Hampden Great House (Distillery Edition 2020)

Hampden Great House Distillery Edition 2020 is one of the annual flagship releases from the Trelawny estate that defines high ester Jamaican rum. A pot still blend aged seven years in ex-bourbon oak and bottled at cask strength, 59% and unsweetened, it is a vatting that leans on Hampden's lighter marques with a measured high ester fraction rather than chasing the explosive top of the scale.

Hampden works entirely with double-retort pot stills, long wild fermentation and traditional muck pits, and that shows in the glass. The nose bursts with ripe pineapple, banana and tropical fruit lifted by esters, the funk that is the whole point of the style, while the palate stays fruity and funky with good oak influence and a long, woody, vanilla touched finish. What sets this edition apart is balance, the ethanol remarkably well integrated for its strength, so it drinks with surprising ease for 59%. A rich, creamy and genuinely dry Jamaican that is easy to keep returning to.