Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12-Year

I mix tiki and Caribbean cocktails and this offering by Appleton is my go to for most drinks. I really enjoy sipping it or in a simple rum, sugar and lime mix, the unmistakable flavor of banana and other fermented fruit always works in exotic drinks. It is a bit strong for sipping but I enjoy it from time to time.

Jamaica is known for its funky rums, which can be overpowering for beginners. This rum is not nearly as funky as the Jamaican rums can get, so it is a good start for beginners in the Jamaican style

Nose: Molasses, burnt wood and brown sugar
Taste: Caramalized bananas, molasses and a hint of wood
Overall: This fills the mouth instantly with its big and flavourful taste. The aroma would make you think that this is a very sweet rum, which isn´t the case.

nice sipper to relax with. It's sweet yet also has a nice kick. Wont be mixing this as it doesn't need any help.

A good example of Jamaican rum.Good for sipping or mixing.
Sweet and spicy.

Lots going on here, flavour hit like a hammer. Mixing mine with coke and ice and it’s very good. Flavour just goes on and on . Wish I had a good cigar. The price is great too

Grabbed a bottle of this after my honeymoon to Jamaica! Enjoyed it very much! This rum brought me to dark spirits. Over the years I strayed away from rum to whiskey but am venturing back and plan to revisit the Appleton lineup for a revised rating/review!

N- Full, delicious brown rock candy with small tropical stone fruits of duku langsat and mangosteen. The fruity aromas in this one are unique, with superb tangy notes, exotic and surely a good sign for the quality. Remains very fresh and zesty throughout, amicably lasting and evolving with cola + lemon, sweet basil, pine and leafy. Nuttiness of cocoa and almonds emerged at the end. (22/25)

P- Hoppy bitterness with warming ginger, followed by brown liquorice. Mouthful of oak with abundance of raw spices with dryness mouth coating. (21/25)

F- Medium-long, with lingering hoppy notes, green herbs and dash of sourish dark cocoa. (21/25)

Balanced- Bold oak driven that probably masked the interesting fruity aroma from the palate and finish. (20/25)

Weighted Rate:- 84pt

— at The Rum Bar KL.

Tasted side by side with Royal Jamaican and Monymusk special reserve with four other people. This was the clear loser. It’s sippable, but barely. 7 would be an extremely generous score.

I haven't try previous version of this rum so I have not to compare but this one is very good. I am big fan of english-style rums and especialy jamaican ones. I liked their VX/signature blend but they are good only for mixing. They are was too rough and hasn't fit to drink neat. This Rare Blend is better. It's not too harsh but it could keep its jamaocan nature hidden in the woods.

Best rum I have tried so far. No added sugar, but not too sweat. Spicy and strong. Absolutely top for the price.

It’s together with Chairman’s Reserve and the 5 year old English Harbour my best every day rums by moment.
Th balance is good, it’s fruity and spicy and you can taste the barrel.
Picture: My Appleton shelf.

Nice rum sips well but personally rather it as a fine mixer rum for good quality cocktails ! Comes in a fine presentation box I use mine as a coin pot :)

Funky Jamaica mixed with a lot of dark fruits, oak and spices. Charming and mysterious.

Depuis mes récents débuts dans le rhum, j'ai plutôt testé (et apprécié) des rhums assez sucrés: diplomatico, el dorado 12, centenario 20 emperor sherry finish... A la lecture de certains articles sur la quantité parfois impressionnante de sucre ajoutée à ces rhums, j'ai voulu en tester un qui se montre irréprochable de ce côté là: je m'attendais donc à un rhum très sec, moins facile à boire et moins dans mes goûts...
Et là, agréable surprise: pas du tout!
En fait, on retrouve dans ce rhum des saveurs similaires à celles de l'eldorado 12 (caramel, fruits exotiques). Certes, un peu moins de corps et de rondeur vu l'absence de sucre, mais malgré tout une belle douceur en bouche et beaucoup de caractère!
Sans renier l'eldorado 12 qui est un rhum que j'apprécie beaucoup, à choisir entre les deux, , j'accorderais une petite longueur d'avance à cet Appleton Estate compte tenu de son côté plus "naturel" et moins "trafiqué". La preuve qu'on peut créer un rhum tout à fait intéressant sur le plan gustatif, sans pour autant le "doper".
Si on ajoute à ça un prix très raisonnable, je ne peux que vous conseiller de le tester!

Nice stuff with real pure taste without added sugar. Big differens between this and other sugeradded rums. Nose: bunch of raisins and other tropical fruits. Palate: a bit sharp in a good whiskey way, raisins and banan with arrak. Thumbs up!

This one exceed my expectations for this price. Good sipper

This is something different than what I usually drink. Im more into the spanish type of rum but this one really had me open my eyes to jamaican rum and the english style. But the screw cork is a big minus!

Bought this with some vouchers i had and for £38 it’s not that great. Quite rough on the palate and with some slight burn. It’s ok but not great.

Needs to breathe a bit before sipping. Good for the price and worth buying.

Nice and spicy (hot pepper) ! perfectly balanced, smooth and punchy at the same time ! Great value !!!

The bottle isn't anything special, kind of hard to grasp so afraid of dropping the bottle when pouring with one hand(not important).
The aroma is very sweet, not so stingy as other rums with 43% alcohol can be.
Its mid-range smooth taste that's very enjoyable.

What makes this rum special is that it's a really good rum for the price. Its never going to be better then the more expensive options even tho it can be for some. But at this price range it is a very good and affordable rum.

Lesser sweet with strong bark taste. More likely like cognac. Ideal with cigar.

El color del Ron que refleja la botella es bueno, presenta un ron de buena coloración y cuerpo.
Al olfato es muy bueno, se perciben notas achocolatadas.
Al gusto tiene un comienzo dulce que deja percibir chocolate, caramelo y madera.
Un buen Ron.

On the dry and spicy end of the rum spectrum. Bitter finish. Neat addition to any collection at a reasonable price