Hampden Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaican Rum
Loved by Stefan Persson, Galli33 & 92 more
For curious explorers ready for real Jamaican funk, this navy-strength Hampden blend hits hard with overripe banana, tropical fruit and esters. Mostly used in Mai Tais and tiki drinks, yet sippable for seasoned palates. With 410 RumX reviews praising its wild character and crazy value, it’s a reference bottle for learning what “funky Jamaican” actually means.
- Huge Jamaican funk
- Great for cocktails
- Outstanding value
+9Compare all 12 shop offers from 27.44 €
Details about Hampden Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaican Rum
How does Hampden Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaican Rum taste?
Aggregated from 457 community reviews.
Legendary funky value powerhouse For curious explorers ready for real Jamaican funk, this navy-strength Hampden blend hits hard with overripe banana, tropical fruit and esters. Mostly used in Mai Tais and tiki drinks, yet sippable for seasoned palates. With 410 RumX reviews praising its wild character and crazy value, it’s a reference bottle for learning what “funky Jamaican” actually means.
Fans of high-ester Jamaican funk who want an affordable, punchy navy-strength rum for Mai Tais, daiquiris and tiki drinks that still offers a wild but enjoyable sip.
Those sensitive to high ABV or rough edges, and drinkers who prefer smooth, sweet 40% sippers without strong funky aromas or peppery heat.
How is Hampden Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaican Rum rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict , 7.8 lands squarely in the "Good" band. 80% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 2% 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 457 ratings
Review by Stefan Persson
If you should have just one Navy strength rum in your bar, this is the one. The nose is complex with aromas of esters, fruits and spices. At the palate it’s complex and funky with flavors of esters, fruits and spices. The finish is quite long and dry.
Review by Galli33
This is a power hampden and perfect for cocktails 🤯 Fruity, estery, woody. The 57% are well notable and not integrated very well. Not the best rum for newcomers, who prefer to drink it neat. It‘s a nice addition to the bar, looking at the price tag.
Review by Henning
Funky. Not my taste. You can have it in the bar for the price. Good to use as a mixer because of the % in cocktails, but for me personally not a pleasure to drink neat, even though I otherwise really like Jameika.
Review by TheJackDrop
Dinguerie for the price! To sum up, my tasting notes: Nose: Ester, Very ripe On the palate: Tropical fruit, Funky Finish: Honeyed, Warm, Tropical fruit
Review by Han
Funky and alcoholic - very good for mixing.
Review by Tim
Dieser Rum wurde genau lang genug gelagert, sodass die Esterbombe durch weitere Aromen ausreichend ausgewogen erweitert wurde und sich ein harmonisches Gesamtbild ergibt. Überirdische Komplexität darf man natürlich nicht erwarten. Auch dieser Hampden stellt für mich ein absoluter Preis-Leistung-Knaller dar. Stark!
Review by Adrien
We are almost on a digestif type calvados of campaign there.
Review by Lutz Lungershausen
Erster Eindruck: Funky, knackig, klasse Nase: sehr angenehme und intensiv fruchtige Aromen von Ananas, Birne, Banane und erstklassig kräftige aber harmonische Esternoten. Gaumen: hier können sich die Früchte nicht ganz gegen die 57% durchsetzen, Röst- und Holznoten sowie leichte Röstaromen folgen. Abgang: warm, intensiv, mittellang Fazit: Smith & Cross doch mal wieder öfter aus dem Lager holen, Notiz an mich selbst: Nachschub vormerken
Review by Anonymous
Comparing this to Doctor Bird and it has a similar nose but a much sharper taste. More “alcohol” than I like. Probably won’t buy it again.
Review by Jean Louisss
A pure Jamaican !
Review by deanopeez
Ah, so this is what "funky" means! I think I learned it's not for me. Yet. Too much alcohol, too little sweetness for my current palate. Couldn't make it work neat or in a cocktail, so it's low for now, but I'm certainly not giving up on funk for good.
Review by David Sharman
Fantastic value for money. Yes it tastes young but has great balance, flavour and holds its own as a sipper against much more expensive bottles.
Review by Adrian Wahl
Three years ago I celebrated him still as a revelation in May Tai and now he gets only 76 😂. In view of the price but in my eyes a must have for the house bar, especially if you still do not have too many Jamaicans at home. Meanwhile in May Tai on my scale also only 2/5 🇯🇲.After tasting again I take away another three points. 73/100
Review by Steve the Barman
All my Tastings and Scores are purely based on “Rums under £50”. I rarely look at Rums over £50 for my YouTube.
Review by Joachim Guger
I'm really not a Hampden fan, but it did not taste so bad to me. And the 30€ the bottle...
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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 Single Cask Rum
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Expert review by Rum nagykövet
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Expert review by Rhummer
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Expert review by Rum Runner Labs
"So this is what “esters” are! 😂 A super fun rum, though a bit much for me to drink neat. Can’t wait to mix with this—leaving unrated until I do (but as a sipping rum it’s getting 7.4) Refractometer: 17.6% brix Edit: As a daiquiri or barbados, really incredible! 8/10 for mixing, so I’ll give it a 7.7 overall for me :)"Read full review →
Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
"It might well go great with a bit Ting - jammin!"Read full review →
Community purchases
1,395 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 442 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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