Aroma visualization from community tastings
Samaroli Hampden Jamaica Single Cask HLCF 2012
Tell me when it gets cheaper
Tell me when it's back in stock
Price alert in the RumX app
Open in the app
Got the app? Open this bottle
Opens this rum in the RumX app
If you want a Hampden that behaves, this is the odd one — several tasters swear it drinks more like a Clarendon, with the wild esters dialed way down. Tropical fruit, banana and pineapple show up, but wood and a peppery bitterness push forward, and even after long rest the 59.5% still bites for most people. Interesting, a bit tame for a Hampden.
The community says- Tropical fruit
- Fruit-forward palate
- But: Low ester funk
Offers & prices
View price history
Shopping safely on RumX Returns & cancellation
- Secure payment. You pay via RumX with PayPal, Klarna or card. Your payment data is encrypted and we never store your full card details.
- Clear seller. Sold and shipped directly by the partner shop. And you're never on your own: RumX handles support and communication with the shop, so you always get excellent service, whichever shop you order from.
- Honest shop ratings. The stars show your service experience with the shop, not the rum score. They come from RumX users, and critical ones stay visible.
- Returns & cancellation. Your purchase contract is with the shop, so returns and cancellations run through them under their own policy and your statutory rights. If anything goes wrong, RumX helps you sort it out.
10 more payment methodsOffers & prices
No shop currently delivers to Germany.
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
The look inside the bottle
How does Samaroli Hampden Jamaica Single Cask HLCF 2012 taste?
Summarized by AI from 43 community reviews.
Tamer Hampden that leans Clarendon-fruity Most rate it well but with a shrug: fruity and flaw-free, yet the funk chasers keep noting it's too tame and the alcohol a touch hot for a Hampden.
Hampden fans curious about a milder cask
anyone chasing loud raw ester funk
Style & occasion: Tropical & funkySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
22 of 43 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
Recommendation
Your next rum
Each with how it differs from this rum.
Gifting rum? 3 questions to the right bottle
Fruitier
Hampden Plantation Cuvée Rum Addict Nr. 2 <>H 2001
8.9/10
Milder
TRC Hampden Jamaica <>H 2001
8.7/10
Nothing for you?
4 more similar rums ↓
First choice: 24 of 24 tasters who tried both prefer it.
Community voices
What does the community say?
43 community reviews
21 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Rate it in the app
Ranges include their upper bound: “7–8” means above 7 up to and including 8. See the full rating guide
Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by Leo Krüper
Most helpful positive review
As is often the case with Samaroli, the bottle design is the strongest point of the rum. For an HD, there are very few aromas in the glass and it is somewhat weak. However, the rum is also flawless and easy to drink. Perhaps my expectations were wrong.
Review by Johannes
Most helpful mixed review
Hampden? I would say that a barrel was swapped.... Blind I would be for quasi-absent fruit and distinct astringent bitterness with Clarendon.
Review by Rowald Sweet Empire
Wait what? Is this Hampden? More Clarendon like. It needs time to open but the funkyness is not like a Hampden. In taste more fruity then in the nose. Interesting profile. Not bad, lots of little things going on. Waxy/velvetty. Gets more low-ester Hampdenny along the way. Need to give this a few more retries.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Has somehow what of a perfumed candle.... I will not really warm with sorry... Even after more than 2h breathing time is the here still very astringent and pungent. Aromatically, the thing has for me also nothing to do with a Hampden.... As already said by Johannes Brandl before, this could rather be a Clarendon instead of a Hampden... would not be the first samaroli with which the data stimmmen not... too bad!
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4233 03.09.2023 this was a nice blind tasting where I saw the black Glencairn tasting glasses for the first time. Not too bad a release but I think the alcohol could have been better integrated. Even when rested for a good while there is still a little bite from the ABV. Intense and fruity with nice esters. The palate is medium dry and warm. The wood and roasted notes are well balanced. The empty glass is really nice and I can pick up some light caramel and nuts.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,4:On the nose, esters, slightly coppery touch, tropical fruits like banana and pineapple, citrus fruits, roasted wood notes like pastry, roasted nuts, spicy vanilla, creamy, buttery, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, the molasses is flowery and earthy with tobacco, spicier with cinnamon, salty, biscuits join the pastry. 8,3:On the palate, the attack is creamy with roasted wood notes like butterscotch, nuts and pastry, peppery and salty, oaky, as the fruits are tropical with banana and pineapple, mango and red fruits, the molasses is mineral and herbaceous. 8,4:The finish is long, dry&tannic, fruity with tropical, citrus fruits, the wood is roasted, smoky with pastry, yeast, crunchy bread, dark chocolate, nutty, peppery, the molasses is fresh with tea..
Review by Adrian Wahl
Unfortunately, the expectations could not be met. With the framework data I thought it could be very exciting. 10 year old HLCF with over 60% and a little over 100€. Unfortunately, I miss the flavors so typical for Hampden very much. So blind for the some do not assign Hampden. Too bad, had expected much more
Review by Rodolphe
Very good HLCF super smooth. Remarkably integrated alcohol. It's fruity and pastry-like at the same time. The thing is it's good but borderline a bit too smooth. It lacks character for me.
Review by zabo
As usual with Samaroli, the label is probably the best thing about this rum. In my opinion, the barrel has robbed the aromas a little. It's a meaningless rum that you can drink once in a while, but unfortunately you're not really missing anything here. There are better HLFCs out there
Review by Timo Groeger
Here again a really nice Jamaican from the Hampden distillery. The higher ester content is typical of the nose and palate. You can also smell and taste tropical fruits here. Alcoholic on the nose, but then disappears somewhat on the palate.
Review by DomM
Reminds me more of a Clarendon rather than an HLCF. From this angle I think it’s enjoyable.
Review by Mentalo
I wouldn't have recognized a Hampden in a blind tasting and certainly not with an HLCF Mark. Simply hardly any typical ester notes present. The profile is more like Clarendon. Has light fruity notes and quite a lot of wood. Alcohol could also be better integrated.
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
🥃 Samaroli – Hampden HLCF 2012 – 59.5% Single cask #10 — a nod to a little bear: "Only number 10s in my team" 🎯 A Hampden wiser than its cousins: the wood slightly dominates the funky. Nose: Quite discreet on the funky side, woody upfront. Palate: More fruity, well structured. Finish: Smooth and pleasant. A flawless rum, accessible, enjoyable, but a bit tame for fans of raw esters.
Review by SaibotZtar
Uiuiui... Nose Fruity a touch of ester to feel some alcohol.... for me there already not Eindeutig Hampden to assign 😱😱 too much Florale notes disturbs me but very much .On the palate Hampden HLCF ??? Seriously?? I can't get my head around it ... much bitterness, woody notes .... Alcohol rather poorly integrated. Fruity is almost completely missing. I really had hope but that was nothing ... at least if you love Hampden and its typical fruit and funk.
Review by ElReyTristan
There's no doubt we're dealing with a Jamaican from the Hampden distillery. All the markers are there. The continental Scottish ageing adds a pleasant saline and mineral note.
Review by Thunderbird
The nose is great...an extreme sweet fruitiness paired with vanilla.The palate unfortunately can not keep up by far...wood and alcohol dominate too much. The finish is so-so...
Review by Mike H.
74 points. Slight fruit flavour but rather bitter with badly integrated alcohol.
Review by Domi Mal
Unfortunately, he does not convince - really had the hope that this Samaroli bottling is a hit. 10 years / HLCF / continental / about 60% - not bad conditions. I like the young Hampden. Color really great, for the 10 years continental pretty dark, the nose really not wrong, relatively round, riper than expected, typical fruit notes, plenty of funk - not outstanding but promising.Falls on the palate unfortunately, it does not come across what you want, funk and the tropical fruit cocktail unfortunately go down and the alcohol is unfortunately even after 45min in the glass, not well integrated. Missing notes creep in and unfortunately also some bitter notes that do not fit.
Review by Adrian
1st Tasting (sample of Rhum Attitude): positively surprised, I really like it. Alcohol well integrated, just the right level of ester, not too much and not too little. Great fruit in combination with more tart notes.88 points2. Tasting (sample from the community): Ne, what's going on there? No tasty, light fruit salad or great integration of the alcohol.... Seems like a completely different rum to me. Clearly worse, pretty mediocre.74 pointsNo idea what's going on. Anyway, I'm pretty sure both samples are from the same rum, but from different bottles. Maybe the one from Rhum Attitude improved so significantly just by a bit of oxidation? A 3rd tasting in a few weeks will show it
Review by Tom Buteneers
Rum with a whisky vibe for me. A bit boring and one dimensional. Nose is quite restrained, the palate doesn’t offer that much more. At the same time there are no real flaws in the rum.
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Hampden, the legendary Jamaican distillery that produces rum as well as alcohol for perfume. In all the rums from this distillery you will taste wild esters, after which your whole organism will soak up the smell of golden tropical fruits - mango, papaya, pineapple, peach. One of the "must try before you die" rums
No reviews match this filter.
Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by The Dunder Hut
That was a tasting of hlcf letdowns. Clearly this one did not like the cask, since it took away most of its flavours. I am uncertain of what's left. Acidic esters and barely any fruit. The lightly sweet and almonds finish was nice
Community shelf
21 bottles logged by 18 collectors.
Both drunk and collected.
28% opened, 3 emptied.
What did the community pay for Samaroli Hampden Jamaica Single Cask HLCF 2012?
Community paid 97–115 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 106 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
21 purchased · 43 tasted · 4 wishlist · as of
Details about Samaroli Hampden Jamaica Single Cask HLCF 2012
A Pot Still Rum from Jamaica, bottled by Samaroli, at 59.5%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
You may also enjoy
Rum enthusiasts who like this rum have also given the following rums high ratings:
Roots Hampden 2012 OWH
Habitation Velier Hampden Single Cask Salon du Rhum HLCF 2018
Long Pond Rum Artesanal Jamaica Rum VRW 2000
The Whisky Jury Long Pond The Many Faces of Rum STC❤️E 2015
Never miss a price drop.
Set a target price in the app, and we'll let you know as soon as the rum becomes available at that price from one of our partner stores. This works for any rum on your wish list.
Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
Oliver, Stuttgart
About RumX →YouTube channel (in German)
