Rum Hd 1997

HD 1997 is a 28-year-old Jamaican rum from the Hampden distillery, released by the independent bottler The Whisky Jury in its "The Many Faces of Rum" series to mark the bottler's sixth anniversary. Distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2025, this high-ester rum carries the C<>H marque and was drawn from a single refill barrel, cask #1, which yielded just 195 bottles. It is bottled at 59.6% ABV in a 700ml bottle. Reviewers describe a rounder, more mellow Hampden than its strength suggests, with the distillery's trademark fruit and funk still clearly present, and the label's unicorn nods to how rarely a refill barrel of this age appears.

Tasting Notes: Green banana, citrus and salty, olive-like funk with gentle oak.

Nose: Vanilla, buttermilk and pastry sweetness with green banana, marzipan and oak, then faint petrol and tangerine.

Palate: Banana and light citrus with salty overtones, lemon juice, varnish, black olive, herbs and peppery heat.

Finish: Long, with salt, lime and subtle wood.

Serve: Neat, with a few drops of water to open up the fruit.