Master blender Joy Spence has worked at the Jamaican distillery since 1981.Appleton Estate/Supplied
Appleton Estate is elevating the profile of rum with the launch of a 51-year-old edition. “We want to invite comparisons with expensive single malts and cognacs,” says Joy Spence, the master blender who has worked at the Jamaican distillery since 1981.
Investment-grade spirits have long been a model for Scotch, Bourbon and Cognac producers to court collectors and media attention. Appleton and other rum producers have adopted that playbook to accelerate growth in the category and change consumer perspectives about rum. Many popular brands are made to be mixed, but there’s a growing range of rums with distinctive character and complexity of flavour that stand up to the quality of single malts.
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The Source is a limited release of 25 decanters priced at $70,000 USD (about C$96,000). One will be released in Alberta later in the year. It joins the distillery’s expanding inventory of aged rums, including the 15 Years Old Black River Casks and the Hearts Collection, a range of vintage rums from 1984 to 2003.
“The Source pays tribute to craftsmanship, dedication and spirit of the estate,” says Spence, who explains how premium aged rums require dedication at every step of the way.
The Source is a 51-year-old rum marketed as Appleton’s rarest and longest aged expression to date. It’s the company’s latest bid to accelerate growth in the category and change consumer perspectives about rumAppleton Estate/Supplied
While Appleton’s core range are blends of column- and pot- distilled rums, spirits set aside for extended aging are distilled on copper pot still, which produce robust and complex flavours. Aging in Jamaica’s tropical climate leads to high evaporation rates (three times faster than Scotland’s temperate climate), which make it challenging to maintain aged stock.
Appleton’s warehouses in the Nassau Valley are home to more than 150,000 barrels that provide the components for different rum expressions. Every three years, barrels from the same batch and birthday are combined so the barrels are full. “The head space in the barrel accelerates evaporation,” Spence explains. “By managing that, we are able to retain a large volume of rum.”
Spence says the story of Appleton’s aging process and 275-year-old heritage make aged rums appealing to both connoisseurs and the curious. She adds they also attract attention to the value-for-money prospect of core expressions, such as 8 Reserve ($36.99-$44 per bottle) or 8 Double Cask ($55 range), which have made Canada the distillery’s No. 1 market by volume for over a decade.