Aroma visualization from community tastings
Old Brothers Hampden Jamaican Rum (Esters & Co) La Source HJF 2008
Overripe pineapple, glue and olive brine, with banana and marzipan underneath — this is Hampden's HJF mark at full 60.8% cask strength, aged 13 years tropically. Most tasters call the alcohol beautifully integrated despite the proof, and several rank it among Old Brothers' best Jamaicans. Give it a good 40 minutes to open; the fruit hides behind solvent at first.
The community says- Well-integrated alcohol
- Overripe tropical fruit
- But: Runs hot late
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The look inside the bottle
How does Old Brothers Hampden Jamaican Rum (Esters & Co) La Source HJF 2008 taste?
Aggregated from 65 community reviews.
Funky, fruity high-proof Hampden HJF One of the better Old Brothers Hampdens by most accounts — funky, fruity and well balanced. It drinks a touch hot on the finish, and it needs real time in the glass to shine.
Hampden fans who want funk, esters and cask strength
Beginners and anyone wary of solvent, brine and high proof
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
37 of 65 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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How is Old Brothers Hampden Jamaican Rum (Esters & Co) La Source HJF 2008 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.8 sits in the “Very good” band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
98% rate it 8 or higher. 37 selected write-ups from 65 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by SaibotZtar
Needs some time in the glass ... 45min it should already be, then a great fruitiness comes to light ... nice ester and glue notes , Hampden very clear to smell and taste. Good bottling at just reasonable price .
Review by Maxence
Fruity, sweet and funky at the same time, a true Hampden. Another great Jamaican release from Old Brothers ! I can't wait to taste the HJF 2002 😊
Review by DaveLamb
Very similar not only 02, 08 and Plantation HJF 02, but also to <>H 01. Similarities: lots of tropical fruits, overripenness, just the right amount of petrol and banana, dried/candied fruits, solvent taste (more obvious in plantation) Baking Room: This one has more pastry flavor, more sweet flavor, very light wood tone, very little. Dried fruit tastes like it's been cooked. It's thick, and nosing in particular is intoxicating, but not too complicated overall. It's the least complex among three, but it's the most pleasurable of all, and has a nice aroma of sugar.
Review by mto75
one would like to shout to OB: there you go! Again significantly better than the HJF 2002, and almost on the level of the Plantation HJF 2002, which I poured as a reference in the other glass. The OB comes a little more over the ester rail and with varnish, with the Plantation I still have a little more complexity, somehow towards Christmas spices (candied orange peel, cinnamon stick). On the palate, the OB also knows how to convince, the 60.8% is well integrated, however, the 70.3% is really hammered in the Plantation. So the OB does not quite come up to the Plantation HJF 2002, but still top level!
Review by TheRhumhoe
Probably one of the best Old Brothers bottlings to date. An absolutely sumptuous nose with typical Jamaican aromas, a mix of ripe tropical fruit, solvents, butter and other phenolic aromas that blend harmoniously and masterfully. The 60% are not perceptible at all on the palate, the attack being very fruity, with notes of red fruit on the finish, for a complex, intense and very round delight. The finish is just as pleasant, with saline and menthol notes and a feeling of glue on the teeth. A real treat.
Review by Johannes
On the nose, first a lot of glue, which fades with time. On the palate nice mixture of esters, peach, glue, marzipan.
Review by LukaŽiga
9:On the nose, esters, solvents, varnish and nail polish, funky, flowery and vegetal molasses with briny olive, overripe tropical fruits like banana and pineapple, citrus and red fruits, almonds, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, the wood is roasted, smoky with cream toffee, buttery, spicy, the molasses is grassy, herbaceous and some rubber arises. 8,8:On the palate, the attack is medicinal with esters, solvents, funky, intense, yet balanced, fruity with overripe tropical fruits like banana and pineapple, red fruits, vegetal with black olive, grassy, herbaceous molasses, as the wood is roasted, smoky with cream toffee, bacon and meaty notes, spicy with vanilla. 8,8:The finish is long, dry, with roasted, smoky wood notes like marzipan, caramel, BBQ, nuts, sourdough bread, spicy, pairing vegetal molasses with olive, chilli and overripe tropical fruits, medicinal tones like esters, iodine.
Review by Timo Groeger
And third from last, a funky Hampden. Definitely overripe tropical fruits, banana and pineapple. Ester is also noticeable, but not too pronounced. Otherwise, we have a little solvent.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#5646 08.09.2025 Enjoying some samples after an extended workday helping a colleague. Nose Intense, light wood, faint smoke, fruity, spice, light nutts, banana, overripe, light glue. Palate Intense, warm, oily, light wood, fruity, overripe, light glue, faint apple, light citrus, light anise, faint rubber. Finish Very long and warm, light wood, fruity, oily, spice, light rubber, light clove. Empty glass Fruits, cinnamon, light coffee, light tobacco.
Review by Jakob
Lots of overripe fruit, spicy-tart wood notes with concise but well-integrated roasted notes and heavy sweetness of vanilla, marzipan and syrup. Very good rum, which alone with Hampden but again only enough for the midfield.
Review by Enriko Špinler
29.7.2025 – Tasting after a long time :) Exclusive aroma in the glass, wow! Nose: Esters, tropical fruit, butter, olives, dried fruit. Taste: Red fruits, esters, solvent, intense, funky, olives, vanilla. Finish: Medium-long, tropical fruit, esters, marzipan, salty
Review by Thunderbird
An excellent HJF, with excellently integrated alcohol, you can enjoy it for hours! This Mark is a lot of fun. In contrast to the Plantation, it can almost be described as quaffable 😉
Review by Adrian Wahl
Really fun. Lots of Hampden essence. HJF continues to be a rarity as a marrow. Nose opens after 30 minutes and the rum flows through the room. Very good release from OB, price for OB even quite okay.
Review by TheJona'Spirits
👃 boom! Tout y est ; fruits tropicaux avec en dominance l'ananas très mûrs, puis la banane flambée, mangue pourrie, jackfruit trop mûr. Des amandes à coques grillées, des esters pétillants, du funk à gogo, toutes sortes d'olives, puis du vernis, solvants et même des hydrocarbures. Un magnifique nez tout ce qu'il y a de plus typique chez Hampden. 😋 Explosion de saveurs funky! Chaleur des épices insulaires (piments, poivre rouge, baies roses, vanille en gousse sur le marché), les fruits tropicaux trop mûrs (jackfruit, ananas gorgé de soleil et de sucre, banane, mangue) et je dirais même quelques oranges sanguines amères. Les olives bien sûr, plus vertes que noires, saumure, les esters vivaces, du vernis puissant. Excellente intégration de l'alcool malgré les 60°. Un délice. ⛳ Longue, très longue, chaude, pimentée. Une association caractéristique des hauts marks d'Hampden entre le sucré des fruits tropicaux trop mûrs (beaucoup de dés d'ananas) combiné aux salaisons de poissons (hareng, morue). Le verre vide sent la mer, les embruns, mais aussi la réglisse et la menthe fraîche. Note éparse de fraises au sucre. 💡 Du même niveau que le Plantation HJF 2008, le côté fruits secs du fût de Cognac en moins, pour davantage de funk brut. Peut être un point au dessus.
Review by Skyfly
Kleines Old Brothers Jamaica X-Tasting: im Vergleich zu seinem älteren Bruder (RX11172) gefällt er mir besser, da er insgesamt runder wirkt und die unterschiedlichen Aromen besser miteinander harmonieren.
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
Super concentrated nose in esters (surprising for a collaboration with Esters
Review by Chrischi78
Beautiful Hampden. Perfectly integrated alcohol. One of the best Old Brothers bottlings! Tropical fruit, solvent, butter and phenols on the nose - harmoniously combined. Soft and round despite 60%, fruity on the attack, salty and mentholated on the finish.
Review by Rodolphe
Superbe HD En nez et en bouché, très classique du genre mais très bien fichu. En comparaison avec son homologue de chez plantation, je le trouve juste un peu en dessous (alors qu'il est nettement plus cher!)
Review by TheJackDrop
What DINGUERIE again from Old Brothers, these guys have a nose for Jamaica. It's really an incredible product, pineapple caramel salted butter, light woodiness, and lots of ester glue funk, it's really ultra gourmand and deep. Extraordinary.
Review by Jc69
Nose on the green olive.Taste on the fruit.Saline finish that can remind some white agricultural rum.Very good!
Review by Jussi Piirainen
It took nearly an hour for this rum to open up in the glass. On the nose: OK, it was worth of the wait, this is a quite complex profile. Esters and solvents are nicely blended with typical Jamaican rum notes like overripe pineapple and bananas. Olive notes in the back and i also get somekind of fatty, charred bbq note at the back aswell. Taste: Fruity, rich, complex and high abv is giving the rum a good body. Esters are on a good level, this rum not a ester bomb. Finish: Tropical fruits, little bit of vanilla, little bit of salt and barrel notes. Smoky/menthol kind of notes in the background. Interesting combination of notes as a finish. Long finish. This rum is delicious. Out of Old Brothers HJF mark rums this was leaning more towards a typical Hampden profile rum than the others. The complexity and integration of esters with fruit notes makes this rum stand out and i would put this rum to my Top 5 Jamaican rums -list for now.
Review by Djehey
Très bon ! Gros fruits tropicaux mais avec une belle structure qui donne de la profondeur. Bouche intense de plaisir. On sent le vieillissement tropical. Donne un profil plus riche, complexe et diversifié.
Review by Léo Delek
Bête de rhum. Ayant le palais formaté à l'agricole je suis plis difficile avec la mélasse mais celui la m'a vraiment bluffé. A regouter sobre 2eme degust : un très beau hampden équilibre avec juste ce qu'il faut d'exuberance. Toujours l'ananas sur mur avec pas mal de fruits murs voir de l'arlequin, un boisé et un fumé très fin qui en fait un rhum très équilibre tout en gardant son caractère 3eme degust Nez : colle patex, massepein/frangipane, fruits chimiques (fraises tagada, yaourt à la fraises, bonbon banane, ..) Bouche : on retrouve ce qu'on avait au nez avec un bois très légers er du poivre/piment.
Review by Basti
In direct comparison with the Plantation HJF 2008, a little more varnish and glue on the nose. Overall, the two bottlings are on a par and differ - if at all - only in nuances.
Review by John Coffey
Old brothers grosse maîtrise dans ses choix.. Un beau produit qui embaume la bouche.. À voir avec le plantation ce que ça donne
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Hampden, legendarni jamajska destilerka, ktera krome rumu produkuje take alkohol do parfemu. Ve vsech rumech z teto destilerky ucitite divoke estery, po kterych cely vas organizmus nasakne vuni zluteho tropickeho ovoce - manga, papaji, anansu, broskvi. Jeden z rumu, ktere "must try before die"
Review by Maxime Clr 🇫🇷
Très beau Hampden, bien équilibré. J’ai aimé l’a touche de fraise et d’olive derrière un ananas surpuissant. Belle sélection de chez OB.
Review by Jeremy Roger 🇫🇷
Au nez c'est très végétal. Je perçois l'olive en première attaque puis les fruits tropicaux et la palette jamaïquaine. Le hapden est bien présent au goût, mais j'ai un petit arrière goûts de fruits rouge plutôt léger. Après aération de 40 min c'est très différent, les fruits sont bien plus présent et le côté solvant et piquant se fondent dans cette trame et leur donne un pep's très appréciable. Le boisé se ressent un peu plus aussi. Très bon ! Nécessite une bonne aération
Review by BnBrt
Beaucoup de funk, je ne retrouve pas "l'ananas explosif", a retesté un peu plus ouvert. Nez sur la colle derrière lequel se cache du fruit et un peu de boisé humide (sous bois). Un peu de tabac. First kiss agréable, un peu court en bouche qui est compensée par une très belle longueur avec une finale sur le massepain. L'alcool est très bien intégré. Attaque assez gourmande, peu de fruit, un peu de gras.
Review by Yves Remord
Rum étonnement très fruité malgré ses esters, les 60 et quelques degrés sont magnifiquement intégrés. Le nez et la bouche révèlent des aromes d'abricot et mirabelle assez inhabituels pour un rum jamaïquain. Très agréable globalement ! Seul défaut, manque peut-être un peu d'amplitude, ce côté très prenant en bouche qui vient englober tout le palais. Belle découverte
Review by Adrien B
Nez : Esther bien présent, joli fruité vif reste frais et accueillant Bouche : puissant mais super bien intégré. Fidèle au nez, je suis étonné par la fraîcheur sur ce profil.
Review by Jacques etdom
Un nez intense sur un fruité presque new yarmouth, de la colle, de l acetone, des paquets d esters, mais egalement de la vanille et une legere coco du fut de bourbon. Ca donne envie d y plonger. La bouche est toujours bourrée d esters, de fruits tropicaux et toujours cette douceur rotie et tres fut de bourbon, qui vient equilibrer a merveille le tout. Il faire tres stce avec plus d esters. Belle finale qui donne envie d y revenir. C est ultra addictif. J adore !
Review by Rum man
A great Hampden since it is a Hampden. Even though the alcohol is well integrated given its ABV, I believe it would have benefitted from being watered down slightly. It drinks a bit hot towards the finish where it starts tingling on your tongue. Apart from that you will love it for its classic Hampden profile.
Review by Michal S
Solidní Hampden klasického střihu, tedy s přezrálým tropickým ovocem a estery/laky/rozpouštědly. Milovníci jamajských rumů určitě neudělají chybu, když ho vyzkoušejí.
Review by Michal Jurka
Velmi funky a přitom takový jemný. Velmi vydařený. Vyrovnaná dávka ovoce a chemie s trochou rostlinnosti/květinovosti a náznakem krémovosti.
Review by Barnagricole
Nez : violette, orange, ananas pourrie, solvant, peinture, rond et fleural. Concentré mais avec une certaine légèreté. Amande amère. Bouche : entree tout en douceur (alcool bien intégré), texture mi grasse, fruit exotique, fraise, banane, levure. Finale : amertume, mêle a compote de banane
Review by MJ97
Au nez, le classique fruit mûr jamaïcain avec les esters. Du solvant, de la saumure / vinaigre. Un fond de massepain / amande amère. Un petit côté floral type huiles essentielles. En bouche, énormément de levure à l’entrée de bouche, puis mélangée à un côté pâtissier / très rond similaire au nez puis l’amertume de l’amande sur la finale. Alcool super bien intégré
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Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Les amis des amis du Rhum
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Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 101 € – 158 €
from 2 sales, latest 07/2026
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 172 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about Old Brothers Hampden Jamaican Rum (Esters & Co) La Source HJF 2008
A Pot Still Rum from Jamaica, bottled by Old Brothers, at 60,8%.
Community purchases
65 bottles logged by 55 collectors.
A drinker & collector.
21% opened, 5 emptied and repurchased.
What did the community pay for Old Brothers Hampden Jamaican Rum (Esters & Co) La Source HJF 2008?
Community paid 139–184 €.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
65 purchased · 67 tasted · 21 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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