Hampden has now added to its core range a third expression - the Hampden 1753  - paying homage to the year of the Jamaican rum distillery's founding, and thus joins the current slate of Hampden HLCF Classic and Hampden 8 Year Old.

Where the HLCF Classic, an Overproof version coming in at 60% ABV, was designed to showcase the distinctive funky Hampden profile at its most powerful, the 8 Year Old was then chosen to demonstrate concretely the effects of Hampden's tropical ageing at an extended timeframe - both aspects hardly seen in the works of independent bottlers who historically purchased Hampden's unaged bulk rums which were then aged continentally in Europe (a considerably less intense environment). It was a subtle yet profoundly thoughtful and intentional exercise that clearly showed that Hampden's own aged rums were truly unique.

And so, we're 7 years out from the 2018 debut of Hampden's first estate aged rums, the HLCF Classic and the 8 Year Old, and we have the new Hampden 1753, which marks the first addition to the core range since. It thus felt important then for us to take a look at how the Hampden 1753 fits in with its siblings. Consequently, I've come up with a table below that almost immediately tells us how the three co-exist.

* In order of most to least expensive of the three Hampden core range rums.

** Low or Mid on Hampden's own 8 Mark Ester range, where the low end of the range is already higher than most rum producers anywhere else.

And so this should make clear that what we're getting with the Hampden 1753, a 3 Year Old, Ex-Bourbon-aged, HLCF mark rum, does the nifty job of filling in the gap of delivering a moderate ester count (moderate by Hampden's standards by the way, which is high in comparison to any other rum producer), at the same baseline alcoholic proof and almost at the same age, for two-thirds the price of the Hampden HLCF Classic. Essentially the Hampden 1753, which the distillery says is meant to be the entry way and first touchpoint for those getting acquainted with the distillery, is a little bit of the best of both worlds of the HLCF Classic Overproof and the Hampden 8 Year Old. As mentioned, where the HLCF Classic demonstrates the Hampden flavour profile at its max, and the 8 Year Old showcases the effects of long tropical ageing, the Hampden 1753 is thus the Hampden signature without the add-ons.

This means that you've now got yourself an incredibly versatile, iconic funky style Jamaican rum - one of the best examples of the style for that matter - at a price point that makes it a no-brainer shelf staple. It's delivering all of the classic Hampden flavours for a great price, and one that makes it an easy daily drinker or something you'd readily get in in a cocktail. With the addition of the Hampden 1753, you don't have to choose between Overproof or long ageing, you simply get Hampden. No flexing, just the essence - and thus a markedly lower price.

And so, if the Hampden 1753 holds up on the taste test later on, this should be something worth rejoicing for rum fans around the world. 

With that said, let's put the technicals aside for a second and recap the Hampden story - after all the Hampden 1753 is an homage to the founding of the distillery!

The Hampden Great House.

Today Hampden is nothing less than the gold standard when it comes to rums, it's iconic, recognisable, pretty much a blue chip choice with its distinctive funky flavours.

Yet the Hampden story is one that's alot more of a modern upswing than you'd expect.

In 1753 - the year that the new core expression is named after - the distillery was founded by one Archibald Sterling, who had established the Great House (etched on every Great House bottling of Hampden) that sits as the centerpiece of the Hampden Estate. It would pass through several hands, but perhaps most notably would come into the ownership of the Hussey family in 2009. Up till that point, Hampden had primarily focused on selling unaged bulk rums - and so aged rums of vintages prior to 2009 are the work of independent bottlers who handled the ageing themselves. That's all to say Hampden didn't quite produce their own aged rums. Looking to really make big of the Hampden distillery, the Hussey family would work with one of rum's foremost experts, Luca Gargano of the Italian co-bottler and distributor Velier, known for bottling some of the most important rums ever produced the last half a century. 

And so a decision was made for Hampden to start ageing its own rums on its estate come 2010. This would produce more complex flavours, bring more dimensionality to Hampden's rums which could now vary with age and across various marks (Hampden regularly produces 8 different styles of rums at varying ester counts), and would also allow the distillery to take control of its own brand, bringing its rums straight to rum lovers. And thus Hampden's incredibly funky and distinctive rums, produced uniquely through the use of dunder (leftovers from prior rounds of distillation) which kicks into high gear the wild fermentation that its sugarcanes go through, which is then distilled using pot stills, creating characteristic qualities of bananas, pineapples, rubber and gamey meats that Hampden is most famous for, was a massive whopper when it was first unveiled (as recently!) in 2018 - the first two Hampden flagship core expressions, the HLCF Classic (then called the Overproof) and the 8 Year Old. The event unveiling the first two estate-aged flagship Hampden's was even called The Rum Tasting Of The Century, where it debuted alongside a Velier curated selection of other key rum references.

When you consider all of that, the debut of the new Hampden 1753 core expression certainly should not be taken lightly! It is but only the third flagship expression to debut ever since Hampden's big splash in 2018 - of course, these days rum lovers have been readily spoilt by the limited editions that we've gotten from Hampden, yet the fact that we're getting a new year round release at a great price tag that's delivering the Hampden signature should really be something worth celebrating!

And that all gets us to this - the taste test. Let's go!

Rum Review: Hampden 1753, 46% ABV

This is a HLCF mark (Hampden Light Continental Flavoured) rum from Hampden that comes in at 476.9 gr/hlpa with a congener count of 3,609 gr/hlpa. It's of course 100% Pot Still distilled, and tropically aged in Jamaica for 3 years in ex-Bourbon barrels.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Gold

Aroma: Really firm and cohesive, the tropical aromas are well coated in honey, with banana blossoms, sugared pineapples, green olives and capers in brine, white florals, and a slight gamey quality of savoury dried meats. It leads with floral, tropical, gently savoury and salty, green scents that's weaved in with honey and brown sugar. There's a slight petrolic, diesel note here, although it's fairly faint. With time some jackfruit, starfruit, passionfruit and mangosteens come through as well, even alittle bit of strawberry in the form of hard candy and poptart jelly filling. It's got great richness and firmness, far from the high toned stuff we've seen from Hampden. Incredibly aromatic.

Taste: Medium-bodied, it comes through honeyed, with those green bananas, and with a good bit of saltiness of brine. Still really firm, with a good richness to the body, it's well saturated with those tropical fruits with also pineapples and jackfruit, where it's married closely and harmoniously with that bit of savouriness of game meats, and the saltiness of brine. They all come through together almost as a single package. The floral and tropically funky honey here remains the heft of the body, again far from the high toned stuff. 

Finish: The saltiness develops further here bringing up quite a bit of savoury gamey meatiness and a dankness of fermenting crushed cane and also banana blossoms, backed up still by honey and banana puree, with a touch of green olive brine as well. It's really savoury and meaty into the finish, with more of that petrolic diesel that emerges along with a generous side of black olives too. A lingering note of the bottom of a cup of caffe latte, with that bit of almost chocolate-y, roasty earthiness that subtly shows up.

My Thoughts

As we've theorised earlier, this indeed is the Hampden signature without the add-on's. It captures very well what Hampden is all about - I daresay it's the most emblematic of the Jamaican distillery, yet it's done so tastefully at a point where it's really accessible both flavour wise, utility as both sipping rum and cocktail ingredient, and price point - a solid two-thirds that of the HLCF Classic and 8 Year Old.

It's rich and cohesive, mellow and well-integrated, yet straightforward and rather compact and precise. It's not overly funky, yet still delivers that classic Hampden profile really comprehensively without getting into that rather divisive high toned territory. It keeps itself incredibly approachable and friendly whilst preserving that distinctive Hampden identity. It feels like the stepping point before you then face a fork in the road that leads either to the HLCF Classic or the 8 Year Old, if we're just talking estate bottlings.

What I particularly loved about this was the aromas and finish, where I find it to be incredibly cohesive and yet subtly complex. As mentioned, this isn't one of those high-toned, super punchy sort that we've seen Hampden flex as of late, this here is much more rounded, much more mellow, and yet really expressive. It's tropical fruit driven, balanced against this brininess and savoury meatiness, at times peppered in with some white florals and roasty earthiness of coffee. The body is more straightforward, nothing too crazy, which is precisely what it ought to be for a first touchpoint for those just getting to know Hampden - which let's face it, is as iconic as it is mind-boggling when you first try it. The Hampden 1753 is there that very seamless ramp that gets one through the doorway and enroute to funkytown.

Very well executed, I must say I'm very impressed!

If you're just getting into rums - and of course it won't take you long to figure that Jamaica's funky rums are a key reference that you must be familiar with, every rum lover (dare I say drinks lover even) worth their salt ought to be, really - then the Hampden 1753 is undisputedly the first Jamaican rum you must have.