Velier Hampden Elliott Erwitt HLCF 2016

Velier Hampden HLCF 2016 is a young but striking Jamaican rum, a Velier bottling from Hampden Estate in Trelawny, the reference point for high ester funk. Hampden works entirely on double retort pot stills with long wild fermentation and traditional muck pits, and adds nothing to the bottle, so this is pure single rum in the fullest sense, distilled from molasses, aged in ex bourbon oak and bottled at full proof.

The HLCF marque, Hampden Light Continental Flavoured, sits in the estate's mid range and forms the base of its Rum Fire, ester rich without reaching the most extreme heights of the house. At five years and 60% it drinks more mature than its age, grilled pineapple, candied tropical fruit, pear and ripe banana over olive, smoke and vanilla, dry and unsweetened with a long, spicy finish. The strength is well integrated and the balance unusually good for the proof, making it a rewarding choice for seasoned lovers of Jamaican funk.