Colours of Rum Hampden DOK Bourbon Cask 2 Year Old Rum 2023
DOK is the loudest voice Hampden Estate has — the distillery's highest-ester marque, running 1,500–1,600 grams of esters per hectolitre of pure alcohol, the legal maximum in Jamaica. Colours of Rum took a June 2023 distillation of that marque and gave it two full years in Europe in a once-used bourbon barrel, bottling it in November 2025 at 59.7% ABV. One of 256 bottles. Where its sherry-finished siblings dress the funk up, the bourbon cask keeps this one in High Ester Rum's natural clothes — the purest read on young DOK in our rum collection.
- Distillery: Hampden Estate, Jamaica
- Distilled: June 2023 · Age: 2 years · Bottled: November 2025
- ABV: 59.7% (119.4 proof) · Size: 700mL
- Marque: DOK (1,500–1,600 gr/hlpa esters) · Cask: Once-used bourbon barrel
- Outturn: 256 bottles · Single cask
The Story
The Colours of Rum project bottles single casks from great distilleries under labels as vivid as the spirits. For Hampden's 2023 vintage they ran a controlled experiment: the same DOK spirit, split across bourbon, Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez casks. This bourbon-barrel edition is the control group — the cask that interferes least, letting fermentation do the talking. For a longer-aged read on the same distillery, compare the Spinnaker Hampden LFCH 8 Year Old Rum 2016.
Tasting Notes
Full-throttle ester funk: overripe pineapple and banana, varnish and glue in the best Jamaican way, green olive and a lick of vanilla and char from the bourbon wood. The palate is hot, bright and oily, finishing on tropical fruit and white pepper.
How to Enjoy
A small pour, neat, is an education in what esters are. It also makes the wildest Mai Tai or Jungle Bird you will ever serve — the funk punches straight through citrus and Campari. Younger Jamaican fire like this sits happily beside the Bedford Park 5 Year Old Jamaican Single Barrel Rum in a high-ester flight.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is DOK?
DOK (Dermot Owen Kelly-Lawson) is Hampden Estate's highest-ester marque at 1,500–1,600 gr/hlpa — the maximum ester level permitted for Jamaican rum, prized for its intense tropical funk.
How was this one aged?
Two years in Europe in a once-used bourbon barrel — the least interventionist cask of the three Colours of Rum DOK 2023 releases.
How many bottles are there?
256 bottles from the single cask, bottled at 59.7% ABV.
Young, loud and unapologetic — available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor for the high-ester faithful.