Hampden

Hampden's Esters

Hampden Estate rum is known for its powerful flavor profile, and independent bottlers have, in recent years, released various bottlings based on casks from Hampden, e.g.,Rum Nation Rare Rums Hampden.However, Hampden Estate has also started making their own distillery bottlings, such asHampden Estate 8-Year-Old Pure Single Jamaica Rum. Hampden is particularly famous for its high-ester rums. An ester is a chemical compound formed between an alcohol and an acid. When liquids containing alcohol are stored, the alcohol reacts with fruit acids to form esters, which provide good flavor and aroma. Rum contains more esters than, for example, whisky and cognac, and rum from Hampden can contain a very high number of esters.

For many – including us at Rombo – a high number of esters means an extra exciting taste experience. One of our own rum releases, SBS Jamaica New Yarmouth 2020 NYE-WK, is an example of a high-ester rum with the mark WK (Winston Kennedy), which covers 1,500-1,600 g/hlaa (hectoliters absolute alcohol), which is the maximum permitted number of esters in Jamaica.

Hampden Estate's Ester Marks

The number of esters is measured in grams/per hectoliter of pure alcohol and is abbreviated as either g/hlpa or g/laa. The ester mark system can be used to define how many esters are in a rum. Hampden produces in 8 different categories or 'marks' that make it easier to understand how powerful a rum you are dealing with. The marks have each been given their own name and letter code and range from 50 g/hlpa to a massive 1600 g/hlpa! The different marks are, incidentally, named after previous owners of the Hampden distillery.

1. 1. OWH: Outram W. Hussey = 40-80 gr/HLPA