Seb already reviewed some spirits from Wu Dram Clan but this is my first try with one of their rum, and this one recently made some noise. Why? This cask was bought directly from customs, we actually have no more informations than the fact it’s a Jamaican rum aged at least 25 years. As you may know Jamaican rums are one of my favourite playgrounds so let’s discover what treasure those parrots hide.
Wu Dram Clan Finest Jamaican Rum 25+yo (50.1%, 164 bottles)
Colour: Light gold.
Nose: Say hello to Hampden, also the ester level is not that high, I expect a light-bodied HLCF at nose. It’s quite spiced with also some wood presence. Ripe bananas, black and green olives, mangoes, vanilla, sulfur, candied pineapples, candied lemons, roasted coconuts and some glue. The nose seems to slightly struggle, it becomes more expressive and pleasant with more time in the glass.
Mouth: The alcohol integration is pretty good and it has a nice oily texture. This is very sweet with lot of spices and tannins which literally stings your tongue. We have acidulous candies, bubblegum, candied lemons, caramelized pineapples, marzipan, white pepper, ginger, chilies, ripe bananas, wood, smoked beef and some glue. The mouth become slightly bitterish at the end. Jamaican funkyness is hiding behind this spice layer and it’s honestly quite frustrating.
Finish: Mid-long. Peppermint, vanilla, spices, thick smoke, bitter almonds and some cocoa.
So I think about an atypical Hampden wearing HLCF mark but even if the nose is great (but no more) after some time, there’s unfortunately too much cask influence there in my opinion, this is personnally not the kind of profile I enjoy a lot.
Score: 79
Finally I enjoyed way more the story about this cask than what was inside. Will the Caroni’s make me forget about this one? We’ll see in the near future. After crossing tasting with the informations we have, my opinion is that this is probably a ’92 Hampden.
Thanks Alex for the sample, cheers!
Discover this rum on the RumX app
Soon
Tasting Bro's 
Ping : Hampden – la base de données | Tasting Bro's