Hampden Estate 120 Proof Rum

Hampden Overproof is the 8 Year's big brother at 60% — for, in The Rum Barrel's phrase, the more hardcore rumheads. Hampden Estate in Trelawny Parish, Jamaica, has made rum since 1753 and had never bottled under its own name until 2018, when Luca Gargano of Velier bought its entire aged stock; this Overproof was one of the two launch bottlings, and Rum Ratings' drinkers called the moment historic. The process is unchanged from the 18th century — wild fermentation lasting up to two weeks in vats that are a two-century-old bacterial micro-habitat, dunder and muck-pit additions, double-retort copper pot stills, and tropical aging in the Jamaican heat. The Overproof is 100% pot still, tropically aged in ex-bourbon oak and bottled at 60% ABV (120 proof) with no sugar, color, or additives. Rum Ratings' drinkers found it very complex, dry, and intense — cherry, oak, spice, citrus, and mango — with a long, elegant finish, and one noted it's really close to the 46% 8 Year, just more powerful on nose and palate, both at an extremely fair price. Note: Hampden has since replaced this original Overproof with the HLCF Classic Overproof, narrowing the blend to the HLCF marque with a very similar profile, so remaining bottles of the original are the last of their kind. Honest note: 120 proof of Hampden funk demands water and respect. For a Mai Tai or Jungle Bird that needs a backbone, or neat with water for the ester devotee, it's Hampden at full volume.

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