Velier Hampden Pagos Sherry

Velier Hampden Pagos Sherry is an experiment from rum's most prestigious independent bottler, pairing Hampden's high ester Jamaican character with a full maturation in ex-sherry casks and bottling it at a full proof 52% with nothing added. Hampden is the reference point for Jamaican funk, working entirely with pot stills, long wild fermentation, dunder and muck pits, and no additives, and Velier's whole identity is built on transparent, cask strength, naturally made rum.

The sherry cask is the twist on a familiar theme. Tropical esters of pineapple, banana and overripe fruit, the signature hogo, meet a winey overlay of red fruit, sour cherry and oak spice from the sherry. The result moves along a fine line, the funky fruit and the syrupy, opulent sherry pushing against each other rather than blending into smoothness. It is a fruity, spirited and unsweetened sipper that rewards a little time in the glass, made for drinkers who already know and enjoy Hampden.