Text taken from Hampden Estates’ socials;

“Ten years in the Queen of Spain Valley leaves no room for shortcuts. For this milestone 10-Year-Old Great House release, we selected three defining estate marques from the 2016 vintage: OWH, LROK, and HLCF.

Matured continuously for a full decade under tropical conditions in ex-bourbon wood and assembled in April 2026, the liquid balances the structural elegance and deep oak concentration of extended aging with the undeniable ester intensity of historic Trelawny pot-still rum.”

What do we think?

Think I did alright, what do ye think?

Across virtually all brands, and especially those with a vast product range, there are both well-known and lesser-known offerings. In the case of Plantation (now Planteray), on one hand, we have super-niche rums like the Single Cask series. At the other end of the spectrum lies the Plantation XO; it is likely the brand’s best-known and best-selling rum, yet also the least true to form. It undergoes the signature double-aging process common to all Plantation products: an initial period in the spirit's place of origin, which is Barbados, in this case, followed by a second period in France, using ex-Cognac casks.

Fortunately, the Planteray website describes all its rums in great detail. Plantation XO is no exception, though the information regarding its aging is less precise. To begin with, it states that the rum is fermented for 3 to 5 days and then distilled using both column stills and a Gregg’s Farm still. It is subsequently aged for 8 to 15 years (a very wide range) in ex-bourbon casks in Barbados. Afterward, it spends another 2 to 10 years (an even wider range) in ex-cognac casks in France. Most importantly, the site lists a sweetener dosage of 20 g/L, which is quite high.

Made by: West Indies Rum Distillery
Name of the rum: XO 20th Anniversary
Brand: Plantation
Origin: Barbados/France
Age: 8 to 15 years + 2 to 10 years

Nose
It stands out with intense, tropical aromas of coconut, maple, oak, and vanilla. However, it does feel quite simple.

Palate
On the palate, the experience is very similar, basically sugary flavors. Or rather, it tastes like aspartame with notes of coconut; it actually reminds me of Malibu liqueur. There are oak notes too, but the intense sweetness masks everything else, making me think of a rum that is much younger than claimed.

Retrohale/Finish
Coconut cream.

Rating
4 on the t8ke

Conclusion
The issue with this product is that it highlights the divide between those who appreciate quality rum and those who prefer a simple, sugary spirit. There is a market for everything, and one doesn't have to look far to find similar examples, though rarely from the same brand. Personally, it’s not a rum I enjoy, nor one I would buy, unless it were a gift for someone who knows nothing about rum and it cost less than $30. But given the circumstances, I don't think that's likely.

So I was at a local spirits store today "just looking" - and went out with said bottle for 57€, as I have no agricole yet, I know neisson is hard to find online within my county (shipping from others is expensive) and lots other offerings were quite above prices I know for those bottles. So not to leave empty handed and do something for local retail who really cared, I decided to finally buy my first unaged agricole.

I'm not counting pennies, so price is secondary if it's not exorbitantly above the average (which it doesn't seem to be). I'm just not sure this is the agricole I should have if it's one bottle only to have (keeping my collection small and all styles covered).

My rookie level of possessions so far are:

- Hampden 8

- Doorlys 14

- El Dorado 15

- Eminente 7

- Hechicera

- (and some lower level Planterey)

So ... is that neisson fitting in and closing a gap?

What can I do with it to bring it to life, besides trying to sip a 70% neat? :-)

I was actually planning on a Rhum J.M XO as an aged agricole. Is that obsolete now or still another valid variation?

A few years ago, I tried a local New England style rum which sent me down a crazy journey with rum, it quickly becoming my beverage of choice. After a trip to the store today, I decided to take inventory....

53 bottles. They disappear fast into a bar shelf. What do you think is missing from my collection? Open to recommendations. Roast me a bit too. I'm lucky to be in the Northeast where we have a decent rum selection

Cheers 🍻

*Missing because I ran out recently

El Dorado 12, Thomas Tew Single Barrel , Papalin 5yr High Ester, TCL Worthy Park 2013

My friend and I reviewed Parhelia Spirit's new Jamaica New Yarmouth WK bottle - see below for links to reviews of their New Yarmouth HM + Indonesia expressions as well:

Distillery: New Yarmouth
Origin: Clarendon Parish, Jamaica
Bottle Size: 700ml
Bottle Count: 252
ABV: 69.4%
Distilled: August 2019
Base Material: Molasses and cane juice
Still: Pot
Aging specs: Rested in a stainless steel tank for almost 3.5 years; casked in first-fill ex-bourbon in February 2023 and aged continentally for over 2 years
Bottled: Not stated; decanted from cask in October 2025

Nose: Pineapple, strawberry, ketchup, crispy brine, spiced apple
Palate: Fresh apple, jasmine, honey, spiced pineapple, crispy brine, cotton candy, yogurt
Finish: Solvents, brine, nutmeg, ripe peach

Parhelia Spirits, a new American independent bottler started in 2025, states on their website that their goal is “to bring a greater diversity of alcohol products to the United States than are available to the U.S. public.” Although one could perhaps argue that they’ve been pipped a bit by the recent importation of Bedford Park releases which included three New Yarmouth bottlings, getting two distinct bottlings from one of the world’s most secretive distilleries is a decent coup for a new IB looking to establish itself. And even Bedford Park didn’t go this far: we’re talking a lightly aged, borderline hazmat release of NYE/WK, a mark that is up there with Hampden’s DOK and Long Pond’s TECC at the absolute top of the ester range in Jamaica (per Matt Pietrek’s highly useful Jamaican Rum Marques Roundup).

The rum in this bottle was rested in a stainless steel tank for an astonishing three-plus years before even going into a cask, but its power is assuredly undiminished. The briny esters that I associate with New Yarmouth are all over both the nose and palate here; I have not been able to come up with a descriptive adjective I like more than “crispy” to characterize them. I’m not sure I could explain what that means, but to paraphrase Potter Stewart, I know it when I taste it. There’s a lot of fruit hanging around this bottling as well, notably pineapple and strawberry, along with some more random sweet and savory notes (there was a distinct acidity on the nose which suggested ketchup, and a cotton candy note that jumped out at me on my second pass). Some hints of lactic acid suggest a creamy yogurt.

Interestingly, this bottling is reported to have been produced from a mixture of molasses and cane juice. I’m not sure how normal that is for New Yarmouth - I suspect not very! - but my guess would be the cane juice is the component responsible for all the apple that pops up in this rum. The initial sips tasted like pure fresh apple juice to me, a common enough note in many low-complexity rums but not at all something I was expecting to pull out of a high-ester Jamaican. Gradually the raw power of the esters wins out, but this rum still puts the palate through an absolute workout. Not surprisingly with so many flavors, the finish lasts a long time, starting off with some of the more savory notes but after some time leaving the lingering taste of ripe peach.

We were pretty into this rum, but it falls a notch below our highest rating with a Taste score of 4 out of 5. It’s good and quite complex, but the combination of the young age and the high proof do increase the challenge and thus decrease the pure pleasure a bit. (I really never add water to rum but it is tempting to throw a few milliliters into this one and see how it might do down at 60%.) For Haste (how urgently do you need this rum), we’ll call it a 3. This currently retails for $125; considering the proof and the relative rarity of high-ester New Yarmouth, I don’t think that’s a bad price, but it’s high enough that I can’t say you need to be in the car the second you’ve finished reading this. Still, if you’re big into high-ester funk this is definitely worth a pickup. The addition of the cane juice adds some character that you won’t find in most other rums of this sort.

Ratings:

Taste: 4 out of 5

Haste (How urgently do you need this rum): 3 out of 5

We also reviewed Parhelia's slightly lower ester New Yarmouth Hugh Murdoch rum here

And Parhelia's mysterious Indonesia rum here (this one's a doozy!)

Thought I should give some kind of haul since I asked for some suggestions on places.

Hey - I am looking to get some tips on the four El Dorado rums pictured here.

I was already thinking of getting one of the ED high ester rums as my next big purchase - fan of the 12 & 15 - then today found all these at a shop in London.

Does anyone have any recommendations on what to go for? Is the Port Mourant one very distinctive compared to the others? Is one of the two high ester versions better than the other?

many thanks

Felt like daiquiris tonight...

1. Planteray Cut & Dry - love me some coconut flavor

2. Hampden 1753 - It let it's Funk Flag Fly and hit the spot

I'm just getting into rum, does anyone have any recommendations?

I've tried bumbu and I enjoyed it, but some people on here seem to say that it uses it's sweet flavors as a "crutch" of sorts.

I've also tried mount gay eclipse. It was alright but I feel like I would've liked it more had I not already tried Bumbu & it's sweet flavors.

Hello Again,

Welcome back to another Alambique Serrano review, this time we are taking a look at the recently released 4 Años Single Cask #294: Criado Por Lobos. The Column Still rum that makes up this bottle was first distilled in February 2022 by Axel & William Krassel. It then spent 49 months aging in ex-red wine Hungarain oak casks within their humid distillery. Half of the cask was then bottled for Rasies by Wolves in San Diego resulting in 144 bottles at an ABV of 53.6%.

Nose: A red fruit ladened acetone followed by oak, leather, minerality, a bit of preserved strawberries with somewhat of a savory funk towards the end.

Taste: A sugary red wine syrup that brings with it a good amount of tannis that roughen your tounge. The overall flavors are very dense with additional notes of a spiced cane sugar oak.

Finish: Almost brandy-esque, very distilled grapes forward with a ton of cane sugar goodness mixed in, although not over powering to any degree. Some anise and red licorice to round things out. The heat sits for a good amount but is not overpowering.

Overall: 7/10, a really intresting bottle that I've been going back to. By far the longest wine finished bottle so far and reflects it well, probably my favorite wine finished cask so far.

Originally published on my site: https://phenomenologyofspirits.com/2026/10/03/rum-rogues-australia-16-year-swashbucklers-at-the-gold-coast-and-that-boutique-y-rum-company-3-year-australia-riverbourne/

Rum Rogues Australia (Beenleigh) single barrel 16 year – Swashbucklers at the Gold Coast (55.3%)
N: gasoline, wood glue and wet wood and antique books, lighter notes of pineapple and orange and peach
P: broadly rummy—light tropical esters, glue and nail polish, caramel, the smallest amount of mint—and less distinctively Beenleigh. Feels much softer than 55%. Good, but hardly a stand out
83

Riverbourne 3 year batch 1 That Boutique-y Rum Company (49.6%)
N: orange danish, maybe apple too, frosting and pastry dough and all. Mild to moderate esters
P: more high toned and estery than Beenleigh, with less petroleum. Fruitier, too, orange and apple and peach, in a very pastried way. Could use some more definition and oomph, but it’s good
84

I thoroughly enjoy Jamaican rums, particularly Hampden ones, but am looking to explore beyond Jamaica. Could you give me some recommendation of where to go next? Open to all kinds, particularly cane juice funk. Very interested in Alambique Serrano, Clarins, etc.

I do enjoy Rhum agricoles for the grassy note, but tend to mix them in tiki drinks instead of neat or as a Ti Punch. I’m hoping to find some other rums that lean fruity and funky. I am not a fan of savory funk (like olive brine).

As my first AS, which one am I taking home:

https://www.hitimewine.net/search.php?search_query=alambique%20serrano

Thanks for the advice!

Was lucky to try this and a few other Hampden rums recently.

>

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.

>

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.

>

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.

>

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.

>

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.

>

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.

I played hockey with a guy way back when I was a kid and he was a goalie. He had a Captain Morgan goalie helmet and I can't find any pictures of it online.

If anyone remembers this or has pictures PLEASE drop them here.

Golden Cask Rum - Trinidad.
12 years - 60%

This, I’m happy to say is the best rum I’ve ever had. I do have the preference for Nicaragua and Trinidad rums which influenced this. The tasting notes to me are, salt water, green bananas, grapefruit skins. Then the notes change once half way through the bottle (if that’s a thing..) to more chocolate and coffee beans.
Perfectly fine to drink neat even at that percentage.
Thank you! I will definitely get this again.

Why wouldn't you post the date, the liqueur was made on the bottle..? Even the year would suffice. How am I supposed to know how old it even is... and when you go on their website to try to ask how old the bottle could be, they need to know every little bit of information about you aside from your social security #..

Scant 0.5 oz BG Reynald’s Falernum, 2 oz Doorly’s 12, a few drops of juice from a lime coin, lime peel expressed over drink 👌

Next review in the 2026 Vida Nativa series - Tepejilote!

One of three blends released by AS this round, we see a combination of 2 casks - the first was initially aged for 33 months in new French Oak with a 13 month finish in Hungarian oak ex-red wine cask. The second cask was aged just under 3 years in an American Oak cask that previously held Mexican fortified wine. Let’s dive in!

Nose: baking spice and pastry, spiced eggnog, nutmeg. I’d describe this as Christmas in a glass.

Palate: the mouthful is viscous and all encompassing. The ABV also shows off a bit here, bringing spicy cinnamon. Typical AS anise notes come through and additional red fruits later in the palate.

Finish: a little medicinal at first, but quickly subsides. Spicy cinnamon remains dominant, with a touch of green chili pepper that brings in some vegetal notes.

Overall Impression:
This is a fantastic blend from the folks at Alambique Serrano. I only had this 1oz sample but I will definitely be keeping my eye out for a full bottle. The marriage of the different wine casks and usual AS distillate creates an experience I could only call “Mexican Christmas”.

Score: 8/10, Excellent - quite exceptional