Appleton Estate Rare Casks 12-Year

The rare cask is better than the old extra version.
It has more orange zests, this makes it more complex and fruitier. It's not a fruity funky rum like Hampden, Appleton is always a woody juice with strong cask influece.

Smell: dry fruits, orange zests, some caramel, strong barrel/wood (oak) influence. I noticed also some vanilla from the Bourbon cask.

Taste: dry fruits and orange zests first, some burned sugar, wood and bourbon cask aromas, also vanilla, slightly spiciness at 43%.
Nice fruity aftertaste with woody cask aromas

Conclusion: It's an every day sipper like MG XO.
Not very complex but still good for the pice.
Overall rating: 81 points

Sweetness: 1.5/5
Spicy: 2.5/5
Fruit: 2/5
Mildness: 3/5
Complexity: 3.5/5
Value (24€): 4.5/5
Expert level: amateur - professional

I’m loving the new tastes of this 12 year now that the new master distiller is in charge.

A bit sharp on the nose, quite smooth to drink. An almost silky texture.

Just like other Appleton products, they are Jamaican rums with less emphasis on the funk. The 12 year follows in this trend and is a great sipping rum for the price. There is some funk, but a much more an emphasis on vanilla, caramel, and slight oak notes.

I severely underestimated this rum. Holy cow. Maybe that's skewing my initial rating a bit, but this is amazing. Maybe it's because I went into this with very low expectations. Appleton Signature was one of the first Jamaican rums I tried and I was severely underwhelmed, so I wasn't expecting much from this. I'm a big fan of tiki drinks, many of which call for Jamaican rums as part of the spec, so I've tried a lot of Jamaican rums since then, but this one hits differently. I've never found a Jamaican rum that's bad for mixing, but there are few that I would say are also good for sipping. This has the rich smooth darker notes of some of my favorite aged rums, but with a Jamaican funk that stands out, but doesn't overpower. Fantastic.

I brought the bottle back from a trip to Jamaica. I shared it around a fire with friends.
Wow, smooth and delicious. Brought back memories of Jamaica and the Caribbean.
So delicious it started me on this rum adventure!

I suggest trying their regular stuff before trying the rare cask. You get the flavor profile with the regular, and then you can pick up on the aged stuff better with this blend. Very enjoyable if you like their usual offering.

A must for me. Delicious, deep flavor with a minimal amount of sugar. I like it very much and when I finish drinking this bottle, I quickly order another one.

I like the curvy figures on these Appleton bottles. And women. The aroma is sweet(ish) and very intense. Only a slight aroma of ethanol (which is alway bad). A little bit of heat in the flavor, which is otherwise quite sweet. You can taste the age. The fruity flavor you get at the start of each sip should last longer. Flavor: 7,5 Aroma: 9 Bottle appearance: 10 Liquid appearance: 10

This Appleton bottle is my first true foray into the Jamaican funk.

I have a Jamaican clarendon, a Rhum Rhum and a Clairin that all are often described as being funky, but they're more grassy, vegetal and medicinal. This Appleton does not have that kind of funk, but smells and taste more of overripe fruit, rubber and glue. I know Appleton is very light on the funk, but this works for me and makes me want to try more, like the Hampden line.

The rum is oaky and dusty, though surprisingly a bit sweet. I had to let it open up for 20 minutes before I got the true flavor though, as it burned a bit when I sipped from the beginning. It feels smooth in the mouth once the sharpness of the alcohol subsided.

I'm getting banana peel, rubber, glue, old fruit, oak, maybe touch of honey on the finish.

I was torn if this would be a 7 or an 8. I thought initially a 7, but after a few small glasses I wanted more and found it to be a nice, round sipper with some comfortable funk. After I finished a third of the bottle, I decided to rate it an 8. I think I'll certainly restock this once it is empty, unless the Hampden line becomes available here again and I get addicted to the funk.