Post #746197 by AdOrAdam on Sat, Jul 4, 2015 4:41 AM

I first saw this on the Floating Rum Shack website but I've not seen it on the shelf locally yet.

To quote from the Appleton Estate press release:

*"Under the new naming structure:

• Appleton Estate Signature Blend is the new name for Appleton Estate V/X
• Appleton Estate Reserve Blend is the new name for Appleton Estate Reserve
• Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old is the new name for Appleton Estate Extra 12 Year Old"*

Looking at the bottles, this probably isn't a surprise!

They do go on to say:

"Although the names and packaging for our three core variants have changed, the award winning liquid inside the bottle remains the same."

For me this doesn't change anything - it's a curious renaming of products that I already know & love.

I don't think a name change adds anything to a newbie although maybe it brings the markets inline across the world. A more interesting comment to that effect can be found at just-drinks.com.

I do think the previous changing of the bottles (from standard bar bottles to the current curvy bottle) would have had effect because it makes the bottle more distinctive & I think the re-packaging of the 21 year a few years ago (to a lovely bottle) was wise step - it makes it look premium.