CDI Hampden (Bottled for Hongkong) HGML 1983

A rare bottling from Compagnie des Indes made only for the Hong Kong market, this is a 33 year old Hampden distilled in 1983 from the HGML marque, a high ester mark from the Trelawny estate. It is a pure pot still molasses rum, and the great age has done something unusual, refining the wild funk rather than burying it in oak.

Unlike the estate's tropically aged releases, this one matured slowly in the cooler European climate, which explains how it stays so intensely fruity and only lightly woody after three decades. Expect overripe pineapple, banana and honey, a whisper of smoke and a long, oily, astringent finish that keeps drying. Bottled unsweetened at 54.1 percent, it is a mature, smoother expression of Hampden intensity for seasoned drinkers, and a genuinely scarce bottling.