Trailer Happiness (the bar where I currently work) does oftenly get American and Canadian guests that are very interested in rum and tiki drinks. They are quite recognisable from their flowery outfits, which often rival mine, and their desire to sit at the bar as close as possible to the rum selection. One such person is Chase Sampson, a lovely rum and tiki enthusiast who I met a little over a year ago at Trailer. I remember at the time we were having a very interesting conversation about rum availability in both the US and the UK and as we were talking I, somehow jokingly, told him to bring me a bottle of Hamilton next time he comes by.
Fast forward 1 year later to December 2023 when I receive a message from Chase saying that he is back in London and he actually brought me a bottle of Hamilton 151. Imagine my joy and surprise! Obviously, I couldn’t say no and I offered him a bottle of Cotswolds Treacle rum in return while enjoying a nice chat and some drinks together at Trailer. This is the story of how I got my hands on this bottle and a little glimpse at how amazing the rum community can be.
Hamilton 151 is widely available in the US, but unfortunately it is not on the UK market at all, hence why I am so happy about owning a bottle of it. I have previously briefly reviewed this using a sample I got from a friend, but I thought this story and bottle needs its own post.
This rum was created by Ed Hamilton, the founder of the Ministry of Rum website and forums. According to the Lone Caner, Ed Hamilton was aiming to create his own range of Demerara rum and he did manage to do so in 2015, hence Hamilton 86 and Hamilton 151. Apparently he was not allowed to use the “Demerara rum” moniker, but he got around it by saying “Demerara river” on the label instead.
Hamilton is distilled and aged up to 5 years at Demerara Distillers Limited in Guyana before being bought in bulk at 77% ABV and reduced at 75.5% ABV for bottling. I know this is a blend of pot and column distilled rums, so there’s distillate from at least one of the wooden pot stills – the Versailles or the Port Mourant.
Molasses based, pot and column distilled and aged up to 5 years in ex-Bourbon casks. Bottled at 75.5% ABV without any chill filtration, but potentially with added caramel.
On the nose it smells like you would expect from a Guyanese rum. Caramel, ground coffee, dark chocolate and liquorice. Some burnt paper, old leather and ripe pineapples. It does feel dark with bitter sweet notes. Menthol, raisins, walnuts and burnt orange oils. Dried figs, ripe bananas and a touch of ashes.
On the palate it starts with a burn, but once you get past that some interesting flavours come out. Caramel, coffee, black tea and liquorice. Overripe banana, pears and pineapple. It’s surprisingly fruity, almost with a hint of Jamaican-like funk. A hint of menthol and nutmeg. Cloves, liquorice, black pepper and nuts. The finish is long with liquorice and ground coffee.
This is a great example of a 151 that would elevate a lot of tropical/tiki drinks. Would not recommend sipping this on its own (like I just did in this review), this is meant solely for mixing in cocktails such as the Zombie. It can be found for around $30 in the US which I think it’s fantastic value and I believe the score I gave it in 2020 is very much accurate.
Hamilton 151 Overproof score:
Flavour/taste: 54/70
Value for money: 15/15
Transparency/purity: 13/15
Overall: 82/100
Cheers!
Thanks for the review. I’m desperate to get my hands on a bottle but have the same trouble as you – it’s not available in the UK. I had a brief email chat about this with Ed Hamilton himself last year, and he said that he was in discussions with UK importers and was hopeful that it would be available in the UK by the end of 2023. Looks like it didn’t happen but I’m still hopeful!
Fingers crossed it happens this year, it’s a really good drop!