Hampden Fifteen

Hampden Fifteen is a 15-year-old rum from Hampden Estate. As always with Hampden, it's a molasses rum with a long fermentation using wild yeast, a 100% copper pot still of the double retort type, and bottling with only select spring water, without additives. The maturation is 100% tropical and in ex-Bourbon casks.
The ester value is 200-400 g/hpla, which corresponds to an old 'mark' dating back to 1952.


Nose: Rich and smooth. Delicately peppery and candied (marmalade), the aromatic palette gradually develops into tertiary notes of great maturity (fig, almond paste, roasted walnut). Increasingly oxidative (blackcurrant) and fiery (burnt cane sugar, incense), it slowly acquires honeyed (geranium) and intoxicating (orris concentrate) accents that are truly enchanting.
Taste: Both lively and creamy. Characterized by pronounced flavors of macerated fruit (mango, guava), diesel, and candied ginger, the flavor profile is completely different from the nose. Powdery (cocoa), milky (almond), and oily, it reveals a very refined texture. Cinnamon powder gradually settles on the tongue.
Finish: Silky, tannic. Cane sugar infused with orris concentrate opens up into a very concentrated finish. The aroma and flavor are alternately powdery (cocoa, ginger), fruity (mango), floral (sticky rice, carnation), and licorice, forming a complete synthesis of aroma and flavor.
Later, in the empty glass, the medicinal and terpenic characteristics of this Hampden emerge.