Say what you will but Hampden, with the support of La Maison & Velier of course, sure know what they're doing when it comes to grabbing your attention - I can't help but imagine that they've sat on this black coloured - gold accented label for call it 7 years, maybe even 15 years really!

When the new Hampden Fifteen (or Hampden 15 Years Old) label first dropped, there was palpable excitement - everyone knew it was the rum to try at Whisky Live, whether Paris or Singapore. And I doubt anyone would say that it was purely an age-related matter! 

The legendary Hampden Great House in Trelawny Parish, Jamaica.

Now the Hampden Fifteen is by all accounts itself a bonafide watershed moment for the Jamaican distillery - it is the distillery's oldest fully tropically aged bottling that's come from its own stable; that means fermented, distilled, aged and bottled entirely at Hampden Estate. The last two bits are of course the big game changer here - a good handful of Hampden rums aged for 15 years and up do exist and are supplied by independent bottlers who've bought the rums from Hampden and then gone on to age and bottle it themselves, predominantly in Europe where it's held in cask after having been shipped over from Jamaica - bringing with it an ageing style inherent to this new geography, known as continental ageing. As it turns out, where the rum ages plays a huge role in shaping its flavours! Velier have themselves conducted and put out numerous experiments exploring the effects of tropical versus continental aging, with typically continentally aged rums being more mellow and rounded, with softer more supple qualities, whereas tropically aged rums tend to be more forward, robust and intense. And therein is the big difference with the Hampden Fifteen vis-a-vis any other similarly aged Hampden rums out there! 

Yet, going back to this landmark milestone for the distillery - as a matter of a quick recap - it was only in 2010 that the decision was made for Hampden Estate, having been acquired by the Hussey family in 2009 (established in 1753) and in collaboration with La Maison & Velier, that it would begin ageing its own rums and bottling them under its own flag for sale - this would give the distillery full control of the process from cane to glass and offers up the ability for Hampden to engage with its fans directly and in all the ways it would like to. Up till that point, the distillery had for over 250 years largely, if not entirely, focused on the production side of things, leaving the ageing and whatnot to the hands of independent bottlers, which arguably in a world before social media, would have been less onerous and risky, with the rums immediately sold, forgoing the challenges that come with creating and launching a successful brand and then maintaining a distribution network. Yet the time was nigh and Velier had of course found much success with branding and distribution (which for me was once again well proven with the use of this stylish black and gold label for the Hampden Fifteen), and so Hampden Estate was now about to make itself known to the world.

From the moment this decision was made, it would be a painfully long 8 year wait before Hampden's inaugural fully tropically aged rums - made completely on estate - would be ready for launch. It was so hotly anticipated that its launch would be called The Tasting of the Century, where it was served alongside some of the most lauded rums from grand marque distilleries. As we today familiar with, the Hampden HLCF Classic (then called the Overproof) and the Hampden 8 Year Old would be anointed the distillery's flagship expressions. The next 7 years would see Hampden Estate go on nothing short of a most incredible bull run in not just making a name for itself, but becoming arguably the face of Jamaican rums, etching its distinctive hogo funkiness on the noses, palates and minds of fans around the world. 2025 would see a third expression join the core range, the Hampden 1753, which was designed to be the gateway and touchpoint for an even wider pool of fans to step into the world of Hampden - it's accessible, versatile, price friendly and most importantly, retains the distillery's signature flavour profile. 

Yet whilst all this groundwork was being laid on the backs of exciting release after release of Hampden rums - from the Hampden Estate Trelawny Endemic Bird series to the unexpected hit that is the Hampden Great House, and then of course the Hampden 8 Marks Collection and the still taking shape Hampden Pagos that's focused on exploring full Sherry cask ageing - something else was quietly biding its time. That of course is the Hampden Fifteen. Counting backwards, the Hampden 15 Years Old being bottled and launched in 2025, puts its distillation vintage at none other than 2010 - the very year Hampden Estate would begin its fateful endeavour into fully tropically ageing its own rums. The poeticism of the Hampden Fifteen is therefore not lost on me! This was without a doubt conceived right from the very beginning. 

Daniele Biondi, who I overheard say to a young lady who was about to try Hampden's rums for the first ever time, "Are you ready? Because there's a BH, and an AH; that is, Before Hampden, and After Hampden". I could not stop laughing since.

Behind the ever so effortlessly suave and charming smile of Hampden's most ardent advocate, Daniele Biondi (who is also LM&V Export Manager), must hide I imagine the biggest sheen of pride and flutter of glee, as he finally gets to share the fruits of this labour of passion that he's worked so tirelessly on for many years!

So now let's get to it! It's time to meet the Hampden Fifteen!

The Hampden Fifteen is of course 15 years old, copper double retort pot still distilled, and is aged fully in the tropics in Jamaica, and more specifically in ex-Bourbon barrels. Here the angel's share exceeds a whopping 75% (which throws into question if we'll ever see say a Hampden 25 Year Old, or even a 20 Year Old), which the distillery says is equivalent to 45 years of ageing in Europe! The ester count here is 200-400 g/HLAP (which maps to an LROK mark), which is said to correspond to an old "mark" first created in 1952. It is bottled at 50% ABV, and stands as Hampden's oldest expression till date.

Let's go!

PS. Where else could we have tried this at its debut than Whisky Live Singapore 2025! Each year Whisky Live Singapore brings to Asia the first of La Maison du Whisky's annually curated new catalogue of bottlings, which consistently touts some of the most highly anticipated whiskies, rums, mezcals, liqueurs, Cognacs and more! Many of these bottlings are of course specially made for La Maison du Whisky and Whisky Live Singapore, and bottles featured at the event come from amongst the most cult followed distilleries from around the world!

Rum Review: Hampden Fifteen 15 Years Old, 50% ABV

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Amber

Aroma: It opens immediately with overripe bananas, some of that industrial rubberiness, high toned perhaps yet quickly rounded out by lots of brown sugar. It's rich and concentrated, and with great depth to the bouquet; perfumed and incredibly aromatic with in particular this mustiness of dried dark fruits of dried plums, prunes and raisins, with even some chocolate. It's balanced and yet comes through with full strength, persisting as it opens up with brighter tones of green and black olives, as well as dried apricots and oranges, with then tropical and musky florals of banana blossoms, that's all grounded by layers of brown sugar, manuka honey, banana cake and fruit cake, with also this minerality of spring water.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, surprisingly broad and mellow, it's rich yet rounded, with brighter notes of banana puree, banana concentrate, green olives, as well as a savoury meaty oiliness of bresaola and jerky. That's all backed by earthier tones of brown sugar. It's brighter and more lifted, really smooth yet well-saturated, without being all that high toned or over the top funky; again really rich and mellow, yet also lighter. It develops in layers with quite the depth, drawing to its core that meaty savouriness that carries through into the finish.

Finish: It starts to crank up that high toned funkiness just a notch here, with fermenting bananas, garnished by banana blossoms and a mix of olives. That oily meaty savouriness persists, padded by brown sugar, with that squeaky rubberiness starting to come through again. It continues to keep that richness with manuka honey and brown sugars that bolsters the funkiness.

My Thoughts

That's Hampden all right! First off, this was incredibly tasty, with great depth and richness that drives home this immense confidence and presence - it's a rum that holds your attention and makes it so easy to focus on, with this ample fortitude.

Yet more so than that what really surprised and impressed me - and really got me thinking - is how it appears that with close to double the age of the flagship 8 Year Olds (and certainly more than three times the age of the younger 3 - 5 year olds), the rum seems to almost find within itself this next phase of evolution. Now this is well understood where it comes to wines, Champagnes, and whiskies, where once the liquid is aged to a certain point, it begins to showcase secondary or tertiary characteristics. With the Hampden 15 Year Old, we still find all those incredibly distinctive hallmark Hampden funk - those higher toned rubber tyres, game meats, tropical fruits and olives - yet at the same time we start to see a more supple yet richer base of dried and stewed dark fruits, chocolates and fruit cake, which feels like there's a caramelisation of sorts that's starting to occur. This then has a second order effect where the heft of the flavours seem to become richer and almost thickens creating this depth we've not quite yet seen, and also begins to reveal the underlying veins of minerality. 

Utterly fascinating and I believe with the Hampden Fifteen now stamped and having made landfall, with more such releases to come as the Hampden story continues to progress forward, I'm certain we'll uncover more about how the Hampden spirit evolves with age.

But for now, the Hampden Fifteen is nothing short of a very, very tasty landmark. Massive congratulations to the folks at Hampden and La Maison & Velier!

Kanpai!

@111hotpot