Overview
Brand: Hampden Estate, 8 Marks series
Origin: Hampden Estate, Wakefield, Trelawny Parish, Jamaica
Still: Pot
Age: Unaged
Finish: n/a
ABV: 60%
For our first bottle of the Hampden 8 Marks Collection, we are greeted with the mildest of the bunch. OWH is Hampden's lightest marque, when rated by measurement of esters, clocking in at a range of 40-80 g/hLAA.
To recap for those who forgot or otherwise don't know about esters, they are organic, volatile compounds that are often used as the measurement of flavor in a rum, and are measured in grams per hectoliters of absolute alcohol, or g/hLAA. (As an aside, esters are just one of many volatile compounds that may lend funk to a rum, but is typically the only compound measured)
OWH was created in the early 2010s by the Hussey Family, who took ownership of Hampden Estate in 2009; it stands for "Outram Wormald Hussey". According to the infosheet in the set, it uses high molasses content, no dunder, and no muck as far as raw materials go; it sports a 3 day fermentation period, ending at an abv of 5% by time of distillation. Like all Hampden rums, this is distilled through their double retort pot still, resulting in a product that is 85.5-86.5% ABV. Like the other bottles in this collection, OWH is bottled at 60% ABV.
The following Hampden Estate releases contain the OWH marque: 8 year (100% OWH) and Great House 2020 (80% OWH).
Appearance
Clear, medium viscosity
Nose
Underripe pinapple, light paint varnish, underripe blueberries, banana peel, yeast, saline
Palate
Banana peel, underripe pineapple, green bell pepper, sugarcane
Finish
Long, strong, fragrant; sugarcane juice, pineapple, banana peel, yeast
Rating: 5/10
Summary
OWH is, as may be expected, pretty light on the palate. Despite this, there is still complexity that helps bring out a number of fruit notes and aromas.
Underripe pineapple and banana peel are the primary fruits that I pick up, while sugarcane comes through on the palate and finish. The finish additionally features yeast, which I also got on the nosing, and as it fades out, reminds me of what a continentally-aged Hampden may taste like.
A great first step into this marks set! In all, this isn't going to be my favorite as an unaged, standalone rum. As previously stated, this was used heavily in Hampden's standard 8 year bottling and Great House 2020 release, which were enjoyable, so perhaps this is more appealing to me with at least some aging.