Velier Hampden FIFTEEN - Aged 15 Years 2025

A rum tasted at Whisky Live Paris in 2025. A nose of controlled esters, glue and wood varnish. Overripe fruit, supporting wood and a fullness that can only be achieved with long years of maturation in a tropical climate. The palate is lively, full-bodied with overripe tropical fruit, esters and old varnished wood. Vanilla sweetness too. The finish is rather long, with more pronounced wood. A surprising release, the overall design is reminiscent of Hampden's rather mainstream series for a rum to which age lends surprising depth.

#5814 28.09.2025 Day two of the Whisky Live 2025, which this year looks better organized/arranged inside. This is a pretty well balanced rum with lots of natural sweetness. Fruity with nice spices andlight glue notes, marzipan and chocolate.

A truly wonderful rum that would definitely play in the premier league if it didn't taste a little watered down on the palate. Super complex from nose to finish with a perfect balance of tropical fruits, esters, wood, spices and cookie dough, but a little watered down on the palate and a shorter finish than expected

Mature, dense nose with a focus on wood and spices, plus vanilla, coffee, resin and burnt sugar. Dried fruit, pineapple, banana and mentholated notes on the palate. Solid daily dram - the price remains incomprehensible.

Wonderful nose lots of tropical fruits, esters and light barrel aromas ... Wonderfully ripe and spicy. Great . Unfortunately a little sobering on the palate... Clearly still deliciously fruity with plenty of funky esters and also some wood and spice ... but unfortunately already slightly watery, here it falls off clearly for me. In May Tai delicious a solid 3/5 . Cheers

Whisky Live Paris 2025 - to be tasted again to confirm the score and notes. Wrong degustation order unfortunately, drinking after 2021 C<>H disrupted the palate. The nose is amazing, spices and especially pimento, banana and ananas are all over there. The mouth is consistente but yet a bit thin for diluiton (maybe due to the previous tasting) Price is crazy by the way.

Was für eine tolle Nase! Fruchtig, würzig, holzig, mit Noten von Banane, Ananas, Marzipan, Honig, dazu Tee und etwas Kräuter. Es kündigt sich ein toller Rum an… Und dann die Enttäuschung am Gaumen, dünn und verwässert, Holz zu dominant, Abgang zu kurz. So schade…

Tasted at SITS ‘25. Fantastically rich and dense nose which clearly reflects the age of this product. Less fruits, more wood and spices balanced with burnt sugar and whipped cream. Heavy notes of cask vanilline, resin, cinnamon, cloves and heavily roasted coffee beans, followed with hints of incense sticks and eucalyptus leaves. Unfolds beautifully in the mouth with dried fruits as well as the usual sour pineapple juice and banana. Still quite woody with plenty vanilla and resin. Hints of burnt plastic and nicely mentholated. It’s a lovely pour, but personally I find it a tad too light. Medium finish with unripe banana, cubed pineapple woods and burnt sugar desserts. A lovely surprise that appeared from under the counter and vanished again as quickly as it had appeared. In my humble view a great daily sipper that quality wise trumps the 2010 LROK and moves in the same league as the overproof batch 1. Unfortunately (and inexplicably) this release’s UVP will be respectivally 3x and 5x more expensive. This really leaves me scratching my head. The only reasonably explanation for the pricing must be that it will be hand delivered by Luca himself…

Tout simplement le plus vieux Hampden 100% vieillissement tropical. Alors, est-ce qu'on est encore sur une grosse confiture de fruits aux esters ou pas ? Et bien, pas du tout ! Certes, quelques notes typiques sont là, mais c'est surtout un côté herbacé, des notes céréalières qui me rappellent certains Rye, quelques feuilles de thé et d'intrigantes notes de pamplemousse qui ont piqué ma curiosité. En bouche, c'est plus fruité, plus caramélisé, boisé, et toujours ces notes céréalières et médicinales. Clairement un profil Hampden "nouveau", et qui m'a bien parlé. Il n'est pas sans me rappeler une sortie de chez The Roots dégustée avec les copains lors de notre dernière soirée Ricci dans la Meuse.. ;)

Whisky Live Paris 2025 A truely well rounded product, dont hitnk too much about the price if you dont have to!

Un très grand rhum, alliant complexité, équilibre, gourmandise et longueur.

Wundervolle, komplexe Nase mit Frucht, Holz und Würze. Am Gaumen tief und komplex, die Balance zwischen Estern und Fasseinfluss ist wirklich hervorragend gelungen. Im (langen) Abgang treten die Ester dann in den Hintergrund und das Fass übernimmt die Führung, aber ohne zu viele Tannine/Bitterkeit. Das ist für meinen Geschmack wirklich ein sehr gelungener Hampden mit einer hervorragenden Balance für sein hohes Alter. Leider für mich nicht ganz auf der Höhe von dem einen oder anderen kontinentalen Hampden wie z. B. dem TWJ 1997er Unicorn und leider auch (zu) teuer für das, was er ist.

An sich kein schlechter Rum, er ist schön fruchtig, lecker und harmonisch. Keine "dreckigen" Ester, sondern eher überreife Früchte. Leider sind die 50% einfach zu wenig und machen ihn schwach im Geschmack. Wäre er doch bloß etwas stärker abgefüllt worden...

Richtig gut! Schöne Ester, tropische Noten, Pfirsich, Holz. Aber insgesamt wirkt er etwas dünn.

🥃 Hampden 15 ans - 50 % Distilled after a five-day fermentation, this rum boasts an ester content of 200-400 g/hlap, typical of the LROK (Light Rum Owen Kelly) style introduced by Hampden in 1952. Aged for 15 years in bourbon casks in a tropical climate, this is the oldest Hampden ever marketed. And what a result! Perfectly controlled reduction, remarkable elegance and finesse. A highly accomplished Hampden, with superb complexity and impressive length on the palate. The only fly in the ointment is the price (379 Cerise), which is hard to justify - it's excellent, but not at that price. Especially as the label design is reminiscent of the mass-market range, which blurs the message a little.