Appleton Estate 21-Year

Appleton Estate 21 is a blend of Jamaican copper pot distilled rums which have a minimum age of 21 years. It is bottled at 43% ABV. Nosing reveals oak, chocolate and toffee notes and vanilla together with brown sugar. Palate shows again a lot of sweetness for an unsweetened rum with nice brown sugar, tropical fruits and creamy toffee notes. The oak is present heavily on the finish but it is nice, very long and satisfying.

For me an example that more aging doesn't always mean better rum. I liked the 12-year rare blend much more, for its unique sweetish aroma. In the 21-year old the oak is heavier and more dominant, and apart from that it has a slight varnish-like sting, which I don't find that lovely. In cocktails you get a very strong oaky flavour.

Decent, but too much of an alcohol flavor and not enough other notes to rate higher.

This rum is oh so oaky and smooth reminds. Reminds me almost of a scotch. Absolutely recommend!!

Really good balance between sweet and dry. Nose i sense dried fruit, coconut and matured banana. Deep taste of fruit, spices (pepper) and oak. Classic Appleton and lots of Jamaica feel. Good glass !!

I have quite a little experience with Jamaican rums and the Appleton brand is not one of those typical "funky" products. I am probably not ready to acknowledge the various Hampdenes, Long Pond, etc. yet. So how does it taste?

This is rum of a higher price category, where it has been the youngest ingredient for 21 years, ie no solera! It was stored in small American oak barrels. The alcohol strength is 43%. Rum should not be sweetened or colored.
The bottle looks really luxurious. My bottle number is 16160 and it was bottled in 2017. It has a large wooden cap with a real cork. Inside the tube is still a seal of authenticity of the rum with basic information about the product.

Color: Honey to copper
Smell: In a word, amazing! Probably one of the best I've had the opportunity to test so far. I smelled overripe fruits (bananas, a little orange), cocoa, honey, baked nuts, dry berries (blackberries), lacquered wood, a wooden barrel from a bourbon.
Taste: Drier and slightly pungent at first, although I let the rum stand in the glass for about 10 minutes. After drinking I could smell vanilla, cocoa, overripe fruit (bananas and oranges), oak wood from a spirit barrel, slightly bourbon. After another sip, the taste became very soft and slightly sweeter.
Aftertaste: Long, drier, although slightly sweet and first of all very fine.

Conclusion: The more you taste it, the finer and more tasteful the rum is. Although I still like sweeter (not oversweetened) rums, I am turning to those delicate and drier types. Especially the smell really appealed to me and I definitely recommend tasting of this rum at least.

Overall rating: 9.5 points from 10

Appleton 21 year is rum bougie pirates would probably drink. Tastes of dried fruits, ginger, molasses, tobacco, apples. But I think it a little bit too oaky. My last bottle I purchase was much better than this one. Maybe it was a bad batch. I give a 7.8.

By far the best rum I have had and great value for the dollar. Smooth, savoury, oaky, nice after finish and a distinctive note of its fine age.

I’ve been wanting to have this one and finally got the chance. Beautiful amber color, wonderfully light and fruity nose, fantastic blend of fruit/spice/sweetness. This is a great sipper, hands down. Looking forward to getting my first bottle.

Perfectly balanced and not too sweet like cheaper quality rum, you'd hope the bottle never ends