Distilia Hampden The Virtues Chastity by Robert Bauer C<>H 1983
Loved by DomM, zabo & 36 more
For seasoned enthusiasts only: a 42‑year Hampden that drinks fresh and vibrant. Layers of grilled pineapple, tropical fruit, balanced esters and light leather, with barely any wood. Widely hailed as world‑class on RumX.
- Insane balance
- Vibrant tropical fruit
- Elegant high esters
+9
Details about Distilia Hampden The Virtues Chastity by Robert Bauer C<>H 1983
How does Distilia Hampden The Virtues Chastity by Robert Bauer C<>H 1983 taste?
Aggregated from 38 community reviews.
World‑class, fresh old Hampden For seasoned enthusiasts only: a 42‑year Hampden that drinks fresh and vibrant. Layers of grilled pineapple, tropical fruit, balanced esters and light leather, with barely any wood. Widely hailed as world‑class on RumX.
Seasoned Hampden fans and collectors wanting a rare, long‑aged high‑ester rum that stays fresh, fruity and elegant instead of woody or brutal.
Beginners or casual drinkers, and anyone uncomfortable with very high prices or intense high‑ester Jamaican profiles.
How is Distilia Hampden The Virtues Chastity by Robert Bauer C<>H 1983 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict , 9.5 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 →
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Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Based on 38 ratings
Review by DomM
Hampden at its best on the nose. Notwithstanding its exceptional age, there are lots of funk and esters alongside solvent notes not the nose. Yet we are looking at an excellent balance between funk and wood providing an intense and deep nose carried by a potpourri of tropical fruits and Hampden‘s grilled pineapples. Very buttery on the palate. Intense and complex. Lots of fruits with grilled pineapple on the forefront. You can definitely taste the exceptional age. The rum shows a very delicate balance of wood and high esterey Hampden goodness, while bitterness only shows up at the very end. Here again driven by wood but als the C<>H esters which are very well balanced in the profile yet in no way tamed even after so many years in the cask. Very, very nice! Side-by-side with the RA 1983 HGML: RA is overall very intense and comparatively more „brutal“, leaning more into esters and an adstringent mouth feel. Chastity is likewise intense and very recognizable high ester Hampden yet exceptionally well balanced and more complex than brutal. For now I cannot judged one better than the other but will put both on par at the very top of my Hampden scale. So the RA is no longer my most favorite Hampden, but one of two, I guess? :)
Review by zabo
First of all, MANY THANKS to Rob for the sample in advance. Now a few words about the rum from me. My top pick from Hampden has always been the RA HGML 1983. In a direct comparison, I couldn't decide which I really like better. The RA is much more intense due to the higher ABV, as they say, the full bomb in the face. The purity, as Rob said, is more the wonderfully well-balanced one. I would call it (and I mean that 120% positively) a HIGHEND EASY SIPPER, one of a kind. After having had quite a bit in the glass now, I absolutely no longer hesitate to rate my points higher for such exceptional rums.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Good breakfast Rob! Thanks!😅 Jokes aside: really surprisingly fresh and lively for 42 years of aging! The typical Hampden esters are there, lots of overripe, almost sour pineapple + banana, some bacon fat, brown nut butter, and incense. The wood influence is relatively low and not too dominant for such an old Hampden. Instead, a pleasant light acidity (lime) and sweetness (honey) join in the finish. The alcohol is perfectly integrated and spot on. Nice one Rob! Overall, I still like the RA 1983 HGML from back then just a bit more. The few years less in the barrel and the 10% higher alcohol make the difference for me.
Review by Banana Joe
This rum is a true gentleman, charming you without being pushy. You gladly spend the whole evening with it and it never gets boring. And despite its advanced age, it has stayed young, so it fits me perfectly 😉. The just under 48% ABV makes it very pleasant to drink, the esters come through wonderfully without overwhelming you. The slight acidity in the finish harmonizes perfectly with the potpourri of tropical fruits. It has spent so much time in the barrel, so you should also give it time in the glass to reveal all the impressions it has gathered in more than 40 years. Thanks to Rob for letting me taste this rum. It was an honor.
Review by Skyfly
A wonderful drop that you just can't get enough of! Even the nose is a blast – perfectly balanced tropical fruits, esters, and baked goods are extremely intense without being intrusive. The palate continues this, with light wood, leather, and a minimal spice note rounding out the whole package and fading gently in the finish. What’s really amazing is that the extremely long aging hasn’t made the rum woodier. Besides that, the intensity is just perfect despite the low ABV! This could definitely be my bottling of the year in terms of quality!
Review by TheJackDrop
Impressive. I never would have guessed from the nose that this rum was so old. It still has so many aromas and so much pep! Tropical fruits, honey/butter caramel, esters, solvents, and a softer finish intertwined with leather notes... a sumptuous rum that time has polished without ever fully taming it. Another great juice from Lord Rob!
Review by Thomas Wille
First impression when opening - 42 years. No way. Young, lots of esters and a big range of fruits. On the palate, then completely different again - round, balanced, super relaxed 48.7% ABV that fits perfectly. A magnificent old rum!
Review by Righrum
Just triead at Rhum Fest (thanks Rob for sharing), more detailed notes will follow but also at the first sip I can tell this is a timeless Spirit. Old and refined, yet vibrant and lively. Hampden is there with both his soul. The funky fruit and the almost smoky high esters. The nose moves between fruit (pinapple) and the esters that are high in count but not out of balance. The palate is elegant with a slight acidity that calls for another sip, and keeps evolving going from a basket of ripe tropical fruits, to old leather and then to pastry. Simply an amazing, again!
Review by Florent Apl
Incredible rum in the first sense of the term, I would have never guessed how old this is. It's extremely well balanced, sweet, there is an acidity on the palate. It's very well done and this is definitely something i would buy and drink on special occasions.
Review by Julien Huitel 🇫🇷
What a joy to be able to taste and discover this Hampden so old! And what a discovery!! A nose rather fresh, fruity! A slightly strawberry side! You find a hint of Jamaican funk but with finesse! The palate is different from the nose! So disorienting but again delivers a nice surprise! With roasted notes! Roasted sesame! Toasted, popcorn. Very long length, endless! A side of black olive tapenade or even matured black olive and always this dominant roasted and toasted side that lingers for long, long minutes!!! A must have!
Review by LesTontonsMaltés
A rum from 1983... and yet an insane balance! Given the age statement, you'd expect wood, but not at all here!! It's so noble! The Esthers are tangy, almost melted! Incredible
Review by Johannes Eisner
Nose: youthful freshness with pineapple, solvent, and delicate green olive but with great composure and intertwined maturity. Palate: A wonderful sweetness and some fruit at first sip, then more green olive with fresh oregano. Never bitter and always balanced. The finish could maybe be a bit longer. With just under 49%, this rum is generally on the delicate and elegant side for a Hampden and not a beast you have to fight and chew forever. But that also makes it simply fascinating due to its impressive age and very distinctive among all the heavy hitters. Great rum!
Review by kargoles
Nose fruity and good balanced. No alcohol on first. A little bit of solvant tropical juice The taste is really sugarly and tropical juice really good balance. And the best is long taste in the moth
Review by Jürgen Menner
First of all, thanks to Rob for letting me try this wonderful rum. My first impression after pouring: On the nose, a nice balanced ester note with tropical fruits in the background. On the palate, pineapple, ripe banana, varnish. After about 20 minutes in the glass, the ester note slightly recedes and solvent and tropical fruits come to the forefront. On the palate, a certain sweetness of tropical fruits comes forward, and at the same time, a light taste of tobacco and leather appears. For me, an absolutely beautiful balanced Jamaican rum and absolutely unusual for the age, I find no notes of wood, it feels like a young relocated rum, and the longer it can breathe, the more you get the feeling that there is a brandy made from white grapes in the glass.
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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 Zucker und Zeste
"When I look back at the previous releases in the series, what stands out to me most is that the "Chastity" is the release with the least wood influence. At first, that felt like a break in the red thread of the line. But the more I think about it, the more it actually fits perfectly with "Chastity." Sure, a Highester Hampden is still a Highester Hampden. But after 42 years, the world looks different here too. The acidity is somewhat tamed, the fruits are even riper, the edges smoothed off. The distillate noticeably calmer. The ABV more relaxed. This development is probably the real message of the "Chastity": it shows not only what Jamaican rum can be, but also what happens to it when you give it time. This rum isn’t shy, but much more relaxed."Read full review →
Expert review by Barrel Aged Thoughts
"In one word? Opulent! A truly exceptional rum, even for Hampden standards. My Hampden benchmarks so far have all come from the brutal corner: TRC 1990, RA 1989, Nobilis 1993. Very high ester content and well over 60% ABV. Clearly aged, but not yet rounded. The Chastity Hampden 1983 stands out quite noticeably, except for the ester content, and these rums really aren’t suitable for comparison. And yet these rums are exactly the league in which the new Hampden plays, which is why I also cross-tasted the TRC, for example: because I wanted a face-to-face with my benchmark. For me, the 26-year-old TRC Hampden 1990 remains at the very top, but the preference is minimal. Both complement each other more than they compete. Because as much as I love the brutal side of a TRC, for example, it also means you rarely pour yourself such a rum in the end. And that’s where the relaxed easy sippin’ comes in with the Virtues, which also invites you to take bigger sips. The only real downside is the price, which is really steep! Not that it’s not justified, especially when you look at the stocks of old rums at Main, which are increasingly tending towards no longer existing. What we’re experiencing here are the last remnants of a time that probably will never come back, the final act of old, long-aged Old School Hampden, and the brokers know that. And yet €1050 is just a seriously big chunk of money that first has to come out of your wallet. But if that’s the case, you get to enjoy a truly outstanding drop!"Read full review →
Community purchases
28 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 47 members.
About the Hampden distillery
The Hampden distillery is located in Jamaica. Rums from Hampden have been reviewed 18,923 times with an average of 8.4/10.
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