CoR Hampden HD OWH 2012

This Colours of Rum bottling shows Hampden's quieter side, an OWH-style low-ester mark from the 2012 vintage drawn as a single cask at full proof. The Warsaw house bottles without additives, so what reaches the glass is clean distillate plus cask, here at a punchy 60.4%.

Matured in ex-bourbon wood and distilled on Hampden's pot stills, it is the gentler, fruitier expression rather than an ester monster. The nose brings tropical fruit, banana, ester and pineapple, the palate adds light wood and caramel, and marzipan and a touch of medicinal funk round it out. The finish leans on banana, pineapple and tropical fruit. This is a solid, approachable Hampden rather than a deep or wildly layered one, with sweetening unconfirmed in the data and read here as dry. It suits a drinker who wants the distillery and cask strength without the intensity of its famous high-ester marks.