Reviews: The Appleton Family of Rums

[Arctic Wolf]

The Problem with the metal cap begins after the rum is initially opened. When the caps are originally pressed on, there is enough compression for the cap to stay on tight under a wide variety of conditions. But when they are first twisted off, there is a tendency for the metal to deform (There is usually a kind of perforated seal which must be broken). I have had many occasions when the cap would no longer tighten properly. Also without the bottom part of the cap affixed anymore (remember you had to tear apart that perforation, there is no longer a compression fit.

I would not have been so hard on the presentation score if I had not paid more that $30.00 for the bottle.

[JMac]

Originally Posted by Ben

Hi Chip,

A point I thought was worth mentioning. The VX that we drink in Canada is not bottled in Jamaica but in Kittling Ridge premises in the Niagara valley. You can read on the bottle distilled and blended in Jamaica, bottled in Ontario. According to Ed, the rum is blended with a small amount of rum distilled in Canada to reduce the taxes. I would be curious to do a side-by-side tasting with a bottle from Jamaica.

I don't see that mention on other Appleton by the way.

Damn I wasn't aware of that fact. How would Canadian rum added to VX reduce taxes? Is it similar to broadcasting where certain medias have to have Canadian content?

IMO...I would think that the taste of the VX is altered, no matter how slight, with the addition of the Canadian rum.

Would VX sold in the US be the pure stuff?

[Arctic Wolf]

In order to avoid paying import taxes and such Canadian Law allows distillers to add a certain percentage of liquid content. I am going out on a limb here as I am not familiar with the exact proportions, but water is a liquid. My believe is that the rum is shipped to Canada in bulk, and bottled here where the majority of the addition is water to bring the spirit to 40 percent by volume. I think the percentage of actual rum distillate added is less than 2 per cent. (I may be wrong about water being added. When I am not sure of details like this I do not like to incorporate the information into the review but I do not mind discussing it here.)

Now according to the Appleton rep, the rum distillate added must conform to taste standards set by Appleton. My Knowledge of John Hall who owns Kittling Ridge, is that he is a demanding individual who does not cut corners. I personally believe the Canadian VX is no more different from the Jamaican VX as one batch will be from another. This is a small batch product and each batch will have small differences which are smoothed out by blending. But I agree it would be interesting to do some comparative testing.

[Arctic Wolf]

I am going off on a side rung today as I continue to review the ladder of Appleton Estate Rums. I call this a side rung because the Appleton 151 Dark Jamaican Rum is not part of the progressive ladder I have been following from the Entry Level Appleton VX up to the rare old Appleton 21 Year Old Rum. As well this rum is no longer advertised on the Appleton Estate Website. I am unsure whether the rum is in production anymore, although a friend of mine who visited Jamaica told me it was still available and was a local favourite amongst Jamaicans.

I cannot verify the claim, but I am confident enough of its veracity that I am going ahead with my review.

Here is an excerpt:

“…Sweet burly molasses and spice is about all I can say at this point as the strength of the alcohol numbs the palate before much else can be deciphered. I let everything sit in my mouth for a little while and decide that the flavour is quite complicated, but as I mentioned, the heavy alcohol strength has numbed my ability to distinguish anything individual….”

For the complete review please click on the following Link:

Review: Appleton 151 Dark Jamaican Rum

I did a little mixology research for this review and found two nice punch constructions which I used with the Appleton Dark Jamaican Rum to great effect.The Punch recipes are “forrest Approved”. I think you will enjoy them!

As this rum is not in the MOR data base the link takes you directly to my review.

[Arctic Wolf]

Appleton Estate Master Blender’s Legacy

My journey up the ladder of Appleton Estate Rums is almost complete. This week’s review is another re-visitation to an older review. I opened a new bottle of Appleton Estate Master Blender’s Legacy, and started fresh as if I had never tasted the rum before.

The Appleton Estate Master Blender’s Legacy was produced to recognize three generations of Appleton Estate Master Blenders, Joy Spence, the current Master Blender, Owen Tulloch, the previous Master Blender, and, David Morrison the current protйgй of Joy Spence. All three blenders have set their mark on this luxurious rum.

The rum itself is a blend of rums which range in age from 18 years to 30 years.

Here is a excerpt from my review:

“…The rum continues to surprise me in this second review. The texture is cleaner than I remember, almost like a good whisky. Tart spices of orange peel, lemon are laid behind a backdrop of clean pure oak. Sweeter flavours of baked fruit (apples and pears), brown sugar and honey lie under these spices….”

Of course the entire review may be read here:

Review: Appleton Estate Master Blender’s Legacy

I have left the original review at the bottom of the page in case it interests you in seeing how my perceptions have changed!

[Arctic Wolf]

This is the final review in my series of Appleton Estate Rum Reviews, which I began to publish about two months ago. The impetus for the review series was an invite offered to me to attend a free tasting of Appleton rums in my hometown. I received a small sample bottle of Appleton VX, and since I owned just about every other Appleton Estate Rum up to the 21 year old I thought it would be fun to review them all. The 30 year old just about to be released in my locale will be missing from this review unless I can acquire a sample at a later date.

Although the reviews have been published separately spaced out over two months, I did a lot of comparative tasting between the various ages and styles of Appleton. My final reviews scores are accurate reflections of how I judge these rums relative to each other. You can find all of my Appleton Reviews in the Ministry of Rum Data Base.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…The rum is a rich dark brown colour which leaves a thick film on my glass when it is swirled. This film slowly releases thick fat legs back into the rum. As I watch the legs slowly crawl down the sides of the glass, the rum brings forth mild brown sugar and orange citrus notes. But.. as you wait the nose begins to change…”

You may read more here:

Review: Appleton Estate 21 Yr Old Rum

As well my friend forrest and I have collaborated on a new cocktail we call THE MONK’S UNCLE.

Enjoy the review and cocktail.

[PopolZ]

I often read your reviews for my purchases and I've had a bottle of 21yo for about a month now. In your review you said it's a smooth rum. I don't know if I got a bad bottle (is it possible!?) but I think it's everything but smooth. My Master Blender's Legacy is a lot smoother. It tastes like the 12yo but stronger in orange peel.

[Arctic Wolf]

Hi Popol Z

Your comment surprised me as I did not recall mentioning anything about the 21 rum being smooth.

"I yearned for the sweetness I could not find, but realized that the sharp orange peel and more bitter oak flavours would not allow this sweetness to assert itself. The promise of brown sugar spices and cinnamon bun deliciousness was never realized, and instead a complex bevy of bittersweet oaky flavours held dominance...."


That comment from my review seems to match your observations. (And I like the MBL much better too and even the Appleton 12 to my mind was superior.)

Please let me know where I used the word "Smooth" in my description because as I skimmed my review I could not find it. (I am tired so maybe I missed it.)

[PopolZ]

I was a little tired myself, I used the wrong word. Soft was the word, not smooth.

In the Mouth 53/60

The rum is very soft

My mouth almost get numbed by this rum. The first time I tried it I was a little sick and thought that was it but I ain't sick anymore and it yield the same result.

[Arctic Wolf]

Ahhh!

Now I know where the confusion began. When I said the rum was soft, I was talking about texture. The rum has a lot of oil which gives is a soft texture in the mouth. My quote was:

"The rum is very soft, yet it has that signature Appleton Estate citrus spice that coats the tongue when the rum is introduced into the mouth. The spice is all orange peel and old oak, full of tannin and sap...."

I had assumed that anyone reading the review could tell from my description that even though the rum was "soft" (IE lots of oil to make it almost chewy), inspite of this softness it was full of orange peel and tannin and sap.

I understand your conclusion and I apologize for confusion. It seems I added 2 and 2 together and got 3 3/4 and you added 2 and 2 together and got 4 1/4.

To be fair to me I spent much of the review discussing the sharpness of the flavours and how I felt that the oak and orange peel might be overdone. Including this statement.

"I sense the blenders are straining to contain the oak flavours after 21 years of aging and perhaps they are losing the battle."

and this one:

"This particular rum has been aged for 21 years in the in the altar of oak. As is their right, the Gods of the Oak made a choice. They chose to quell the sweetness, and allowed the oak and tannin to master the rum."

To be fair to you, once you had misunderstood my wording (which as I said was understandable), my warnings of the sharp orange peel and strong oak flavour was in your mind a muted warning. Sorry!

Try that cocktail I suggest at the end of the review, it is fantastic!