganz so stark ... da gibts deutlich bessere für ähnliche Preise .

#5595 23.08.2025 Celebrating Michael's 50th birthday with some good rums. Nose Medium intense, fresh, light wood, faint roasted, spice, fruity, overripe, pineapple, light banana, ester. Palate Oily, warm, medium intense, light wood, fruity, overripe, light cherry, banana, ester, light dried fruit. Finish Long and warm, fresh, oily, light wood, berries, faint caramel, faint chocolate. There is a very nice natural sweetness to the profile that I really like.

L’une des claques de la soirée, c’est énorme !

Super Hampden Mark! I was totally thrilled at first! Very nice, fruity, well-balanced High Ester Hampden. Unfortunately, there's a slight whisky note in the finish that I don't like. It would be interesting to know whether it was aged in a whisky cask. That's why I can't give it a top rating.

For me, a very successful <>H, even if it's not top class. In addition to esters, overripe tropical fruits and wood, there are light roasted aromas on the palate and finish. Generally very intense and oily, with black tea on the finish. Alcohol well integrated, but could be better.

Looking at a little 2013 <>H side-by-side today. On the nose the House of Cane bottling takes the crown with TCoR and Swells Constantia taking second place. The Nectar is the only real outlier, not able to compete with the pack. Roots comes with a bit more overripe notes, while TWJ is a bit stronger on solvent notes. Both are very nice as well. On the palate the crown goes to The House of Cane, again. Very high intensity with Hampden funk and fruits nicely balanced by some sweetness and cookie notes. CoR and TWJ both show an intense <>H profile as well, excellent. The SdS Constantia presents the most balanced profile. Very nice to drink indeed. Roots looses on the palate, unfortunately. There is a distinct note of lightly peated Whisky in the bottling. That’s not bad, but doesn’t benefit the rum imo. The Nectar, again, cannot fully win my heart. The cask presumably had less influence, leaving the bottling in a more alcoholic and less balanced state.

Very nice, fruity and green-grassy nose. Nice and creamy on the palate, fruity and slightly bitter, very round, alcohol well integrated. Really a very successful <>H, although I personally liked the currently still available and cheaper <>H from the bottleshop a tick better. But the Roots here is also a very good buy, and for my taste is definitely one of the upmarket bottlings from this brand.

25-10-2025 - Rate 8.2

A very nice complex rum from start to finish. Lots of flavours to explore. Nose: wood, typical overipe banana and other funk. Palate: wood, tropical dried fruits but also something herbal/spicy. Finish: herbal, berries. Will need to taste this again next to Whisky Jury and COR 2013.