Appleton Estate 12-Year

This might be a bold statement to make but it quite frankly is true. Just like I don't want brandy to taste like whiskey, I don't want my rum to taste like scotch or anything else. There may be some rums that based on the rarified palette of the rum connoisseur are far superior. But I have to ask, are they judging them based on what rum should be or what fine liquor is?

So let me be the first to say that I'm no connoisseur. I am very familiar with most rums that are readily available in your average bar–Bacardi, Captain Morgan, Mount Gay, Myers and occasionally Appleton.

My point is, I am not a snob but do I have a nose and palette that is excellent for determining flavor. Hence, I believe that the true test of rum, is what it tastes like mixed in a drink, more specifically, what a rum taste like with fruit punch or coke? It should be smooth. Not hidden but not overpowering. Then it should be complimentary so that it makes whatever you put it in better. A rum should be able to fit in anywhere. This characteristic is why rum is so good in desserts.

Appleton has many affordable rums, the Special Gold, Dark, VX, Signature, etc... and I have had all of those and some of the more expensive varieties too. Many of those are good and some are great. So while I like other rums and look forward to tasting many that I see on this website, I confidently put the 12 Year Old Appleton up against all comers in a Rum & Coke. I guarantee that you can't find a better rum "taste"!

My favorite mixer when it comes to Jamaican rum. Makes for a pretty damn good sipper as well. Perfect in a top shelf Mai Tai. Perfect in nearly anything that calls for a funky style of rum. I'm hard pressed to find something this doesn't mix in. Master Blender Joy Spence is nothing short of brilliant.I can't recommend this rum enough. Great stuff and extremely well priced.

Top rhum, jamaican style that appreciate so much: orange notes, fruity but not so much, the taste remains very long in the mouth. I live in Panama and i am really found of rhum, my favorite digestive drink.This extraordinary Appleton 12 compared to 21 ( the same but even more concentrate) and many others, is the best quality/value I have seen so far.

My sister brought it for me straight from Jamaica, then I got hooked up and I bought it from time to time because it is expensive compared to other drinking options. If you want the one of the very best rum in the world this is it.
I am a rum drinker, i prefer a good rum rather than a bad wiskey, I am from Dominican Republic so I grew up drinking rum, and I have tasted a lot of rums, I worked as a bartender for a few years.

I have been renting a property from Appleton Estate for few years now. And from the Land and to the staff everybody nice and professional. This agence is Highly Recommended.
Mark, Collin, Rob, Jody and other staff members working in the office. Great job Great Team and excellent properties

I strongly advise you to do what Chaing Kai-Shek used to do when Mao got on his nerves: open a bottle, lean back and Taiwan on.

This is great rum. better than that horse wee-wee Bacardi turns out, especially if you're an actual adult who doesn't drink spiced rum with the bros at the local frat.

And cheap too, an important thing for an old skinflint like me. It's $17.65 US at the Duty Free shop at the Ivy Lea (1000 Islands) Bridge. You can bring in as much as you want as long as you don't go nuts and back a truck up to the loading dock. The American Customs guys will generally let you go with up to 3-4 liters, but even then duty is only $2.80 a bottle. Don't try to lie to them, though because that's another thing entirely.

I don’t understand how this rum is rated so low. The 12 yr old is a combination of aged older rums so Appleton gets a lot of credit for not averaging “up”. The honey gold color (think “bronze”) evidences the American Oak barrel as well as the vanilla. Upon opening your immediately hit by the oak, charred, smokey nose. The mild sweetness confirmed the quality rather than the “smother w/sugar” a number of rum maker default to as a way of hiding mediocre results. This rum is a “Buy” for a great evening of pleasurable sipping.

Appleton Estate (and Jamaican rum in general) may not be for everyone, but it's perfect for me.

Smokey brown sugar, vanilla, and a bit of mango on the nose. It's really pleasant, especially after letting it breathe a little so the alcohol can calm down. The taste that first hits me, especially after coming from a more generic rum, is what I've come to know as the "still funk" that characterizes Jamaica's breed of rum. There's a charred, bitter oakiness that isn't quite smokey, combined with the more iron-like qualities of a dried fruit. It's a bold, bloody, hard to pin down flavor that will either work for you, or it won't. That slowly gives way to some peppery notes, citrus rind, and a medium-bodied, gentle, toffee sweetness that seems to mature and soften for as long as you let it.

Do yourself a favor and skip Appleton's Signature Blend in favor of this. The 12 year is a mature, confrontational, yet gently sweet rum that seems keen to throw you a curve ball with every sip, as long as you keep looking. There's overripe banana, smoke, sometimes maybe apricot? Is that leather? Let me get to the bottom of this glass and I'll let you know for sure.

A bit of funk on the nose, woody, fruity, spicy on the palate, and most of all superbly balanced. Excellent value rum that can be recommended to everyone!

Absolute staple in my rum cabinet. Never go wrong with a glass of this dark beauty