For its third edition, the Magnum Series sets sail for Trelawny Parish, Jamaica, into the atmospheric heart of the Hampden Estate distillery. Each year, La Maison du Whisky and its Italian partner, Velier, invite a Magnum Photos photographer to capture the soul of a distillery through a week-long creative immersion. For Series #3, Spanish photographer, Cristina De Middel explored Hampden’s maze of fermenters, pipework, overgrown facades and humidity-soaked rooms, transforming these raw spaces into surreal, cinematic compositions. Four of her photographs illustrate the labels of this new collection of rums, distilled between 2016 and 2021 across a variety of Hampden marks. This Hampden 9 Years Old 2016 LROK is the first in a chronological sequence that gradually increases in aromatic intensity. LROK (Light Rum Owen Kelly) represents one of Hampden’s most emblematic marks, characterised by an ester range of 200 – 400 g/hlpa. Bottled at 60% ABV and produced in both 70cl and 150cl magnums, this limited edition showcases the estate’s signature interplay of high esters, vibrant tropicality and controlled tension. Expect classic bursts of petrol, bright fruit, floral lift and a lingering halo of vetiver, notes that rise unmistakably from the empty glass long after the tasting. Founded in the mid-18th century and operating continuously since 1753, Hampden Estate is one of Jamaica’s oldest and most revered rum producers. Renowned for long, wild fermentations and traditional pot still distillation, Hampden creates some of the world’s most intensely aromatic rums. Its marks range from balanced, fruit-forward profiles to extreme ester concentration, each reflecting a deep-rooted fermentation culture unique to Trelawny. The 2016 LROK captures this heritage with clarity, offering a refined yet unmistakably Hampden expression shaped by history, terroir and time.
