Appleton Estate V/X

This rum is pretty smooth for not being as sweet as I am used to. It is hard for me to just mix it with my Sprite, it is just a little too harsh. Now, when I make a rum sour, it mixes almost magically. I would suggest using this with mixes that include more acidity. Things with pineapple would probably work really well.

Full of exotic fruits, not bad. I was surprised how good this is. of course this is not your fireplace, slowly sipping stuff.

Typical Apple Estate... very rich flavor..smooth..for me its better than the 12 yo.. one of the rums I drink the most

This is my go to rum for rum and coke. Incredible flavours make it tasty so you can enjoy the drink without smashing it down.

When mixing, this will succeed, when mixing with other rums, it'll do even better. It is okay neat, but not its strongpoint. This can mix with almost any flavor and stay pleasant.

This is a good upgrade from Appleton's Special Gold, being smoother and more flavorful. Better as a mixer but I'll sip in a pinch.
Update: Thank you to those who recommended this with apple juice. AJ smooths it out... or I should say this rum subdues AJ's overly sweet flavor. Use an organic 100% juice mixed 1:1.

Very nice rum either on rocks or with cola, great aroma and color

Rhum agréable, sur les fruits secs, les épices. On peut y aller les yeux fermés vu son prix. Bien fait, pas transcendant tout de même

its a typical mix drink or to drink with a coke i find it rough on the throat

I have to say for Appleton the V/X which is a blend between 5 and 10 year old (hence the V and X) is a great rum to start out the morning with. It is a nice lighter flavored rum not so strong with the oak or oak barrel flavors produced in the extra, 21, or 30 year. While clearly the 12 which is a blend of 12-18 or the 21-30 year old rum offers much more to the palate the V/X is not bad when you don't want a full on aged rum. This also beats the estate reserve which previously carried the aged statement of 8 years but no longer does. The 8 year while slightly aged longer considering color and oak flavor does not demand the 10+ dollar premium.

I personally find the nosing to be spicy, vanilla, rather subdued little detectable alcohol. The end palate which does offer a few seconds of astringency but quickly flows to a rather flavorful enjoyable finish which does last for a few min. I get more spice in my sweet finish with cinnamon, clove, and oddly some light chlorine on the tongue after the spices fade like I just jumped into a pool.

Overall a decent rum in this range for sipping and to start out any day and continue perhaps until the evening when another rum to finish the night may be called for. Subtract the astringency most likely due to younger blended barrels aged with column distillate and you have a real winner here above maybe a 6-7 rating. While Appleton has claimed the rum remains the same in the new label we can only hope that this astringent quality has been reduced or eliminated such as it was in Brugal's update of their Anejo. Hopefully they took out the chlorine which is very evident when drinking other aged rums along side.