Fans of Hampden might well be familiar with how the iconic funky rum estate really only first started fully tropically estate ageing its own rums in 2010 as the rum-maker came into the hands of the Hussey family just a year prior, wherein legendary Italian rum distributor and co-bottler's chief Luca Gargano was also brought in to advise on how best to bring the Jamaican rum estate into the stratosphere - at least that's how we'd like to believe the conversation went.

And that he did! Luca had encouraged Hampden to begin ageing its own rums rather than simply selling its white unaged rums as bulk - which only had the effect of allowing other bottlers to age Hampden on their own terms, and thus aged Hampden rums came from everyone BUT Hampden themselves! And so in 2010, it was decided then that Hampden Estate would finally embark on the years long journey of ageing its own rums - which would give fans a true singular taste of Hampden's terroir, given that the rums would age fully tropically in the country it was produced in, and not instead brought to Europe where it would age. Years would go by before Hampden Estate finally had something to show for it - two debut bottlings, the Hampden 8 Year Old and Hampden Overproof (now the Hampden HLCF Classic) - which Luca himself would inaugurate with what was called The Tasting Of The Century! Since then, Hampden would go on to take over the world with its funky styled rums, so incredibly distinctive and iconic, with most recently the debut of its new super versatile (and very budget friendly) Hampden 1753, as well as a historic release by Velier of a 1959 Hampden (aged first in Jamaica, and then mostly in Europe) that once belonged to the private stock of legendary Dutch distillery Cees Van Wees (of the Van Wees Distillery).

Click Here For The Full List Of Whisky Live Paris 2025

Yet now it looks like we have another monumental milestone on our hands - Whisky Live Paris 2025 is set to see the release of the oldest officially bottled fully estate aged Hampden, the Hampden 15 Years Old.

Produced over a five day fermentation, the Hampden 15 Years Old is made to the LROK (Light Rum Owen Kelly) mark with an ester count clocking in at 200-400 gr/hlpa, which was then aged for 15 years in Bourbon barrels. It is bottled at 50% ABV, with a total of 3,750 bottles to be released as an LMDW exclusive.

You can bookmark this bottle now on Drink-X.com here.

Official Tasting Notes

Color: Old Gold, Copper Highlights.

Aroma: Rich, smooth. Subtly peppery and candied (marmalade), the aromatic palette gradually takes on tertiary tones of great maturity (fig, marzipan, toasted walnut). Increasingly oxidative (currant) and empyreumatic (burnt cane, incense), it gradually takes on honeyed (geranium) and heady (iris concrete) accents that are literally captivating.

Taste: Both lively and creamy. Marked with pronounced flavors of macerated fruit (mango, guava), diesel, and candied ginger, the taste palette differs completely from the nose. Powdery (cocoa), milky (almond), and oily, it reveals a very delicate texture. Gradually, cinnamon powder falls like rain on the palate.

Finish: Silky, tannic. Cane sugar flavored with iris concretely inaugurates a very concentrated finish. In turn powdery (cocoa, ginger), fruity (mango), floral (reseda, carnation), and licorice, the retro-olfaction offers a successful synthesis of the nose and palate. Later, the empty glass emphasizes the medicinal and terpenic character of this Hampden.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team