Appleton Estate 50-Year

Pours a beautiful dark mahogany, great legs. Great aroma of brown sugar, loads of oak, a touch of mustiness. Flavor is very wood-forward, which is to be expected for such an old rum. Still had a nice touch of molasses to it. I wish it was offered at barrel proof…
Good, not great, really great history and story to the bottle. Glad I tried it.
12/25/23
Bay Bistro @ Sibbone, Turks & Caicos

Unlike most of the reviewers here I am lucky enough to own bottle #18 of 800. I was originally worried it was going to be too oaky as the 30 year old is to me but was pleasantly surprised at the drink ability of this rum. The bottle is now half empty and that should tell you all you need to know.

So, I've been a rum conissuer since 2010....by no means an expert, but I have had more than my fair share of rations. All this to say that my review isn't based on the jaw dropping price or the age statement. ....strictly on taste. I shared my small 100ml sample bottle with a rum group at Appleton Estate and Joy herself. But don't get your hopes up.....I brought this bottle from home (not something the Distillery will have). My first thoughts when tasting is how amazingly smooth it is.....then realizing that there is a noticeable lack ok heavy oak (especially for such a long aging time). Next the flavors hit....chocolate, toffee, and honey tones. This was an utmost relief as I blindly purchased two full size bottles without having tasted the rum inside. So I am relieved to know I now own two bottles of what I consider to be the best tasting rum ever!

Incredible flavor, beautiful aroma, and splendid color

Nose: Honey, molasses notes accompanied by banana, mild spices.
Palate: Maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, banana and honey.
Finish: a very nice and very long finish.

It's not everyday you get a chance at something like this so if you see it at a bar then you really need to splurge. It's not overly oaked but instead a very deep profile of spices and slight hogo. Remarkable rum.

So the closest thing to this unsurprisingly is Appleton Joy (which is much more affordable) but the 50yo is like the perfected version of joy. It’s ridiculously smooth and heavily orange peel flavored almost to the point that you could start saying things like “tangy”. From the taste perspective it’s very unique and worth paying a bucket of money ($250-$300) for an ounce in the elite bars that carry it. From the bottle and box perspective there is no equal even the iconography have jamaican-rooted symbolism

Very nice sweet and smooth aroma with vanilla tones. Taste is same perfect ballanced, complex and swweter (but no too much) turning in wooden tannine aftertaste (aftertaste similar to 30y).
I was so lucky to get and taste one sample.

Was fortunate to get a shot of this rum. Think I took about three hours to finish that shot - wanted it to last as long as possible! Simply the richest, smoothest, most flavorful rum ever. Perfect. Only “10” I’ve ever come across! 🏴‍☠️

I've had my fare share of rums over the years and while enjoying an Appleton and coke on a friends dock had mentioned how much I'd love to try this very rare rum. He happened to have a bottle and cracked it open to pour two neat for us to enjoy. It was the smoothest and most flavorful rums I've ever had. I'd love to taste it again but my piggy bank isn't that big.