Review #171: Kill Devil Jamaica 2001 <>H 17 year

Overview

Brand: Kill Devil

Origin: Hampden Estate, Wakefield, Trelawny Parish, Jamaica (picked by TheWhiskyBarrel.com)

Still: Pot

Age: 17 years

ABV: 58.8%

During my taste-through of the Hampden 8 Marks set, I got a chance to try a few Hampden Estate marques that I never had a chance to sample standalone. Among these, the <>H marque was one of the most intriguing– it offered funky tropical fruit, along with some dairy-like textures.

Hampden Estate has historically been known to distill one marque per year; this is largely true– but there are outlier years where multiple marques were made. <>H was produced in 1993, 2001, and as recently as 2014.

Kill Devil Jamaica 2001 was originally produced via pot still at Hampden Estate in November 2001, most likely to the specifications of the <>H marque. It was placed in presumably an ex-Bourbon cask, and left to mature for 17 years.

Given that this was bottled and sold under Scottish independent bottler Hunter Laing's Kill Devil brand, this almost assuredly has significant continental aging. This single cask was selected exclusively for TheWhiskyBarrel.com, and bottled in Scotland at a strength of 58.8% ABV.

Appearance

Gold, medium viscosity

Nose

Underripe blueberries, grilled pineapple, sharp butterscotch, orange, almond butter, golden raisins

Palate

Pineapple, butterscotch, rotting blueberries, banana peel, orange rind, jackfruit, heavy cream, cinnamon

Finish

Medium, warming, fruity, slightly bitter/dry; jackfruit, oak, cinnamon bark, orange rind, pineapple, orange bell pepper, fresh banana peel

Rating: 8/10

Summary

Wow, there's definitely a lot going on here! Kill Devil Jamaica 2001 brings funk and oak right into your face, and it does not back down. This is definitely a mature rum that knows it's still a lot of fun.

Underripe blueberries, grilled pineapples, orange, jackfruit, and golden raisins are the primary fruit notes I get throughout, with sharp butterscotch and heavy cream notes peaking from behind the tropical cornucopia.

Cinnamon, orange bell pepper, and banana also feature in little segments of the experience, offering further depth and complexity that truly changes with every sip. The finish leaves a little to be desired: the funk and fruit from the palate seems to unravel into a slightly bitter and dry signoff.

Despite the long-aging (likely a majority continental), the bones of <>H Hampden rum remain strong and highly present. There are some sub-optimal elements on the finish, but in all, this is a beautiful rum that is really exciting to have, given its age and the rarity of the marque.