Hampden - 8 years old - 2012 - OWH Single Cask #662 - 59.90%
Hampden Estate is one of the oldest iconic sugar plantations in Jamaica, with a history dating back to 1753, when the estate belonged to Mr. Archibald Stirling from Scotland. In 1779, Mr. Stirling built the Hampden Great House, whose ground floor served as a rum warehouse until the early 20th century. The Farquarson family operated this legendary estate, producing exceptional sugar and rum until 2003, when the property was integrated into the Jamaica Sugar Company. Renowned for having the most fertile sugarcane lands in Jamaica, this estate is a major producer in terms of extracted sugar volume. At that time, Hampden rums were exclusively exported to Europe, notably England and Scotland. In 2009, Everglades Farms Ltd, owned by the Hussey family, purchased the estate through a public offer following the divestment measures of the Jamaica Sugar Company assets, controlled by the Jamaican government. Since this acquisition, Everglades Farms has heavily invested in modernizing the rum distillery, creating many jobs in the Trelawny region and developing sustainable infrastructure for more than 17 local communities and schools.
The water used for making Hampden rums does not come from underground aquifers but from an exclusive mountain water collection system providing a pure and renewable resource, ensuring that only clean water is returned to the environment after use. The fermentation is prolonged and natural, carried out using endogenous yeasts sourced directly on site. Hampden Estate is a pioneer, remaining one of the few distilleries to maintain traditional discontinuous distillation, with four operational stills including a John Dore dating from 1960 capable of holding 7,560 liters. The rums undergo rigorous tropical aging – more than 7 years under the hot and humid Jamaican climate, which experts equate to about 25 years of maturation in Europe. True to its values of authenticity, the distillery produces, ages, and bottles all its rums without any additives: no added sugar, tannins, caramel, or glycerine, ensuring unmatched purity and aromatic richness.
This 8-year-old Hampden rum is part of the prestigious Trelawny Endemic Birds series, which gathers the first raw single cask bottlings directly bottled by Hampden Distillery, highlighting its unique expertise and mastery of artisanal distillation. This exceptional rum comes from single cask #662, identified by the code OWH, meaning its ester content is between 40 and 80 grams per hectoliter, giving the rum an intense and unique aromatic complexity.
Purchase limited to 1 bottle
