Raising Glasses Papilio 6 Year (Hampden C<>H)

Reviewer: Pickwick (with notes from Tashtego)

Distillery: Hampden Estate
Origin: Trelawny Parish, Jamaica
Bottle Size: 500 ml
Bottle Count: Unstated
ABV: 67.6%
Distilled: Unstated; presumed 2018
Base Material: Molasses
Still: Pot
Aging specs: Unstated; presumed continental aging
Bottled: Unstated; purchased June 2026

Nose: Vanilla cupcake, Meyer lemon, apple orchard
Palate: Grilled pineapple, apricot, campfire marshmallow
Finish: Citrus oil, almond

This release is actually a collaboration between the American IB/importer Raising Glasses and the Danish IB Nobilis, which bottled the rum to be released in America under the Raising Glasses name. (There is a Nobilis-branded release out there as well, which appears to be of the exact same rum, based on the proof.) I noted in the review of the Astor 2021 C<>H single barrel that this bottling was “just as good” when it came to recent releases of Hampden’s second-highest ester mark. In truth, I nearly wrote “better” but held back because I hadn’t sampled this one for a while. Revisiting it for this review, I’d like to revise my opinion back to what I originally thought: this is better.

(Before I begin, because I don’t want to stick this at the end and go out on a low note, I just want to offer one piece of constructive criticism regarding the bottling of this rum: the cork was a real issue. Tashtego and I each got our own bottle; his cork broke the very first time he tried to remove it, and while I was able to get mine out safely the first time - probably only because I’d been warned - the second time it broke too. I think the cork part was maybe too long and skinny, or something like that? There wasn’t enough cork securely attached to the stopper end to avoid ripping right off when any force was applied to remove it from the bottle. So, if RG do another 500 ml release in the future, I just want to suggest trying an alternate cork. Okay, on with the review of the actual rum.)

Let’s start with the proof. Despite coming in at a robust 67.6%, Papilio is stunningly drinkable and doesn’t have the same issues of ethanol vapors pouring off the surface and stinging the nostrils that I had with the Astor pick. It’s a highly pleasant nose, sweet and fruity; unusually, I did not find it to be dominated by pineapple notes the way Hampden noses often are. The palate certainly makes up for that, though, with grilled pineapple and stone fruit all over the place. That slightly ashy-sweet note of campfire marshmallow hit here like it did on the Astor pick, but the carbonized note was not as aggressive. The finish brings even more fruit, with the Meyer lemon promise of the nose resolving into a very lightly bittersweet finish that evokes the oil of a citrus peel, along with a mild nuttiness.

I hate to make this review so reliant on comparing Papilio to the Astor pick, but they’re two Hampden rums of the same single mark, coming in at similar ages. (The Excellence page for the Nobilis bottling suggests that part of the aging was tropical, so that would seem to make them even more similar.) Somehow, despite the higher ABV, this rum is more docile and lacks a lot of the intense notes that were prominent in my experience with the Astor. It’s characteristically high-ester Hampden but simultaneously sweet and approachable, with only mild and periodic hints of the rougher edges of the pungent C<>H mark. This is absolutely a 5 on Taste for me, an all-around delight. Haste scores can be a little tough for rums that are sold out, but this was a literal 4 for me (since I had to order it). If you like Hampden at all, I’d buy it if you happen to see it anywhere online or in real life (though in all honesty I have no idea how likely that would be to happen at this point). I don’t think I can quite recommend paying a substantial premium were it to pop up on an auction site, but that’s mostly because Hampden rums are overall pretty easy to come by.

Taste/Haste Scale: 5 / 4