Post #810162 by swizzle on Thu, Aug 3, 2023 3:20 AM

A friend of mine used to be the brand representative for Appleton Estate so fortunately i've had the chance to try pretty much all of their different expressions including the Master Blender’s Legacy and the 30y.o. (i never got to try the 50y.o.), and IMO i think that all Appleton's taste the same, and by that i mean, all the expressions/ages do taste different, however there is an underlying taste that each one shares that to me tells me that i'm drinking Appleton rum.

So having said that, earlier this week a friend on Facebook posted that he was at Smuggler's Cove to try the new 17y.o. and i jokingly asked if it tasted like Appleton and he said it didn't, that it tasted completely different but it did taste familiar, like some other rum, although he couldn't put his finger on it. I messaged him today if he managed to work it out and this was his response, "Nope, still scratching my head… Had a long talk with Martin on Monday hoping he would have an idea/recommendation but he just steered me towards the current adjusted version". The SC version uses Denizen Merchant's Reserve and he said he had a Denizen's Mai Tai right after a 17y.o. one and although it does make a great Mai Tai they weren't the same.

So obviously that's not going to help you with answering the 'flavour notes' you're looking for but taste is purely subjective so even if someone could describe it to you that doesn't mean that you'll see it the same way. All i know is, my palate isn't nuanced enough to pick up on a lot of those notes (and to be honest with you, i think a lot of the tasting notes people use to describe alcohol are just bullshit), all i'll be able to tell after i try the little sample that i'll be having is whether i like it or not.