Swell de Spirits Hampden Anniversary Cuvée #2 H 2014

Swell de Spirits bottled this Hampden from the 2014 vintage as a single cask at 62.9%, unsweetened, and gave it an unusual finish in a 2003 TDL cask from Trinidad. This is one of Hampden's high ester marques, so it keeps the estate's wild core while the cask adds a rounder, more gourmand edge, a bottle for drinkers who know the marque and want a small twist on it.

Distilled on double retort pot stills from molasses, it is built on explosive tropical fruit, pineapple, ester and glue, the classic Trelawny solvent funk. Ageing in ex-bourbon oak before the TDL finish has lent a surprisingly rounded, foodie side and a light curl of smoke, with cookie dough emerging on the finish. It genuinely needs time in the glass, the esters can overwhelm at first, but rest brings a fuller, more balanced picture of wild Hampden with an unexpected softness.