Appleton Estate 8 / 12 / 21 YO

Not had the 21yo, but while I liked the 8yo I preferred the 12yo.

I read a review saying that rums can spend too long in the barrel. Is the Appleton 12 better than the 21? I have the 12 and like it a lot. Tried El Dorado 12 and 21 and prefer the 12. I have to add water to the 21 but the 12 is perfect as it is.

I personally prefer the 12 to the 21 as well, but with that said I found the 30 better than both as there seems to be a little more going on than just aging (for example the 30 year is 45%abv rather than 43%abv).

I had the 12 yo "normal" and 12 yo "rare" blend and can only comparethose to. Lets say it is the whipcream on your Irish coffe takes it to the next levelvery nice.....You are lucky you can get in the UK not Nethrrlands

Some spirits just have that limit to where they no longer take on any properties of the barrel and just kind of sit and lose more spirit to angel's share. I see that in a lot of scotches after about 21-25 years you might not bother.

I would slightly disagree with Matthew in that spirits, rather than not take anything on in cask after a certain time, often just take on bad qualities from the casks. As for Scotch, he is right in that many people generalise that there is no point going over 20yo. But there are always those that are going to think older = rarer = more expensive = a satisfied ego. And of course there are always going to be exceptions. I have only had one bottle of Zafra 21yo, and while I enjoyed it, i couldn't help but think it had been in cask (for my tasted) just a wee bit too long. I also remember botlling 2 casks of a 28yo Port Morant for a client. One cask was sublime the other not so. They ignored the advice to bottle separately but guess they had to consider the financial side of things and how to get rid of a less than brilliant cask.

Hi all, I've just had my first taste of 12 yr old, ( see my posting), and was disappointed with the overwhelming whiskey flavours. As most of you have tried, and therefore have more experience of the 21 yr old, can anyone tell me if that also has this overpowering whiskey element. I don't particularly want to waste over £100 on a rum that I won't enjoy. Cheers graham

I have tried the 12, 21, Joy 25 and 30 but not the 8 yet. You make me want to pick up a bottle of the 8 next time is see it. What is it about the 8 you find more to your liking? Do you like your rums neat? With ice or water? I like how each one is similar but just a little different. Of the ones I have tired the 25 is my favorite but too expensive to drink often. The 12 is a great "daily sipper"

There are no 12 yr old "normal" and "rare" blends, it was a change in labeling. Although when they added the "rare" they changed the wording from "aged a minimum of 12 years" to just "aged 12 years". Not sure whether that means anything. Rum labeling is not regulated and it could mean it has a teaspoon of 12 yr old rum in it now, but I doubt Appleton would do that.

Tom, I liked the 8 as i felt it was smoother and it was in my opinion easier to drink, as for how i take it, it real depends on my mood if i'm having it at home late at night watching TV ill have it with a dash of coke, if i'm with friends or having a good night straight no ice

12 yr for me. in the other direction of the argument kirk and Sweeney 12,18,23 only gets better with age

How does Kirk and Sweeney compare to Appleton? I found Appleton 12 to be quite like cognac.

Appleton is not as sweet as K&S. K&S has more vanilla and caramel flavors but is sweeter at the same time.

im not saying that Appleton is comparable to k and s. just that i thought it got better with each older age statement. where as the Appleton 12 is better in my opinion than the 21. someone had said they thought over time the rum starts to pick up bad character from the cask.

I've only tried the Appleton 12, but if it's anything like El Dorado in terms of ageing, I'll stick with the 12.

Someone said that a rum can taste to much like whiskey and I couldn't agree more. I have yet to try appleton but I will soon and I hope it has some of the flavors that move a good rum away from just tasting like another whiskey product with far less flavor.

I agreed with Nathan. I just tried the Appleton 12 but nothing compared to El Dorado or Zacapa 23.

Pearsonally I’d rather have the Appleton 12! Sucker for hogo*

casey - and no added sugar, as with most Jamaicans.