...
Appleton Estate 12-Year Rum is a blend of several rums aged between 12 and 18 years in American oak barrels after being distilled using small-batch copper pot stills.
The rum is produced on the Appleton Estate, which sits in the Nassau Valley in Jamaica. The estate’s origins date back as far as 1655 when the English overthrew the Spanish to rule the island and Frances Dickinson, grandfather of the distillery’s founders, received the land as a reward for his role in the overthrow.
Sort by: Popularity | Newest | Oldest | Rating
×
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.