With the happy union of Jamaica's Hampden Distillery's Christelle Harris and Matthew Hann just last June 2023, we saw the start of an all new series of specially curated Hampden blends that is meant to mark the various milestones of the newlywed couple's life together - we first got New Beginnings which celebrates their marriage, and now in just over a year, we've got a second expression to mark the birth of the couple's child, Maverick.

The Hampden Distillery has come a long way, and it wasn't just slightly over half a decade ago that the Jamaican distillery began releasing aged rums from its own estate, as opposed to its long time practice of simply selling its rums in bulk, to be aged by independent bottlers and the sort. This completely changed the game for Hampden, and has made the distillery the face of the Jamaican rum game! It's become the poster child for wild, raw, funky and powerful rums that are incredibly distinctive and unique. Much of this success has been brought about by the Harris family that has come to own the iconic distillery.

And thus with their newborn, Christelle and Matthew had decided to similarly commemorate this milestone with a special blend of Hampden rum!

"Inspired by the birth of Matthew and Christelle’s son, Maverick, we are excited to share a blend that celebrates his arrival and the adventurous spirit he brings. Known for their independence and boldness, mavericks embody the essence of living beyond norms reflecting the same mental fortitude required to craft exceptional Hampden Rum."

Thew new bottling features an update to the family's CHM monogram, this time with additional floral elements that are said to symbolise Maverick's welcome into the family, and also pays tribute to the beauty found in diversity when the right balance is achieved.

A total of 1,500 bottles of the Maverick was released, and features a blend of three Hampden marques: 50% HGML 2018, 40% LFCH 2020 and 10% C<>H 2021. The couple have shared that this new blend should be bolder and funkier compared to New Beginnings which only used two marques.

Let's give this a go!

Rum Review: Hampden The Maverick, 59% ABV

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: It opens up mellow and candied. Lots of honey, those flambeed bananas coming through, along with some black olives too. It's not high octane, though there is a little bit of diesel and tyre rubber, yet that's all accenting a big core of aromatic and rich honey.

Taste: It's turned up here - definitely more punchy! It takes the intensity up a couple of notches, with more savouriness of black olives, there's some of that rancio of air dried meats and charcuterie meat oils here. That's backed up by more banana puree and overripe bananas that emerge. It's turned up the heat here with more of that intensity. Medium-bodied.

Finish: The savouriness persists here, more of those charcuterie meats bringing that rancio. Black olives too, flambeed bananas. It has an incredibly long finish that almost turns richer, less funky, and sweeter, giving pure banana bread.

My Thoughts

This was a very well executed Hampden once again - it almost feels alittle more modern, closer to what we know of Hampden's today, alittle more funky, raw, with great intensity. Compared to the New Beginnings expression, this certainly feels more funky and intense, it's more of a walk on the wild side, with less of that mellowness. That said, what was very impressive here was again that balance - it's got that signature Jamaican funk, yet it doesn't dominate or get overly high toned. The rancio definitely comes through more with this one, and you get more of those overripe fruits, but like I said, it never feels tipped over where it simply goes all over and you wonder where on earth is this rocket ship taking you to. It's still very much within the Hampden framework, it's not as safe and familiar I'd say, it's definitely more funky, but it doesn't get gluey or high toned, which works very well here.

It's a very enjoyable dram that takes the funky elements and raises it up a notch, to give something more savoury and raw, yet it's got balance and power, which makes it a very classic Hampden expression right here.

Cheers to you baby Maverick!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot