To get the full flavor experience I recommend letting it breathe in the glass for at least 5 minutes before drinking. And when drinking it, doing so in small sips so as not to overwhelm your taste buds with its stronger flavors. The Appleton Estate was founded in the Nassau Valley of Jamaica, a location with rich soil, limestone hills, and plentiful underground water sources. The plantation started creating sugar cane, and in 1749 started to produce their own rum with that sugar. This works really well, and I think the key is exactly what we saw when we added some ice: that dark chocolate note blending well with the tropical fruits. Those two components are shining through and complementing each other nicely, making for a deliciously balanced and enjoyable tropical drink. While the Appleton Estate was cranking out rum, another Englishman named John Wray started his own business venture by founding The Shakespeare Tavern in 1825 in what was then the small village of Kingston, Jamaica. The town would eventually become the nation’s capitol, and the tavern a wild success. Wray was joined in 1860 by his nephew Charles James Ward, who proved to be an indispensable business partner, eventually earning his spot in the company name when it was changed to J. Wray and Nephew. Minimum life based on 'use-by' date of product. Average life based on last week's deliveries. Life guarantee shown based on delivery tomorrow with the Life guarantee starting the following day.

As you would expect from a Jamaican rum distillery, Appleton uses traditional pot stills with a double retort system — essentially two additional distillation vessels added at the end which increase the alcohol content and allow additional time for flavor elements to make their way into the spirit. They also do use a traditional column still as well for mass production of spirits that will be added later during the blending process.

I think this version of the rum may be the right balance of things. It’s much smoother, with the flavors better incorporated together compared to the signature blend, and still retains some of the tropical island fruits. But those flavors are starting to fade as the barrel aging components gain prominence. You’re also missing most of that Jamaican hogo funk, something we saw in the signature blend but not here. There are trade-offs being made, and this seems to me to be the right balance of things for a better all-around experience. This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services. I expected the complexity in flavors of a typical "12-year" rum, but got much more. As the rum first rolls over the taste buds, a rather strong flavor of oak and a bit of smoke dominates the senses. In this, whiskey lovers should feel right at home. A brown sugar flavor is also apparent, but even though this is a strong part of the rums nose, the sweetness in the taste is only in the middle-lower end of rums.

On the other hand, because of the orange peel and vanilla flavors, I think this rum would also excel in a variety of mixed drinks where these flavors complement.On the finish, I do finally get some of that pineapple and just a hair of Jamaican “hogo” funk, but not nearly to the level that we saw in the aforementioned younger expression of this rum. On Ice Appleton Estate was acquired by another famous name in Jamaican rum, Wray and Nephew, in 1916. In 2012 the company was bought by the Italian Campari group. Today, Appleton Estate is considered one of the finest rums in the world. Only sugarcane from the estate which covers around 11,000 acres is used. Fermentation takes place using wild yeasts and lasts between about 36 and 48 hours. This relatively short ferment means that Appleton doesn’t have the big high ester flavours which occur during the longer fermentations used by certain other Jamaican distilleries. For distillation Appleton uses a mixture of pot and column stills. The pot stills are made in Scotland to Appleton’s unique specifications and the new make comes off at about 80% ABV. Most of the estate’s rums are blends of the two distillation styles but you do see some rare single pot still releases. Jamaican rum is very tightly regulated: the age statements follow the same rules as do those on single malt whiskies; the age stated must be that of the youngest spirit in the blend. All of the rum is aged in American oak barrels. Wray retired in 1862, leaving the business to his nephew who expanded the business from just a tavern to a liquor distributor as well. He began by purchasing spirits from different manufacturers and exporting them often under the J. Wray & Nephew label. Within a few short years, the company became one of Jamaica’s largest exporters of spirits from the island. They also started purchasing distilleries such as the Monymusk Estate, one of the premiere rum manufacturers at the time.