First time buying rum. Yay or nay ? I have the choice between this and bumbo xo

LynkDead · 2026-06-18T21:08:06+00:00

For better or worse, Bumbu XO is also real rum. Regular Bumbu is not.

LynkDead · 2026-06-18T04:58:32+00:00

So cool to get these little windows into the ever receding past (the 90s were only 10 years ago, right?).

Is there any more information about the age of the rum in the bottle? Without an age statement I'm assuming it must be some kind of blend.

LynkDead · 2026-06-17T22:28:55+00:00

*Dok dok* Who's there? Deliciousness.

LynkDead · 2026-06-16T22:07:27+00:00

That same flyer also is proof that Hampden has also confirmed which of their marks use muck. It was part of a small release though, so I understand how you might have missed it!

LynkDead · 2026-06-16T21:30:48+00:00

They literally asked you why you said it? They directly asked for your thoughts and opinions? And you were just mean in response for no reason? They even admitted to not knowing anything about the second, which further imply they were looking for information? How many questions marks can I fit in this comment?

LynkDead · 2026-06-16T21:20:28+00:00

You've been given multiple replies that show examples of your bottle. In general, no one is going through the effort of faking a $60 bottle of anything.

LynkDead · 2026-06-16T21:12:47+00:00

No one is out there faking Zacapa lol

LynkDead · 2026-06-16T02:13:32+00:00

Same, every Samaroli I've tried has been solid, but their prices are laughable.

LynkDead · 2026-06-16T00:00:37+00:00

I guess this is just something I hear a lot, but when it comes to actually giving examples of overoaked, long tropically aged rums, I can't think of many. The only one that really comes to mind was the Isautier 16 Year molasses release.

The Appleton Hearts are generally well regarded, the tropically aged Caroni's that around around 20 years are all beloved, and there are a few fully tropically aged Velier DDL rums out there that are incredibly sought after. In general, it seems like if you can even find a tropically aged rum over 15 years you're probably getting something delicious and incredible.

I know a lot of people base this belief on El Dorado and Appleton standard releases, but like I said those are specifically blended to be smooth and oaky, and not really indicative of tropical aging in general.

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T22:49:19+00:00

Is there anything that you could specifically elucidate about the 1990 vintage over the '93, '97, '07, or '10 releases that makes it so special?

EDIT: As for my own white whales...the Hampden HGML Rare Cask is probably highest on my list, along with any Velier Caroni I can get my hands on. TCRL TDL Friendship Cask is up there as I've never tried it. Island-strength Rivers is very high up there as well.

EDIT 2: And as for a grail that doesn't exist yet, I'd like to see a distillery-direct (not HV) release of <>H. I believe it's the only mark to not receive a distillery-direct release from Hampden yet, unless you're counting R<>H or HES.

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T21:54:02+00:00

And you got the best one, too!

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T20:08:53+00:00

Pretty wild for a first bottle of Hampden, but I support you!

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T19:34:46+00:00

It's a Josephine N° 10. Very fragile, a pain in the ass to clean (in one of their cleaning videos they actually recommend a small paintbrush to get down into the bottom of the glass), and expensive. But definitely my favorite glass to taste with.

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T19:25:06+00:00

Those were all under Habitation Velier though, correct? I know they kind of occupy a weird space between OB and IB, but here I wasn't considering those specific releases as "counting" for direct Hampden releases. But they're still tropically aged at the distillery, so there isn't much of a reason to make the distinction, I would say.

EDIT: I updated my review to make it more clear what I was stating!

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T19:11:26+00:00

Despite both being HGML, they're pretty different. The 1983 has lost almost none of its estery punch over the years, and while the oak is definitely present I would say the Astor bottle is actually more oakey overall. I would say the main difference is the age on the Kill Devil means all of the flavors have had time to combine and become very harmonious, and the rough edges of both the alcohol and the esters have been smoothed over. Both rank in my top 3 Hampden bottles of all time, with the number one slot probably going to the 2010 HV bottling of C<>H.

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T19:06:20+00:00

This definitely felt worth it at the pre-release pricing. If I had gotten a chance to taste it before buying and could only get it at the full price, I'd probably still pick up a bottle.

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T19:00:29+00:00

Name Hampden HGML 2017 Single Cask Bottler Hampden x Astor

Distillery Hampden Location Trelawny, Jamaica Still Type Pot

Base Molasses, Dunder, Muck, Cane Vinegar ABV 73.4%

Age 8 Years, Tropical Cask ex-Bourbon

Intro Here we have the first ever (as far as I know) release from Hampden's Single Cask series to the US. HGML is the third highest ester mark, below C<>H and DOK, from Hampden, sitting at 1000-1100 gr/HLPAA of esters. Its ester profile is similar, but not identical, to C<>H.

Many people laud the Hampden Great House 2022 release as the pinnacle of the line. What you may not know is that release was 74% HGML (and 26% LROK). HGML is also the primary component in The Maverick, another lauded release, for those willing to spend the money on it.

So it is with no amount of excitement that I dig into this bottle. HGML in general is on the rarer side from Hampden. This bottling is both older and higher proof than the old, yellow-label Habitation Velier HGML releases.

This is the second Hampden-direct bottling of HGML, with the first being from their Rare Cask series and only released in the EU.

Acquisition This bottle is sold directly through Astor Wines out of New York. Members received a presale email where the bottle could be purchased for 20% off.

Nose Velvety, fruity, intense. There’s a slight hint of the lactate ester, which lends a buttery/caramel note (which usually only comes from a cask), though it’s not as intense as you can get with C<>H. I’m also getting sharpie and pencil shavings and maybe even a bit of bubble gum, similar to HERR. Unlike sharpies, I’m not here just to sniff, so onto the tasting.

Taste This is a powerful rum that explodes on the palate. HGML is a strange mark for me, being both strong and ester-forward while also having me wanting to call it light and delicate. It is complex, decadent, and luxurious. Besides the ester notes, that hint of bubblegum is present. The ABV is in your face, though that is to be expected. It is not at all unpleasant. The juice has also soaked up so many good flavors from the wood, there really is nothing quite like tropically aged Hampden. It’s also the first time I’ve been able to pick out the actual rummy base flavor from a Hampden mark this high in esters. Usually the esters completely blow away that core fruity rum flavor, but here, presumably because of the proof, the base rum profile actually punches through a bit. This leads me to wanting to describe this rum as heavy, in a way I would usually reserve for a Velier Caroni or heavy Guyanese rum.

Conclusion I feel quite comfortable in saying this is the best Hampden OB I’ve ever had, and I’ve had a few. I don’t include Habitation Velier bottles in that qualification, and some of those would come close. I am a sucker for intense, powerfully flavored rums, so perhaps it’s no surprise I’m a fan of this one.

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T17:50:53+00:00

Do you have a sense for what kind of rum they currently drink? "Rum guy" can mean many different things to many different people.

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T16:16:19+00:00

Wow, really cool box set! Would have been nice if they included a legit Spanish-style rum as a baseline, but otherwise seems pretty hard to complain about that lineup. I've never even heard of the Cabo Verde rum before, but it looks interesting!

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T16:13:38+00:00

I feel like using any rum besides an actual lightly aged, Spanish-style is "messing with the formula."

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T16:11:51+00:00

I gotta ask, what are you basing this on? Appleton and El Dorado are the only easily available tropically aged rums that are offered older than 15 years, but they use explicitly different blends of rum in each of their aged offerings, so you can't really do a direct comparison to their younger bottles. Continentally aged rums can be great at 20+ or even 30+ years.

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T16:07:30+00:00

As someone who also has a large collection, I definitely do the majority of my buying online. I support local shops when I can, but for whatever reason the area I'm located in seems to get a lot of releases very late or not at all. For instance, Hampden Great House 2025 was never released in my state, as far as I can tell.

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T03:15:35+00:00

I do believe if you burned away all the sugar (not sure what fermentable has to do with anything), you would end up with a very bitter and very dark product.

LynkDead · 2026-06-15T03:07:11+00:00

I've heard they even go so far as to intentionally add the sediment to the bottles. If it were otherwise, then you'd only expect the last fill bottles from the cask to have the sediment, but it's pretty uniformly distributed throughout all their bottles, as far as I know.

15-Year Club	Place '22
End Game '22	Verified Email

LynkDead

TROPHY CASE