Duncan Taylor Hampden Single Cask Rum LROK 2000

Duncan Taylor, the Scottish independent, selected this single cask Hampden distilled in 2000 and aged thirteen years. Hampden is the reference point for Jamaican high-ester funk, a 100% pot still house in Trelawny, and the LROK mark places this in the lighter-to-moderate part of its range, though the distillery's signature wild esters still come through clearly.

Matured in ex-bourbon wood and bottled at cask strength 52.7%, it opens on pineapple, tropical fruit, wood and citrus, the palate keeps that pineapple and tropical fruit alongside woody depth and coffee, and the finish turns bitter with coffee and burnt sugar. Tasters describe the unmistakable Hampden ester that perfumes everything it touches, the perfume-like funk that marks out the distillery, framed here by firm oak from thirteen tropical years. This is a classic aged Hampden for drinkers who want the house's perfumed, estery character at full proof, the LROK mark keeping it just shy of the most extreme funk while the bourbon wood adds bitter-sweet depth.