Appleton Estate 1994 Hearts Collection Velier 26-Year

1994 - The last of the 3 bottles I tasted.
To sum-up, this 26y one is very similar in every aspect to the others : very complex, zest-y, fruity, woody, orange peel, fresh medicinal finish, high 60% abv but well integrated. Each tasting session is a long-lasting experience.
The 1994 is even more woody - maybe a tad too much to my taste - and more mineral, with a hint of tar. Which gives one more dimension to the flavours profils.
Not my favorite - just personnal tastes and feeling- but still a beauty.

Please note that these expensive bottles will all disappoint you if you are into light, sweetened rons. We are speaking of very pungeant, dry, old and flavourful spirits. Absolutely great in their category but not for everyone tastes.

I think this is the best in the Heart Collection. It is the most balanced, ABV 60 with 1184 g / 100 LAA . It is also the oldest, but not as high on esters than the 1995. Bit dry with typical Appleton notes, fruity and spices. No sugar or addictives added.

Třetí ze série, jemný, zlehka štípne, ale i tak velká dobrota 👏👏

Ve vůni pomerance, karamel. V chuti jsou cítit estery, ale krásne vyvážené. Jde cítit opět pomerance, drevo a karamel. Úžasný rum

Decadent nose with dried fruits, caramel, dark hot chocolate and freshly scrapped vanilla pods. Taste accentuates the nose with the similar rich velvety coating the palate. What an amazing spectrum of well balanced flavours. Complex with a long, long finish. Faultless creation. Top of the class for me.

Heavy, full and long. Really full of esters and fruits (orange), chocolate and wood. I personally prefer 1999 but this one is really intensive, same as 1995. You will not spend whole evening with this bottle, but take it it on special events, that's what it deserves. Extraordinary. The most intensive and one of the rare ones. You will remember it for long.

This is a higher ester molasses based rum produced on a pot still at Appleton Estate in Jamaica from the “hearts” of the distilling process in 1994 and then tropically aged for 26 years in used white oak casks before being bottled at 60%. 26 Years of tropical aging is a *very* long time - roughly akin to 54 years of continental aging. Suffice it to say, this is a rare treat.

In some respects the nose on this rum is quite similar to some of the fairly long aged rums I have had from Worthy Park and Long Pond. On the nose I get deep Black Cherry, Wood Varnish, Guava, and a very strong Grilled Pineapple note. Behind that I get slight overripe Banana and just a tinge of Orange Peel. The nose here is quite rich and intense especially on the Grilled Pineapple and Black Cherry notes. It is very enjoyable to simply waft this rum from my Glencairn glass.

The palate is intensely woody - as would be expected given its time tropically aging in the cask. The first note I get is Cherry Cough syrup followed by intense oak. You can taste the wood here to an intense degree. After the intensity of the wood note dissipates I get more Black Cherry ice cream and a heavy dose of Wood Varnish. The experience in the mouth is akin to enjoying a cup of Black Cherry ice cream with drizzling of Cherry cough syrup while intermittently chewing on a piece of furniture…and liking it.

After the rum leaves my mouth I am left with the essences of Black Cherry ice cream and Wood varnish. However, the finish is significantly shorter than I would have expected given the amount of aging here. This rum does drink a little hot, which is expected given its strength.

All in all this is quite an enjoyable dram even if it is not quite as spectacular as I had hoped. Speaking honestly, I think this one spent a little too long aging in a tropical climate. It has some interesting notes but times the intensity of the oak overtakes everything to the extent that that is all you can make out. High ester Jamaican rums can produce some incredibly complex fruity notes, and some aging accentuates that perfectly. Here I think the extremely long aging dulls some of those exciting notes. I would have like to taste this rum aged at 8 Years or so. However, regardless it is still very enjoyable in its own way.

Short Description: Black Cherry Ice cream with a drizzling of Cherry cough syrup while intermittently chewing on furniture - in the best possible way.

ABV 60%

Country of Origin: Jamaica

Distillery: Appleton Estate

Nose: Black Cherry, Wood Varnish, Guava, Grilled Pineapple, overripe Banana, Orange Peel

Palate: Cherry Cough Syrup, deep Oak, Black Cherry ice cream, Wood Varnish

Finish: short, Black Cherry ice cream, Wood Varnish

Final Thoughts: This has some of those wonderful classic high ester Jamaican notes. It also has some delightful long aged qualities. Though I also think in this instance it perhaps aged a little to long in the sweltering humidity of the Caribbean. All in all it is a delightful sip, though perhaps not quite as spectacular as I had hoped it would be.

Very complex, delicious rum. A lot of fruits and spice.