Reviews: The Appleton Family of Rums

[Arctic Wolf]

In 1749, in the Nassau Valley of Jamaica, the Appleton Estate Sugar factory was founded. The Nassau Valley is a fertile, interior valley with a special mild microclimate which is ideally suited to the growth of Sugarcane. A water source which wells from a limestone rock formation provides an exceptionally soft pure water which used for the production of Appleton Rums.

The Rum itself is crafted from pot stills in small batches. After blending and aging the rums are ready for bottling. Unlike most rums produced in the Caribbean, Jamaican law forbids the use of an age statement unless the entire contents of a bottle are aged at least as long as the stated age.

This is the first review in a series I am doing on Appleton Rums. I am starting with the Appleton Estate VX and I will work my way up the ladder of Appleton Rums to the Appleton 21 Year Old. This will include the Appleton Reserve, The Appleton Estate Extra 12 Year, The Master Blenders Legacy, and the Appleton Dark 151 Proof. An astute person will realize that I have already reviewed Appleton Estate Extra 12 Year Old and the Master Blenders Legacy. I will take this opportunity as I go up the Appleton Ladder to revisit these reviews and these rums.

Here is an excerpt from my Appleton Estate VX Review:

” The rum displays an amber colour with orange flashes. Surprisingly (to me) the rum when swirled left nice long skinny legs in my glass indicating a buttery oil present. The aroma is very spicy, and full of oak tannin. I smell a firm and distinct orange peel, and light brown sugar and molasses rising in the tangy oak spice….”

I have also included an original cocktail based upon the popular cocktail, The Cosmopolitan. As usual my cocktail recipe has been reviewed and approved by forrest.

You may read the entire review here:

Review: Appleton Estate VX Rum

[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.

[Arctic Wolf]

A good point Ben. I was aware of the small per centage of Canadian content in the V/X but I decided not to mention it in the review. The reason was that I have been assured by Appleton reps that there is no taste difference. I cannot say for sure whether that is true or untrue so I thought it best to leave the matter alone. I probably should add to my review though that the bottle was provided in Canada and is therefore the blend which is sold in Canada.


I was unaware that Kittling Ridge does the bottling, and I find that very surprising. How did you come across that piece of information?

[Ben]

That is maybe a stretch, but according to the New Brunswick Liquor site (www.nbliquor.ca), the supplier for VX is Kittling Ridge. The supplier for other Appleton is J. Wray and Nephew Ltd.

I thought it made sense since KR is distilling different types of alcohol on top of wine. I stopped by once, nice people.

[Arctic Wolf]

This is the second review in the series I am completing of the Rums in the Appleton Estate family of Rums. The Appleton Reserve rum is constructed from a blend of 20 aged rums which have each been aged for approximately 8 years. The rum is intended to be perfect for those who wish to be introduced to a complex rum style meant for sipping neat and for using in sophisticated cocktails.


Here is an excerpt from my review:

This has a spicy zip on the tongue that is full of citrus peel, oak spice, candy apples, cloves, and cinnamon. There is, (in spite of the softness of the rum on my tongue), a sharpness and intensity in these spicy flavours. Underneath this spiciness are additional flavours of butterscotch, caramel and vanilla. At the bottom of the palate I find an earthiness which seems almost brooding to me.

You may read the full review here: Review: Appleton Estate Reserve

Of course I could not resist adding a few cocktail suggestions to the review. Enjoy!

[D.B.Cooper]

Thanks for the reviews Chip!

I'll be looking forward to the "Master Blenders" review if you get to it.

[D.B.Cooper]

Sorry, I've noticed you have the review on your site. Looks like you need the 21 & 30 review to complete.

[Arctic Wolf]

Hi DB

I will be revisiting both the Appleton 12, and the Master's legacy in the next two weeks. The reviews on my site are amongst the first reviews I ever did and a re visitation to both the reviews and more especially to the rums will be fun.

[Arctic Wolf]

I continue to climb the Appleton Estate ladder of rums and have reached the Appleton Extra 12 Year Old Rum. This is a rum which I have previously reviewed as so this time around will be a review re visitation. My belief is that I am growing as a reviewer and that re visiting my older reviews is probably a good thing as I can now impart better information and tasting notes. After this review I will take a two week hiatus from the Appleton rums to allow me to catch up on a few other spirits which have become backlogued in my review system.

But without further ado please enjoy my latest Appleton Rum Review:

Review: Appleton Estate Extra 12 Year Old Jamaica Rum

I have kept the older review and you can find it at the bottom of the review page if you want to compare the two reviews.

[D.B.Cooper]

Thanks for the review!

Its interesting how close the reviews seem after more experience and time might change ones palate.

Its interesting about the comment on the metal cap. In my location its not uncommon to go from warm days (upper 80°F's/26°C's ) to a cold night (low 40°F's/4°C's). One time I remember the high being 92°F/33°C and then having a freeze warning at night. Since my wife and I detest AC our home as some huge fluctuations and I've never noticed any problems with the metal caps. One thing is I make sure they are on good and tight when I leave the store.

Cheers