One of the oldest releases by Appleton Estate, and only the second time in their 272 years of distillation has Appleton Estate released their 30 year old rum. This rum is in fact a blend of column and pot still rums with a minimum age of 30, up until over 50 years, all tropically aged in Jamaica. Bottled in 2018, a total of 4000 bottles were produced at 45% abv. As always a big thank you to @the_rum_cartel for saving a bottle for me!

Typically with 30 years of tropical aging, there would almost be no distillate left due to the angel’s share. However, Appleton Estate has managed this feat by decanting or refilling their casks every 3 years, thereby slowing down the process of evaporation and ensuring a healthy stock of aged rums.

(Image Source: @weixiang_liu)

On the nose, this is an exceptional rum, rich vanilla and marzipan, almost like a vanilla-laced cookie dough with fresh coconut cream, chocolate, maple syrup and hazelnut praline all mashed into one. Almost smells like Christmas. There’s also a light tropical fruitiness to it as it ends, slight pineapples and orange zest.

The palate is rich and creamy, as in the nose those coconuts once again come to mind, chocolates, maple, and vanilla. There’s just that tiniest trace of funk, just to break the smoothness and give the rum a bit of variation and more character. The long tropical aging also shows in the middle where the oak and tannins appear, but just ever so lightly. The finish is dominated by more rich creaminess and mandarin oranges, apricot jams, caramel, and some ginger.

I’ll be honest, this took me by surprise as I thought the 12 was a bit too tame, and the Hearts Collection wasn’t my thing. But the 30 blew me away, and quite simply is one of the best and favourite rums of mine.