Romdeluxe Hampden Wild Series Rum Jamaica No. 18 JMC 1993 28yr 57,7%

"The smell is somewhat surprising with a rather unusual lactic acid note, although the aroma on the nose with the typical fruit esters, wood influences and subtle pastry notes and spices is still quite convincing. On the palate, however, a very dominant fruit acid stands out, which comes across too extreme for me and clearly overlays the rest of the profile. Even if the nose still provides a few plus points makes me taste no longer too great joy. For me, the first really disappointing Hampden bottling from 1993. //Update August 2023: Second attempt from a different sample. The lactic acid is gone. While the rum remains on the intense astringent side, even for the 1993 C<>H vintage, I no longer find the offending notes now. Therefore, clear upward correction. Not the best 93, but absolutely on par with the great releases of the vintage."

"Another surprisingly bright Hampden from 1993 for its age. These rums seem to be so full of aromas that they no longer take on color 😉 Nose: Immediately after pouring, there is no doubt where this rum comes from. Without a direct comparison, the nose appears very intense and with a lot of varnish and a lot of butyric acid. I remember it similarly (only not as intense) from the 2000 Hampden GH. Palate: oops, that's really a lot of acidity, almost like a "tilted" wine! That's somehow unpleasant. Otherwise very intense. The acidity diminishes somewhat with time in the glass. Wood and roasted notes are now clearly present. Long finish with the typical tendency towards slightly salty green olives. Hmm, very good overall but the acidity on the palate is too much for me. Other notes said that the acidity fades - I'm looking forward to a second tasting."

"#4716 04.05.2024 Had a nice exclusive tasting at Romdeluxe with our little rum group. Nose Intense, fresh, fruity, banana, glue, ester, light wood, light citrus. Palate Intense, spicy, light wood, faint smoke, fruity, pineapple, naturally sweet, ester. Finish Long and warm, fruity, pineapple, faint chocolate, ester, light polish."

"More on the acidic side of things. Intense and fruity. Bitterness on the finish."

"An old, mature high ester. Exactly my thing. Nose: intense and powerful. A crass ester with lots of acidity and clear vinegar notes. Lemon, lime and pineapple, plus glue with solvent. But there's also a dense marzipan sweetness behind it. Very nice, fun. 8,6 Palate: very unexpectedly sour, somehow totally different and somehow good. Astringent, sour esters with lots of lemon, pineapple and kiwi. Becomes a bit buttery on the back, like yoghurt with an artificial jelly bean sweetness. But in the end, the sour esters predominate with a sweet finish. 8.8"

"Wonderful typical HD nose with lots of fruit and a load of esters. Woody notes also come through. Alcohol barely perceptible. Slight acidity stings in the nose 😯 On the palate ohhh what's happening here 😳😳😳 very sour, slightly musty and woody . Nose and palate don't go together for me. Finish is then already very bitter and woody (old musty wood 😮) Nose would be clearly over 80 for me ... but the taste drops so incredibly, too bad."

"Klasse High Ester. Im Vergleich zu seinen Jahrgangskollegen ist der Ester nicht ganz so dominant. Ananas und tropische Früchte kommen hier stärker zur Geltung. Im Gaumen spürt man etwas saures, was im Abgang jedoch wieder verschwindet. Alkohol erstklassig eingebunden!"

"Eine wunderschöne Fruchtbombe aus dem Hause Romdeluxe. Nase wie bei Hampden gewohnt mit Ester, Frucht und vor allem Ananas. Nach einer halben Stunde legt sich suche er alkoholische Geruch. Auf dem Gaumen einfach geil, Frucht und Ananas Explosion. Die 57% sind super eingebunden. Fast schon smooth."

"... Hampden, legendarni jamajska destilerka, ktera krome rumu produkuje take alkohol do parfemu. Ve vsech rumech z teto destilerky ucitite divoke estery, po kterych cely vas organizmus nasakne vuni zluteho tropickeho ovoce - manga, papaji, anansu, broskvi. Jeden z rumu, ktere "must try before die""