Appleton Estate Black River Casks 15-Year

Appleton 15 black cask

Nosing
Toffee Treacle, coffee

Tasting
Not that much different from 12 year ... slightly more molasses heavy based ...

This is a very good rum with the signature Appleton flavors. It's slightly more dry and oaky than the 12 year, but not really any better. I'll be drinking more 12yr instead.

Dark chocolate and vanilla touch in the aroma, cognac, almond, coffee, woodiness in the body, long-term tail.

Kicked off another epic tasting Sunday 9/19/21 with this charming flavorful treat.
Lots of caramel flavor and aroma and my notes indicate that at the time I thought I also caught an aromatic whiff of lavender ??

This rum is a personal favourite of mine. It's smooth, complex and refined. It makes a great gift for a special occasion. This rum has a permanent place on my shelf.

When comparing the price of this to the Appleton's 21 year reserve, this is not too far off in taste. but significantly cheaper. You can certainly drink this a lot more regularly than the 21, without the need of such a special occasion to justify opening it.

The packaging is nice. Overall, I am not a new fan of Appleton's new look, but with the lettering being directly on the bottle, rather than a label, this is where the range starts looking a lot more premium.

My 3rd Appleton and went from a 7 rating for the 8 year reserve to an 8 rating for the 12 year rare cask to a 9 rating for the 15 year Black River. I actually am doing a side by side comparison with the little bit of 12 year that I have left. Black River 15 is slightly more complex in taste throughout and is just a tiny bit less harsh. Both have a nice deep amber color but the Black river has more of a red or auburn color to it. The 12 year has a tiny bit of that Jamaica funk to it where the 15 year Black River seems to be missing it. Which is fine with me. Can not go wrong with either one but for me thev15 year is a slight improvement.

This Jamaican Rum is probably the best in that terroir and is much smoother that most. However I found this offering to be pricey. Ive also never really a fan of appletons. If it had a bit more going for it, it could be an eight.

i enjoy this after a good lunch and with a good cigar ...
first i must wait the rum to sit in the glass some 10 minutes, it have a beautiful color, when rotating the glass, a lot of legs, good sign...
nose: you ll know it s an appleton, similar to others, strong alcoholic burn (after 10 minutes in the glass the burn is fading) but also some vanilla
mouth: more flavorful than the 12, vanilla and brown sugar, dry as every appleton
finish: medium, warm
conclusion: better than the 12, not good as the 21, but i like it ! even the cigar is better today :-) and i think is not over oaked, really not much oak ...
don t know the price yet, in the store i received the bottle but they didn t calculate the price, so if it s cheaper than the 21 i give it a 8.4 ! oh one more ... it s a bourbon/whisky drinkers rum ...

This rum isn't bad by any means, but I find it lacking for the price. Especially in comparison to the 12 year rare casks, which has a very similar profile. The most notable difference is that the 15 year gets buried in oak a bit, and loses much of the nuance of the 12 year.

Definitely tasted some banana notes. Very smooth, oaky taste. The one thing I noticed in the 15 vs. the 12 black river casks was that there was more of a bitter taste. I do enjoy this rum but I think I prefer the 12 over the 15.