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Habitation Velier Hampden <>H 2016
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"Esters are estering," as one member put it — and that's the honest headline here. Glue, nail polish, overripe pineapple and banana up front, with young oak and a peppery, slightly bitter finish. Most people find it genuinely tasty but young: the 62% bites early and it opens up a lot after an hour and some water. Classic Hampden funk, not the most polished.
The community says- Big tropical funk
- Glue and pineapple
- But: Tastes young
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How does Habitation Velier Hampden <>H 2016 taste?
Summarized by AI from community reviews.
Young, funky Hampden ester bomb Well-liked as a funky, fruit-and-glue Hampden with well-integrated alcohol, though several tasters call it young, a touch harsh, and short — good, but outshone by older siblings.
Aroma profileFans of high-ester Jamaican funk
Anyone wanting a soft, polished sipper
Style & occasion: Tropical & funkySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
75 of 160 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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Rated better
Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2005
8.8/10236.23 €
Milder
Hampden Great House (Distillery Edition 2020)
8.7/10
Similar rating, cheaper
Velier Hampden Pagos Sherry (Batch 2) 2023
8.3/1087.69 €
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First choice: 73 of 88 tasters who tried both prefer it.
What does the community say?
160 community reviews
48 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
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Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by Romain de L
Very nice nose : old leather, glue, quite typical Hampden and hints of violet / black fruits in the end. Nice attack, quite dense, incredibly long finish, with almonds, frangipane. Alcohol well integrated. Recommended !!
Review by cigares
Most helpful positive review
Day 1 Samples de Luxe calendar. Tasted again a year and a half later. Pale yellow color. On the nose, banana compote, Jamaican funk, rum raisins and a vegetal, dried herb side. On the palate, a fairly lively attack with alcohol and tropical fruit. Nice aromas, but rather one-dimensional, like a fruit spirit. Long finish, a little more interesting than the palate. Very well-integrated wood. A very fine rum. To be tasted again after a little oxidation. It's done, and the oxidation gives this rum a beautiful harmony.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Most helpful mixed review
Quite a nice Hampden but too young and too expensive for me. Above all, it tastes really intensely of marzipan, grilled limes, bitter almonds, honey banana, caper brine and young wood, but I find it lacks a little more depth. Delicious and surprisingly sweet, but definitely worth it.
Review by DomM
Funky Hampden 🎉 Maybe a little young but nevertheless quite nice and round given ester content and ABV. As a secret contender in a 2013/14 cross tasting the HV came out pretty well, but not in the top spot. While we are looking at different vintages of course, the HV was noticeable more balanced and less funk forwards/punchy.
Review by Adrian Wahl
Certainly not the best HV release, but compared to many recent releases, this is already a good rum. I adjust my rating upward by one point.
Review by Galli33
This is a very nice Hampden and quite good drinkable despite his high ester content and the young age. From start to end a cool high ester/hampden adventure! The alcohol is integrated very well. The finish is long and delicious too, but a bit astringend
Review by Christoph
The fruits here are more of the sour variety (lime, pineapple). Despite the quite high ester content very mild and soft.
Review by zabo
Also a very nice bottling, but again clearly ranks behind the DOK. The nose is dominated by glue and nail polish. In the mouth, the alcohol is better integrated than I expected. Nevertheless, I lack the final funk for a better rating.
Review by Serge
Delicious, tropically matured <>H ... I simply prefer a few years tropical to decades continental - with exceptions, of course. Pronounced, overripe tropical fruit notes (pineapple, but also some banana plus glue and solvent, young wood, almonds, cookies and marzipan. Delicious. For me, however, it could have stayed in the barrel a little longer.
Review by alex
Hampden hyper Classic. Funky but not too much. Not very surprising even though it's good, especially after a good hour in the glass. A bit disappointed, I expected better. Nevertheless, it's still drinkable.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Another great rum from this bottler. Fruity from nose to finish and has a light touch of wood from palate to finish. Nice and funky release at a good price when released.
Review by Jakob
Compared to the older Hampden representatives in the Habitation Velier series, shows less of the heavy sweetness and also still shows too brash alcohol, which makes it fall off a bit. Solid Hampden, which overall is still enough for a very good rating - but especially with the Hampdens there is another quality class, in which this bottling can not play.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A young Hampden with raw strength, displaying strong phenolic (solvents, esters, glue and varnish) and fermented notes on the nose, with a hint of medicinal notes, brine and vinegar. Very ripe exotic fruits and citrus fruits are also very present. There's no doubt about it, this is a funky profile in its purest, most concentrated form. The attack on the palate is direct, frank and straightforward. Very ripe exotic fruit explodes on the palate, followed by a phenolic explosion that pierces the mouth from side to side. Tannins dry out the palate, accompanied by spicy notes and acidic citrus flavors (lime). A slight woodiness also emerges. A powerful, astringent profile that could put a boxer to sleep. The very long finish sticks to the teeth. Exotic fruit, citrus, phenolic, tannic and fermented notes all come together in a festival of flavors. There are also hints of young wood, bitterness, green olive, salt and mineral notes. A very heavy, powerful rum, which shows, at 5 years of age, that it's got plenty under the hood. The alcohol could be a little better integrated. The profile is interesting, but a few more years of ageing would have brought out more of its potential.
Review by Portman
Definitely has the potential to be a top bottling if it were allowed to mature for another 5-6 years. But already very good and intense as it is.
Review by Benoit Mahe
Not the most successful Hampden Habitation Velier but still a serious Hampden. The finish is not the most pleasant and the integration could be better to put it on the same level as some others. It might have deserved a couple more years in the barrel.
Review by Domi Mal
Wild young tropical Hampden! The nose is great, esters, banana, tropical fruits, citrus fruits, marzipan, really great! On the palate unfortunately not really "round" in some places as round as such a high-ester representative can be. The alcohol is not perfectly integrated and unfortunately a few off-notes sneak in. In the finish you feel the cask and a decent bitterness lingers! Overall a "solid" <> H - but expectations were higher!
Review by Mentalo
It remains high Hampden quality with (fermented) fruits, esters, marzipan and young wood. Alcohol is well integrated. But almost boring for a Hampden. And unfortunately it brings me personally too much acidity.
Review by John Coffey
One of the best hampden!!! Very brittle and alcohol very well integrated
Review by Alan Bertoli
You can already smell the aromas just by pouring it into the glass without even sniffing! Tasted in sample. On the nose, tropical fruits like very ripe banana and pineapple stand out, the alcohol is perfectly integrated, a slight note of vanilla and coconut emerges that reminds of something sweet. On the palate, the alcohol is very present and warms the mouth, the tropical fruits return, a bit of spiciness balanced by a pinch of sweetness. I believe the power of the funky notes has been tamed by the 10 years of aging. Very long and fruity finish.
Review by MarcT
Wow, this is a Bomb! It is more i tense than the DOK from Rum Artesanal i opened recently, but it is also younger. I dont think I need to tell much about the fruit cocktail, that is quite overwhelming. Together with the ABV this gives a lot of power, and i cannot see this as a regular sipper. Surprisingly, the tongue gets a lot of wood mixed in, that complements the (rotten) fruit and Ananas Mix quite well. It also improves quite a lot with some additional water. A little anecdote on the side: i tried the first half of the sample during my holidays, and sat myself outside on the patio in the evening - surrounded by bloodthirsty mosquitoes. After having the glass sitting there for a while i noticed the beast were all gone...
Review by Schnubbii
Today a comparison of the Velier Hampden <>H RX9149 with 5 years tropical maturation with the one year tropically matured Mark <>H from the new (2024) 8 Marks Collection from Hampden with one year maturation each (no RX number yet) as well as the Sample Seventeen (Work in Progress) Jamaican Blend (RX15533) with 18 months continental maturation. All three rums are quite similar on the nose, but the 5-year matured Velier is naturally more mature than the other two, but the Sample from the 8 Marks range has more freshness and the Sample Seventeen has a little kiwi, which I don't find in the other two. The same picture on the palate, the Velier has more maturity, but is still a little youthful and slightly harsh, but still very tasty. The 8 Marks <>H shows its youth even more, of course. The one year of maturation has perhaps polished off the roughest edges a little, but in addition to the Hampden-typical potpourri of fruit, I also find a note of fruit brandy. The Sample Seventeen comes in between, and despite its youth I still like its power very much. I'm very curious to see what a little more time in the barrel will do here. All three have a medium-long finish. I like Sample Seventeen and the Velier very much, the slightly matured 8 Marks is a nice experiment 'for science' and fits in well here for comparison.
Review by Vincent D
Like many other bottles in this Hampden series released by Velier, this <>H doesn't denote. I find the usual markers, to which is added a discreet oakiness that I found less disappointing on other bottles.
Review by Martin Augustin
A good Hampden that is very pleasing despite its young age. Ester and banana on the nose. This is also reflected in the taste, complemented by marzipan and pineapple. A little salty on the finish.
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
And to finish this tasting, the <>H has a nose dedicated to those who love the characteristic, bewitching notes of High Esters (varnish-solvents). Baklava is in the nose with its almonds, honey ... and fruity on banana, orange, pineapple. The nose is pretty crazy, but a little wiser than its big brothers HGML and C<>H. The palate, on the other hand, is not as gourmand as expected, but perfectly balanced. Notes of solvents, varnish, spices and overripe fruit. Jamaican High Ester indeed! The palate is long on spices and leather.
Review by Winetrader
Very nice rum, very good for an initiation. Nice balance in the mouth, dense
Review by Frank
It's young! The alcohol bites a bit. So the nose isn't quite rounded yet. But quite nice: tart citrus fruit, maybe kumquat with pineapple. Clearly esters, leaning towards detergent (but meant positively). Also clearly vinegar. A slightly tart caramel sweetness comes in as well. Not bad on the palate. The esters come through clearly. Those typical anise-marzipan notes right away. Tropical fruits that I can't clearly classify as pineapple or banana. Slightly bitter lime peel but also mandarin-sweet. For Hampden standards, sufficiently tasty.
Review by gali jo
After 1hour in the glass it's becoming wonderful, the "too young" of the begining is gone
Review by Sebastian Kornett
Great Mark. I like
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Hampden, legendary Jamaican distillery, which besides rum also produces alcohol for perfumes. In all rums from this distillery you feel wild esters, after which your whole body soaks in the scent of yellow tropical fruit - mango, papaya, pineapple, peach. One of the rums you "must try before you die"
Review by mto75
The esters show their 💪, but 🔨not…👍💎H
Review by Lukas Jäger
Hampden power, but in its infancy. A nice profile with typical aromas of the distillery, but somehow still a bit too young. Surprisingly short in the mouth, which is different from what you know from Hampden. Still very tasty, but it can't quite compete with the big ones.
Review by Christian Rudt
Tasted in comparison with the Elliott Erwitt. This one is quite a bit more alcoholic. But Hampden always remains a brilliant profile. Makes you immediately wish for Jamaica 🇯🇲 And the comparatively higher ester content comes through well here. Needs more time than the EE, then it gets a bit closer.
Review by Gaylord Ho
It's young and it pops! The alcohol is well present, don't hesitate to let it breathe a bit. A Hampden that I find classic but effective. I find quite a lot of floral taste anyway.
Review by Daniel Jungberg.
Tasting at "Basecamp" on 03.09.2026 Sample from F.Kraemmer. 👌 Nose on an adventure👃: I sense a lot of ester compounds! Banana as the most dominant scent, but also pineapple, citrus, lime, vinegar & lovely freshness! Tongue on an adventure 🥃: I taste funk and ester! It's warm & intense, but also dry and astringent. You can't get past the banana. The same goes for the sweetness in the form of marzipan. The acidity gives me the taste of lime! For me, there is also a distinct taste of orange peel. It's fresh, aromatic & slightly bitter with a strong and concentrated citrus aroma. Yum! 🤤 The tail of the story💫: Here it really stands out. Lime yes please. Anise/sweet licorice. Light wood notes. There's vinegar, green olive, green pepper & a mineral delicious taste! The aftertaste lingers but also tightens the throat. A big thanks for a world-class rum! 🇯🇲
Review by BnBrt
New tasting: better than in my memories. +0.3 On the nose, glue and rubber first then fruits with already hints of acidity (passion, cherry, sour plum). Attack a bit soft, alcohol is well integrated and supports without being annoying. Exotic fruits are there - a bit funky. The finish is really very long. A bit of rubber and bitumen, with especially frangipane, a real king cake. A great rum
Review by ilRummista
Very good rum, not my favorite Hampden from the Habitation Velier series. Great nose. Palate initially not up to expectations especially as soon as the bottle was opened. Now it has been about 6/8 months and the rum with oxygenation has opened up a lot, releasing new aromas, making it much more palatable.
Review by Thunderbird
Der braucht Zeit im Glas, anfangs überwiegt neben Ester der Alkohol! Mit der Zeit gesellen sich feine Nuancen von Ananas, Zitrus und etwas Süße hinzu! Am Gaumen zuerst Süße, dann Ester, Ananas und Zitrus… anschließend erstaunlicherweise junges Holz, pfeffrige Noten und je länger im Mund, adstringierend und minimal bitter werdend! Dieses bleibt auch im Nachgang, der nicht allzu lang ist! Irgendwie ist das ganze nicht ganz ausgewogen, eher jung und wild!
Review by Rene Pfeiffer
The young wild one from Hampden
Review by Roman Lelek
The most describing is honey and overripe tropical friuts in funky glue. Nosing - i can smell sweet honey sugarcane…with glue and nail polish. Even if having higher ABV, it’s incorporated in the taste, no alcoholic sharp ending. The taste is refreshing and balanced - and it also develops while the rum is resting longer in the glass. Banana and overripe fruits and esters… I have higher rating because I really like Jamaica these days..
Review by Jarek
Franconian Tasting Gang November 2025: The 2016 <>H from Habitation Velier had to compete against the new 2017 <>H Itineraires from Velier (RX25040). For me, the Itineraires beats the HV by far. While the notes of glue and solvent in the HV are almost unpleasant, they are more restrained in the 2017 and let its delicious fruit notes play out.
Review by Jacques etdom
On the nose, exotic fruits, a hint of smoke and varnish. On the palate, it's lively, with a youthful feel. The smokiness plays equally well with the tart fruit. Nice long finish. A few more years would have been great.
Review by Fuwi
Comes across quite sharp, a few drops of water make it smoother. Great ester bomb
Review by Alexander Rasch
My RumRatings review from 5 years ago: My first High Ester Rum 😁: The rum should be given time to breathe after pouring, because the aromas it releases are crazy and anyone trying this rum should have some experience with Ester rums. The nose is super intense with lots of glue, adhesive, sweet very overripe fruit like banana and pineapple. The barrel influence is actually barely present and only noticeable through a bit of sweet vanilla. The nosing is fun. On the palate, the rum stays extreme. Clear intense Ester notes make themselves immediately noticeable. Glue and overripe fruit are caught by a slight sweetness. Now bitterness and some wood come in. The Ester notes remain very present and extremely long-lasting. Wow. My first High Ester Hampden Rum and I really enjoy drinking this rum. Also in combination with the LFCH, which has significantly more sweetness and barrel influence and therefore seems a bit more complex and mature. The <>H is for me a great rum for learning and an absolute highlight. A drop makes every average rum exciting and therefore very suitable for blending. Due to the somewhat missing complexity, only 9.5. Not an everyday rum. Here the LFCH is actually superior. I love Hampden. 👌
Review by Nika
Nice one. Banana scent is there. Esters are estering. :)
Review by Olimpia1936
A well-made Hampden on the level of its predecessors.
Review by Ondra RumRunner
Hampden Habitation Velier 2016 is an authentic Jamaican rum with high ester content, showcasing an intense and funky profile. The nose is dominated by pineapple, tropical fruits, esters, and a distinct glue note, providing a fresh and citrusy impression. The palate reveals a blend of banana, tropical fruits, and subtle woodiness with a hint of pepper. Its dry, fruity profile is complemented by a light sweetness, making this rum a very complex and memorable experience.
Review by Romanodeltauro
Preference for this Hampden <>H tropical vs the Hampden Samaroli <>H in continental aging. Aging on site gives much more subtlety to the rum. The ester aromas are more controlled, the mouth is rounder, always on the Hampden markers: tropical fruits. A very good tasting rum, very good for its age.
Review by Barnagricole
Improves with oxidation.
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Expert reviews
3 critics scored it, averaging 8.2/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by Zucker und Zeste
Rich in esters, but also still very young. As a result, it lacks a bit of the complexity and sweetness of its older brothers. Aftertaste is also quite short.
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
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Expert review by Les amis des amis du Rhum
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Expert review by Préférence Rhum
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Community shelf
310 bottles logged by 232 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
15% opened, 16 emptied.
What does Habitation Velier Hampden <>H 2016 cost?
Community paid 103–160 €.
Current best price: 119.00 € – within the typical community range.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 116 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
+7 additions in the last 3 months.
Additions per month over the last 12 months; dark bars: the last 3.
310 purchased · 166 tasted · 72 wishlist · as of
Details about Habitation Velier Hampden <>H 2016
A Pot Still Rum from Jamaica, bottled by Habitation Velier, at 62%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
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Habitation Velier Hampden LFCH 2011
Habitation Velier Long Pond STC❤️E 2019
Habitation Velier Hampden DOK 2017
Habitation Velier Hampden LROK 2010
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