Hampden 2010 LROK Habitation Velier

From the old sugar estate Hampden comes this independent bottling by Habitation Velier.

Jamaica is known for its heavy esters funky rums, with an ester-count at Hampden up to 1600!. But the LROK in this name actually has meaning. It stands for Light Rum Owen Kelly. Light rum, meaning the esters are rather ‘limited’ between 300 and 450 (375 for this particular rum), and Dermot Owen Kelly-Lawson, being Hamden’s distiller around the turn of the twentieth century.

I’m not getting into the rich history of Hampden here, there’s plenty to be found elsewhere on this blog and on the net. Let’s just get ready to rumble !

The Rum: Hampden 2010 LROK Habitation Velier
Region: Jamaica
Distilled: 2010 – Forsyth’s Double Retort pot still
Bottled: 2016 by Habitation Velier
Maturation: ex-bourbon casks – 100% Tropical aging!
ABV: 67%

Nose:  very expressive and punchy, with firm alcohol. Sweet fruits like pineapple on syrup. Also the bananas that can’t hide that this is a Jamaican rum! But there’s also a nice floral pallet to be found, together with some zesty pepper. Err… zesty pepper…Sarawak in other words.  After a few minutes, the floral side takes over. Very nice perfume, rich, full, punchy but smooth. Love it!

 

Taste:  the alcohol is absolutely there. Hot, strong, peppery. In fact, the first sip is alcohol only. It takes a minute to accustom the pallet to this rum. A second sip reveals a very fruity rum. Despite it being a ‘light’ rum, it’s still rather funky. Again those sweet bananas. The fruity overtone is accompanied by some more subtle herbs.

Finish: medium long to long, with subtle sweet-fruity tastes slowly fading away making room for just a wee bit of the wood.

Our Score: ****. What. A. Nose!

When released, this bottle costed around € 90.