The Hampden Jamaican Rum 1 Year Old 8 Marks Collection, I: OWH, LFCH, LROK, HLCF reviews

The original 8 Marks Collection from Hampden Estate in Jamaica was, no debates please, the coolest rum release of last year and maybe one of the coolest ever. It was a big monolith box of eight 20cl bottles of unaged rum, each featuring a different mark (recipe, basically) made by the distillery, and there was so much to talk about that I had to spread it over two videos. And, well, if you need more information, just go back and watch those:    • The Hampden 8 Marks Collection, I: In...   and    • The Hampden 8 Marks Collection, II: H...   .

But now it's time for the difficult second album, and what Hampden have done is... exactly the same thing, except this time the box is red and all the marks have been aged a year in ex-bourbon barrels. Oh, and the bottling strength has been knocked down a bit too, presumably to keep this thing affordable. So let's taste out the first half, the four marks at the bottom of the range, albeit without my actually having the box to show off:

Hampden Estate "OWH" 1 Year Old Single Jamaican Rum (bottled circa 2024; pot-distilled molasses, 40- 80 gr/HLPA esters, aged one year in ex-bourbon; 52% ABV), 84+/100
Hampden Estate "LFCH"1 Year Old Single Jamaican Rum (bottled circa 2024; pot-distilled molasses, 80-120 gr/HLPA esters, aged one year in ex-bourbon; 52% ABV), 86-/100
Hampden Estate "LROK" 1 Year Old Single Jamaican Rum (bottled circa 2024; pot-distilled molasses, 200-400 gr/HLPA esters, aged one year in ex-bourbon; 52% ABV), 87-/100
Hampden Estate "HLCF" 1 Year Old Single Jamaican Rum (bottled circa 2024; pot-distilled molasses, 400-600 gr/HLPA esters, aged one year in ex-bourbon; ; 52% ABV), 86/100

I think a lot of what you're seeing here comes down to what I've termed the "aging ditch" (I even made a whole video on it!!    • The Aging Ditch (Or, When Barrel Agin...   ). Basically at this point I think the oak is taking more than it's giving, blunting the complexity of the spirit as the woody flavors rush in without there being enough time for the rum to reassert itself. That said, even if they're in an awkward phase you shouldn't think that these aren't very good rums. The LROK, released just like this at a reasonable price, would be a category killer: it's a bit simple, sure, but absolutely delicious, exactly what you might want from a rum in this style (but don't add water). The low ester OWH is in many ways reminiscent of that pot still Mount Gay I reviewed back in the summer (   • Mount Gay Eclipse "Navy Strength," Or...   ) - it's clean, basic, and delicious. The LFCH ended up being the woodiest thing here (by the nature of the barrel, I assume) and it's delightfully herbaceous - but again, don't add water. In many ways it's the HLCF that's most representative of the problem, as it really just presents as a glass of Rum Fire that's been blunted by the wood.

So who is this set for? My initial conclusion is, mainly the hardcore nerds who already bought the first set. Possibly also those who are just terrified of unaged rum, although those folks really need to get over themselves. But hang on, because we've got four more marks to go...

Extra special thanks to my Different Spirits on Patreon (  / differentspirits  ) -

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