Hampden Great House (Distillery Edition 2023)

This is a great complex rum that stays true to what you expect from Hampden. As soon as you pour it, you get the tropical fruit, pineapple, banana, and ester nose even from a few feet away. The taste and finish have a swirling evolution of tropical fruits, solvents, caramel, wood, spices, and citric acid.

On the nose a nicely balanced Hampden profile. Medium ester level showing some grilled pineapples with fruity acids alongside roasted notes. Creamy texture on the palate, again with roasted notes and plenty influence from the cask. The GH 2023 is definitely a very nicely executed and accessible bottling form Hampden without any rough edges.

Blind tasting 01.02.2024, 2nd rum of the evening Nose: But now Jamaica! Some kind of low ester, I would say. Palate: A little too sour for me, seems one-dimensional, but the alcohol is well integrated. But stick with Jamaica. An HGML? The Younger perhaps? Resolution: Wow, the latest GH, really? I would have expected more.

A most typical Hampden, with a very conventional register. The nose evokes tropical fruit (banana, pineapple) and citrus (orange, lime), with a medicinal framework of phenols, esters, solvents, a touch of varnish and glue. It's both funky and sweet, but nothing sensational. On the palate, there's a slightly more pronounced attack of candied fruit and fermentative notes. Phenols and tropical fruit remain in the basic framework, but a spicy, slightly caramelized brisée gives the palate a little change. The rum is fat, syrupy and oily, as round as it is funky. The alcohol is well integrated. The finish is correct, more tannic and astringent, with big markers of lime, banana and roasted pineapple, on top of which come the medicinal notes of esters and the sweetness of spices. Although not bad, this edition remains fairly linear and loses impact compared to other Great House bottlings.

A balanced yet lively nose. Fruit, fruit, solvents and a hint of fermentation. On the palate, mostly fruit, with the solvent/fermented side present but in the background. The finish is mostly fruit and long. The aromas fade very slowly and in a balanced way. A fine rum, not exciting but better, for my taste, than the 2020 and, above all, very different.

It's almost a tradition to get the Great House and then compare across the board. So far, of course, they are all very similar, even if the blended marks and their proportions differ slightly. The classic Hampden aromas can of course also be found here: Ester, vinegar, ripe banana, pineapple, lemon, a slight caramel note, varnish... But now a direct comparison with all its predecessors: 2023 vs 2022: Nose: Fuller, deeper and more balanced, less fermented, more caramelly. Seems more mature and much better overall. +++ Palate: more caramel, slightly more bacon, less fermented esters, rounder and more mature, better. ++ 2023 vs 2021: Nose: less vinegar, less fruity, stronger, more intense and slightly woodier, I like it a little better, + Palate: very similar, if not the same. - 2023 vs 2020: Nose: less fruity-sweetish, more powerful, slightly woodier, more intense esters, but less fermented. Different, but the same on. - Palate: more mature, less astringent and less bitter, rounder. + 2023 vs 2019: Nose: less sweet fruit, less marzipan, stronger and woodier, coarser esters, also different, but same on - Palate: less marzipan, less freshness, slightly riper, less woody, slightly better. + What can I say, after the cross-comparison, the new 23 GH seems to be the same and slightly better than my previous favorite 2020. Therefore an 8.3 overall Afterwards, I honestly had to adjust all the GHs downwards by 0.4 points, as there are now much better Hampdens, especially single casks. Now the ratio is right again.

WL2023: Solid release, but rather mellow and low ester compared to earlier years. More fruit forward Nachtrag: gefällt mir gut, eher gezähmtes Profil das aber super funktioniert. Muss nicht immer Esterbombe sein.

Wie man es von Great Houses kennt, hier nicht anders. Dezent eingesetzter Ester mit etwas topischer Frucht. Ausgewogen aber dennoch funky. Dennoch nicht wirklich meins aus den ganzen Hampden Linien ..

Edit: Tasted it yesterday after the 1994 Crosstasting at DomM as a mixer with Coke as a nightcap. It can really do something and became a bottlekill. Franconian Tasting Gang For me, another beautiful Great Haus that fits seamlessly into the existing bottlings. A nice profile that I like at the moment.

Unfortunately, not really mine. In direct comparison with other Hampdens, this profile seems quite young, it actually evokes subtle fruit brandy associations for me and seems too young overall. Of course, the Hampden character remains recognizable, but overall the tropical fruit impact is too short for me here.

Definitely a good entry-level model in the Great House series, as it is very accessible, soft, round, fruity and at the same time intense and typically Hampden.

Very well-rounded and harmonious Great House. Not quite as wild as the GH22.

There's no doubt about the origin of this rum: this is Hampden. All the usual hallmarks are to be found in this rather successful Great House. It's hard to classify it against its predecessors from memory. I'd say it's right up there. I'd put it lower for its slightly higher alcohol content, which makes it less accessible for my tastes.

Bottle’s gone, might as well rate it 😁 I’ve enjoyed it. Lovely fruits meet essters in the nose and overall good balance in the mouth. Slight bitterness that remains in the finish. I think it’s my third favorite GH, after 2020 and 2019.

#4332 21.10.2023 Whisky Live 2023