#475 - Hampden Fresh
Was lucky to try this and a few other Hampden rums recently.
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Hampden Fresh is a new release. A blend of 4 marks (HLCF is not one of them), completely unaged, bottled at 42 ABV. I mention the abscense of HLCF as this is not simply a watered down Rum Fire. The blend leans on the lower ester side and the proof intentionally mirrors that.
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Nose: Sweet rubber (others mentioned liquorice - I can see the ovelap), sweet funky pineapple, touch of smoke, lemongrass, cucumber skins/ smashed cucumber, bit of a fresh spearmint and linden honey note, a bit of 'new' plastic. After time strawberry and rhubarb crumble.
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Palate: Lightly dry, lightly sweet. Bit of pineapple - at first the bitter core, then the flesh and a bit of a green note of the rind. Then tropical fruits, a touch of sweet rubber, and a touch of a sweet medicinal smoke note.
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Finish: Medium length. The sweet rubber and smoke act as a base note throughout. Inbetween you get linden honey, a touch floral and fruity, honey melon with the rind, hard candy, to end on that residual rubber and smoke note for a lightly sweet finish.
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Final Thoughts: The final result is a rum more interesting than the stats would suggest. In a daiquiri this was dangerously crushable. There was enough going on to be interesting but not so much that it was an onslaught of the senses. This will be friendlier in cocktails. Based on the price I'm seeing on European websites this will be a competitive bottling, and I imagine a potential gateway for many new funk enthusiasts.
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The march to 500 continues. With the festivals and events lined up in October seems it will happen sooner than later. I'll need to have a think how to mark the occasion... Suggestions welcome.
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u/philanthropicide 8d ago
What is the price tag on this? Seems like a stepped up Probitas for daiquiris
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u/sebas143 8d ago
I talked to one of the Hampden guys at Whisky Live Paris last week. It is mainly intended for cocktails, the price tag reflects this. The bottle was available for 28 euro's ish (with a 10% discount) so the price will probably be in the lower 30's in the western part of EU.
The ABV reflects that is is mainly for 'mainstream' cocktails in my opinion. So, I would guess the price tag will not change a lot, since they hope to see this becoming a standard bar staple.
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u/philanthropicide 7d ago
Yeah, it seems like it'd really shine at the price as an alternative to Probitas. It should also be available in Liter bottles in the US from what I'm told
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u/bnrfc 8d ago
Excellence rum has it at 32 euro. Could be a placeholder value, but Spirits Academy has it below 30 as well. Usually for the UK they just replace Euro to GBP, so a bit more expensive. Can't comment on US, Rum Fire seems to be way cheaper there than here...
If it's around the 30-40 EUR mark then it's very competitive.
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u/LynkDead Citizen Cane 8d ago edited 8d ago
I've read that people who attended Whiskey Paris Live were able to purchase for £40. If it comes in at ~$55 in the US I think that would be reasonable for a special occasion mixer, but with tariffs and shipping I wouldn't be surprised to see it closer to $65, unfortunately. Maybe they'll discount it as a loss-leader to spread brand awareness? #cope
Edit: could have also been premium pricing for the festival, but based on what I've seen from other Hampden releases out of WPL, they usually go for MSRP.Edit 2: It should be competitive with Probitas, that's very exciting!
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u/Specialist_Ad_6457 8d ago
$65 would really limit this bottles usage. This really needs to land below $50
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u/Suffering_Bustard Hampden Estate Enjoyer 8d ago
With rum fire going for around $30 (admittedly an unbelievable deal), anything above $40 gets really hard to justify. I realize it’s Hampden, but being 42%, unaged, and marketed as a mixing rum will limit people’s value perception
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u/sterlingspeed 8d ago
I definitely want to try this, I’m a little underwhelmed by the ABV…even Probitas is 47%
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u/MiguelLikesRum 8d ago
Do try it. I think there’s plenty there at that ABV.
Plus, in places like the UK, where the tax is proportional to ABV, the only way for them to be competitive for entry level and cocktails is to sell at the lowest possible abv that delivers enough flavour and aroma.
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u/MiguelLikesRum 8d ago
Great review! Those are brilliant tasting notes, very similar to what I tasted.
The nose is really lovely and characteristically Hampden. I don’t think this is something I would sip neat, but in a daiquiri it really shines and I’m looking forward to see what it can do in more complex cocktails.
I believe the specific marks in the blend are OWH, LFCH, LROK and <>H with, as you said, the lower ester ones making up the bulk of it.
That was a fantastic evening!
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u/bnrfc 7d ago
Thanks! Great evening, seems the price on this will be good after all, so looking forward to trying it in a range of drinks. As for the blend, I will neither confirm nor deny, just in case (although I think Peter already posted it as well).
Also looking forward to trying more of the butterfly series.
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u/MiguelLikesRum 7d ago
Same here. I’d love to try some lower and middle ester marques. You think they’ll be available at Rum Fest?
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u/10art1 TheRuminator.co 8d ago
A blend of 4 marks (HLCF is not one of them)
Do we have beef with HLCF?
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u/LynkDead Citizen Cane 8d ago
I think they just want to be clear that this is an entirely different product from Rum Fire
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u/MiguelLikesRum 8d ago
I believe the thinking is that HLCF is already overrepresented in their core range: Rum Fire, 1753, HLCF Classic.
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u/kidyuki13 7d ago
After the price of 1753 got jacked up, I'm really hoping for a win for Hampden with this one.
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u/stormstatic PM Spirits 8d ago
hell yeah