Jamaica 2023 - Hampden 1500-1600 GR/HLPA Pedro Ximénez
This Hampden 2023 release was aged for 9 months in Europe in a 1st fill Pedro Ximénez Sherry Hogshead cask. Distilled in April 2023, with the highest possible esters' content (DOK mark), it was bottled in May 2024 at 62.9% ABV. This edition of 329 bottles captures the nuanced influence of the sherry cask on the bold, high ester, Jamaican rum.
This Hampden 2023 release was aged for 9 months in Europe in a 1st fill Pedro Ximénez Sherry Hogshead cask. Distilled in April 2023, with the highest possible esters' content (DOK mark), it was bottled in May 2024 at 62.9% ABV. This edition of 329 bottles captures the nuanced influence of the sherry cask on the bold, high ester, Jamaican rum.
This Hampden 2023 release was aged for 9 months in Europe in a 1st fill Pedro Ximénez Sherry Hogshead cask. Distilled in April 2023, with the highest possible esters' content (DOK mark), it was bottled in May 2024 at 62.9% ABV. This edition of 329 bottles captures the nuanced influence of the sherry cask on the bold, high ester, Jamaican rum.
Jamaica 2023 - Hampden 1500-1600 GR/HLPA Pedro Ximénez
Region: Jamaica
Distillery: Hampden
Age: 9 months
Distillation: 04-2023
Bottled: 05-2024
Cask no: 28
Cask type: Pedro Ximénez
Still type: Pot Still
Maturation: Continental
ABV 62.9%
Vol. 700 ml
No bottles: 329
Tasting Notes:
“This might well be something illegal—1500 to 1600 gr ester/HLPA, they say. Ah, that would be DOK. ‘Aged in Europe’, they add, but I doubt that makes the slightest difference after just one year. Right then, let’s hold tight and dive in quickly… Colour: amber. Nose: if all ex-PX casks were like this… Crayola crayons, tar, incense, cedarwood, black olives, and brake pads. That said, it’s possible the PX has slightly tamed this little monster, but we’ll need water to really judge. With water: hmm, not sure it’s helped much—still those classic Hampden markers of tar, tarmac, carbon, green olives, smoked fish, and sauna oils. Mouth (neat): carbon, tar, pepper, and rubber dissolved in turpentine. You get the picture. With water: ah, there it is, a tiny bit of sweetness creeping in… But no, we’re joking, it’s still wonderfully brutal. Perhaps that hint of dried apricot and the two little raisins duelling in the background do come from the PX. Who knows. Finish: very long, yet somehow not that long (?). Lovely smoky brine. Comments: between us, if there’s one distillery that’s magnificent both in its youth and in its aged versions, it’s this blessed Hampden, which we still can’t seem to fault.”
Note: SGP:563 - 89 points.
Source: whiskyfun.com
