Hampden Estate 8-Year

Now we're talking. This stuff is tasty.
Now I might not have the best palate, sense.of smell, etc., but I didn't get any of the diesel or rubber that I've read in reviews. I get a lot of warmth and rich caramel, a bit of grassiness/vegetal notes, and a smooth, quite dry finish.
Not harsh at all to me. Almost armagnac-like in it's complexity with a bit of wildness. Tame, definitely had more wild rums, but dang, this is good.
Definitely curious about my next taste, as this was fresh from a new bottle in a double rocks glass. Definitely an 8 from the jump, maybe 8.5, but I wont round up just yet.

Very good Jamaican. On the nose is strong funk with a lot of banana. Smooth on the palate with long finish and little burn. Overall superb rum, maybe a little bit overpriced, as Appleton 12 is similar and more affordable.

This is a real nice rum, maybe not my favorite but definitely a good choice.

Honestly, I'm pretty disappointed about this.

I was hoping for a lot of funk, which there isn't, imo. It sits neatly between Appleton 12 and Smith & Cross in terms of funk and heat, though the heat is surprisingly subdued, and the funk is mainly rubber.

Notes I pick up are mainly rubber, though it's also a bit sweet, and I don't know how else to put this, but it tastes "dusty".

I don't think this one is bad, but I expected a lot more interesting notes, especially for the price point. I have yet to have the funkiest ones like Hamilton, Dr. Bird, Rum Bar, etc, but I hope they are significantly more interesting. For now I'll stick to my Appleton 12 (once this bottle is empty.)

The smell is the bomb, as soon as I opened the cap BOOM! Fruit, freshness
The taste follows the aroma very nicely and combines fruit and a little sweetness from vanilla and the pungency of ginger
A very pleasant banana finish
The taste of Jamaica in every sip

I loooove hampden the younger so was excited to taste this and wasn’t disappointed, i dont like funk except jamaican funky rums like hampden. This was a smoother more caramel forward version of hampden the younger. Smoother and a bit more watered down than the younger but good nonetheless

Dit is mijn rum.
Zo moet rum zijn.
Kost een paar centen, maar dan heb je ook wat.
Hoog in esters. Extreem veel smaak en toch zacht. Geen overheersende 'nep' smaken. Volledig in balans.
Vakmanschap !

Vůně: Lak, lehce nahnilé ovoce, banány
Chuť: Ovocná, lehce technika, čokoláda dub, suchý, lehce štiplavý, koření, tabák, byliny
Dochuť: Dub, čokoláda, bourbonová sladkost, závěr lehce olejovitá technika
Příjemný, nenásilný, funk pro širší veřejnost
8,4/10

I'm still experimenting with Jamaican rums, trying to figure them out. That's not an easy task, their flavors are all over the map from one to the next. And I'm still not sure I've tried enough of them to really understand what's up with funk, dunder, and esters.

This one has a strong smell of Elmer's glue on the nose, but the taste is more fruity and that aroma doesn't transfer to the palate. The palate is an excellent combination of fruity, and I think I'm going to say a slight industrial chemical, like drinking the aroma of a paint booth in an auto refinishing business. Personally, I love that smell, so to me its a positive, YMMV.

It may not sound so great in words, but on the tongue its absolutely wonderful, so I'm giving this a solid 9 rating.

Smith & Cross is mentioned in other reviews, I don't see any similarity at all between this and S&C, so I thought I'd mention that as well. Is it possible that the bottle of S&C I tried had gone bad in the bottle, I thought it tasted horrid and yet everyone else seems to love it.

It seems to my taste that 8 years is a level of aging where Jamaican rums start to lean away from their fruity and funky vibrancy and more towards coffee and oak flavors I associate with whiskeys, or perhaps Bajan rums. This is a pleasant sipper, but comes into its own with a splash of Demerara syrup and some bitters, as the flavors I tend to seek in a Hampden aren't most present in this bottling (The 5-year LROK is my sweet spot). Still, it is the bottle that is most widely available as a non-limited release in my neck of the woods, so it is a continuous presence on my shelf.