Hampden Kill Devil HGML 1983
For seasoned enthusiasts only: a 35‑year old high‑ester Hampden that’s still explosively fruity yet incredibly smooth. Expect overripe pineapple, marzipan, olives and well‑integrated oak. A benchmark sipper to linger over slowly.
- Huge ester funk
- Deep tropical fruit
- Perfect oak balance
Details about Hampden Kill Devil HGML 1983
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How does Hampden Kill Devil HGML 1983 taste?
Aggregated from 41 community reviews.
World‑class aged Hampden funk For seasoned enthusiasts only: a 35‑year old high‑ester Hampden that’s still explosively fruity yet incredibly smooth. Expect overripe pineapple, marzipan, olives and well‑integrated oak. A benchmark sipper to linger over slowly.
Seasoned Hampden fans and high‑ester funk lovers who want an ultra‑aged, complex sipper with big tropical fruit, marzipan and perfectly balanced oak at near‑cask strength.
Beginners, those sensitive to high ABV, or buyers looking for affordable daily sippers rather than an expensive, intense collector-level bottle.
How is Hampden Kill Devil HGML 1983 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict — 9.0 lands squarely in the "Excellent" band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Oliver
Fantastic Hampden. Creamy, lots of marzipan and a great spicy counterpoint due to the long barrel maturation.
Review by Frank
Wow, what an age, what a great vintage. Great HGML.Nose: intense and concentrated and of course the stark esters come first here, but nicely captured in honey and caramelized wood. Sweet and sour pineapple alongside ripe banana. A pleasant freshness comes through lemon and tangerine. A fine vinegar note at the back. Totally round, nothing stings. 91Palate: just as intense and concentrated as in the nose. Astringent at first before the esters get ready. A slightly woody bitter note or even bitter almond comes in before pineapple and marzipan take over. Light umami and licorice at the back. Also very round. 93What can I say. HGML brilliant, 35yo brilliant, ABV brilliant. Only that it almost does not matter whether 20, 25, or 30, 35 yo, because always good, is basic. pity
Review by Thunderbird
What can I say... I love the Mark HGML! And this one lines up right up there with the rest! Gorgeous
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Despite the price tag on this bottle it's well worth the money. Very complex and well balanced. Love the nose and if you rest it for 15-20 minutes all flavours are released. A sweet oaky and fruity palate that continues into a very long well rounded finish. I got my hands on another bottle. 730, - euro is a hefty price, but I think it is well worth it and it can last for a couple of years of sipping.
Review by Adrian Wahl
Happy E(a)ster Tasting 2023.Hampden 1983 HGML.Kill Devil Hampden 1983 HGML.Despite the very high age (35 years) is still a pretty fat portion of Hampden left. But quite something rounded.A great rum and I am very grateful that I could buy a sample.All in all for me 88/100 points and thus quite a distance from the RA HD 1983.
Review by Mike H.
Extremely round Hampden that is on the milder side. Lots of fruit, some of them fermented and marzipan. In addition there’s a little wood and spices with a complex finish. Just one point short of the top tier category. Second tasting: Raising my note from 89 to 90. Incredibly round and smooth. I’m amazed that the woody note in this HGML is perfectly balanced and integrated. It’s as if I drank silk. Just lovely. 🥰
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
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
The nose is very expressive and there's no doubt this is Hampden. The profile is elegant, with notes of olives, oak and leather, but also very ripe tropical fruit and citrus. On the palate, the alcohol is perfectly integrated, it's complex and the taste buds are full of it. There are solvent and woody notes, followed by more gourmand notes of banana and caramelized pineapple. It's an incredible velvet of gourmandise. The length is fine, but lacks a touch of madness to drive this rum crazy! This rum is incredibly smooth and balanced, so the 35-year wait was clearly worth it! I'm really lucky and happy to have been able to taste it (or even re-taste it, as I'd already had the chance to taste it previously thanks to a sample sent by Moens). If the price wasn't a hindrance (it currently sells for just under €800), I'd have a bottle and drink it by the bucketful. Here's my ranking of the 1983 Hampden I've tasted to date: 1)Hampden 1983 - 35Y from Corman Collins - 55.3% 2)Hampden 1983 - 35Y by Kill Devil - 58.1% 3)Hampden 1983 - 39Y by Famille Ricci - 57.9% Now all I have to do is compare it to its twins: Rum Artesanal, Valinch & Mallet, CDI ... Congratulations again to Seb for organizing such a prestigious lineup. It couldn't have been easy to bring together these little marvels and so many enthusiasts, but it was well worth it! Well, on that note, I'm off to study my code ...
Review by Gil Firth
בקבוק וואו וואו וואו ועוד פעם וואו. ההאמפדן הכי טוב ואולי הרום הכי טוב שיצא לי לקנות ולשתות! חילקנו אותו מספר אנשים וכולם באותה דעה. אננס. אסטרים בשפע. מלח וזיתים. מסריח. פירות רקובים. פיניש שלא נגמר. מלא לקה וכל מה שרוצים מגמייקה. בלתי נשכח זוכר את הרום האילו אתמול שתיתי אותו.
Review by Filip Šikula
Diamantový adventní kalendář RFC 2024 Nádherný ovocný kousek z jamajky, kde je zcela bez diskuze i ve slepé degustaci, že jde o jamajku a o hamden. Vzhledem ke stáří rumu je perfektně integrované dřevo. Nádhera
Review by Richard Krupa
Nejdříve nastoupí typické estety, které v zápětí vystřídá ovocná sladkost, závěr je akorát dlouhý a příjemně trpký
Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Tasting Bro's
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Community purchases
45 bottles logged by 52,000+ RumX members. The ratio of closed / opened / emptied, indicates whether this rum is meant to be drunk or is a collector's item.
Also on the wishlist of 27 members.
About the Hampden distillery
The Hampden distillery is located in Jamaica. Rums from Hampden have been reviewed 18,347 times with an average of 8.4/10.
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