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Roots Hampden 2012 OWH
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Pineapple and banana up front, glue and nail polish underneath, then olives, brine and a salty edge that keeps it from ever tasting sweet. This is a low-ester (OWH) Hampden, so don't come for the full ester bomb — it's more fruity than funky, lighter and more playful than the loud marks. The 58.3% sits well integrated, and the finish runs long with pepper, wood and a touch of tar.
The community says- Ripe tropical fruit
- Salty olive edge
- But: Not an ester bomb
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The look inside the bottle
How does Roots Hampden 2012 OWH taste?
Summarized by AI from 42 community reviews.
Fruity, salty low-ester Hampden, more fruit than funk Most owners land on the same verdict: a fruit-forward, salty Hampden that punches above its low mark, with the alcohol nicely tucked in. Want a full ester bomb? Look elsewhere.
Hampden fans who like the lighter, fruitier marks
anyone chasing a loud high-ester funk bomb
Style & occasion: Tropical & funkySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
16 of 42 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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Community voices
What does the community say?
42 community reviews
18 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
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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
There aren’t many high-class OWHs. This one fits in nicely. Now for midsummer, I prefer low-ester ones anyway. On the nose clearly recognizable as Hampden. On the palate, it feels very light and playful for a high-proof Hampden. At the back, I have slight mint and toasted barrel notes. Nice bottling, but nothing to win prizes with.
Review by SaibotZtar
Most helpful mixed review
Very spicy. Not a typical HD... okay low ester was clear but it comes across very differently. What bothers me a bit is the smoky note especially when it has breathed well... otherwise little fruit, alcohol very prominent.
Review by mto75
Sure, with OWH you can't expect an ester bomb. I surprisingly like the profile of the Roots quite a lot. On the nose, yogurt, grilled pineapple and baking mix dominate. On the palate, burnt sugar, barrel, mocha. The 58.3% are very well integrated. Really delicious stuff! Many thanks to Paris for the split!
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#6550 27.03.2026 Finally Friday and todays training has been finished. Time to start up the monster sample killing this weekend. For this set I am listening to IKLR and Vini Vici on Spotify. This bottling is really nice and so is the pricetag actually. The nose is medium intense and has overripe fruits, polish, dried fruit and ester. There is also a very faint rubber note in there. The palate is medium intense and fruity, with light roasted wood, overripe fruits, light varnish, pineapple and honey. The finish is very long with light wood, herbs, light peppery, citrus and light rubber.
Review by Timo Groeger
Here we have a typical Hampden representative, although the esters are not quite as recognizable here. Otherwise again the overripe tropical fruits banana and pineapple, as well as glue and nail polish.
Review by RumTaTa
I think I wouldn't have recognized this blind as Hampden. There is fruitiness, but the typical notes like grilled pineapple and marzipan don't jump out of the glass at me. Instead, I find something floral like anise or maybe fennel and yogurt/cream cheese. On the palate, nicely fruity but also metallic, which I don't like so much. Compared to the old Highester Hampden, also a lot of cask influence. For a short moment, it reminded me of grappa. The aftertaste is very long and I like it better again. At first dry and even salty, then it becomes fruitier again. Despite the low mark, this rum has more funk and complexity than some other rums from, for example, Jamaica or Barbados. On the palate, it reminds me because of the dryness and salt/olive note of a young Port Mourant.
Review by zabo
All in all a very solid and tasty Hampden. Thanks to France for the great split. The fruitiness prevails over the ester. Olive and some saltiness also comes through clearly after a while. Alcohol is well integrated.
Review by Alex1981
Solid but gentle Hampden, more fruity than funky. Olives are there, some brine & salt. Medium to long finish and well integrated alcohol, solid release!
Review by Johannes
Amazingly fruity OWH!
Review by Mentalo
Surprisingly good OWH. Alcohol top integrated, light creaminess, fine fruit note.
Review by ...and a bottle of Rum.
Nose: Hampden at room volume. A hint of ester, a few fruits.... Surprisingly but almost at eye level the wet plank. Palate: Naa, I wonder if I would have blindly recognized this as Hampden? Low ester is not my preferred HD profile and this one is OWH according to the app then (as are all 2012s really). There's a pleasant fruity note, but not a whole lot else going on. Alcohol is not bothersome. Finish: Medium length with a slight hint of acidity. "Our funkiest release yet" is a strange statement when you roll up the funk scale from the bottom.
Review by Stijn Zino
Buds and Barrels 16/02/2025 Very nice nose with glue and banana all over the place. Mouth and finish nothing special. Retasting. Again banana. Almost Worthy Park like. Maybe not your regular Hampden profile but nevertheless very "lekker".
Review by PRV
Nice. Once again this inimitable tropical cocktail from HD. In addition to tropical sour-sweetness, caramel, orange zest, vanilla nuances, oak barrel, and a little acetone in the final. On the palate the influence of the barrel is great, although the tropics are present. The aftertaste is astringent, abundantly oaky with a peppery finish. The low level of esters can be felt, apparently they were lacking in the flavor and aftertaste...the barrel dominated here. Nevertheless this is a tasty HD.
Review by Philip M. 🇧🇪
Obviously a low ester mark (OWH) Hampden. This doesn't mean it's bad, but I expected more. There is some fruitiness present but don't expect a big ester bomb. It's too light for that. I'm a big fan of this independant bottler, but this release can't really convince me unfortunately.
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Hampden, the legendary Jamaican distillery that besides rum also produces alcohol for perfumes. In all rums from this distillery, you can smell wild esters, after which your whole body soaks up the scent of yellow tropical fruits - mango, papaya, pineapple, peach. One of the rums you "must try before you die".
Review by Michal Jurka
I like low ester Hampdens but this one has a weird combination of soury-spice -liquorice notes which doesn't do anything for me.
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
🥃 O – OWH 2012 “The Roots” – 58.3% Belgian independent bottler The Roots, with an OWH (Outram W. Hussey) barrel from Hampden. Relatively low ester range (40–80 g/hL AA), 3-day fermentation only with molasses and water, no addition of acid, dunder or muck. Aging: 3 years in Jamaica + 8 years in the UK. Yield: 229 bottles. Superb nose: kerosene, ripe pineapple, banana, olives. Palate: fermented pineapple, salty and acidic attack, then licorice and ashy/resinous notes. Long finish on tar and pepper. A very nice surprise: nose and palate perfectly aligned.
Review by Filip Heimerle
The alcohol percentage is not felt at all. But it's a weaker Hampden.
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Community shelf
18 bottles logged by 13 collectors.
Both drunk and collected.
16% opened, 0 emptied.
What did the community pay for Roots Hampden 2012 OWH?
Community paid 117–127 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 126 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
18 purchased · 44 tasted · 5 wishlist · as of
Details about Roots Hampden 2012 OWH
A Pot Still Rum from Jamaica, bottled by Roots, at 58.3%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
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