Appleton 17 and your everyday Mai tai

So, for any of you who have had the fortune (and significantly better rum budget than mine) to try the new Appleton 17 re-creation of the legend, how has it changed your perception of the Mai Tai?

What tweaks (or wholesale changes) would you make to your mix of rums for your everyday Mai tai to get closer to that flavor profile? Now that you have had a replica of the original rum, what would you mix to say Appleton 8 (something more in line with my budget) to get closer to the ball park of the original flavor?

Should have shared this first for those who have not seen the news:

Appleton (which is Wray and Nephew) claims they found the original recipe and produced a limited new run of the original trader Vic’s mai tai rum.

https://www.theeducatedbarfly.com/appleton-estate-17-legend/

I was excited when this news first came out. But once I learned it was going to be a limited run and that it would cost a buttload of money, I lost interest. Hope the millionaires enjoy their mai tais.

Yeah I figure high-end bars and people putting them in a safe.

Unfortunately none of the 1500 bottles were allocated to Australia but a friend of mine somehow managed to get his hands on one and has saved me tiny a bit which i'll be heading into the city for in a couple of days to try. There's only enough to taste it neat so i won't get to to see what it it tastes like in a Mai Tai but i'm perfectly okay with that.

IMO i completely agree with this (I found this in an article online about the rum).

Unless we can travel back in time to 1944 we're never going to know exactly what the original tasted like so just make it with whatever rums you have on hand, experiment with different combinations of those rums, and you'll come up with something that you'll like. You could even up making something that you'd like better than the original (if you could do a side by side taste test).

I don’t disagree with any of those sentiments. I was also way more excited before I saw the price and limited availability.

But given that anything most of us have ever tasted is at best an interpretation of an interpretation of an approximation of the original flavor, I’m wondering if anyone that did try the new “original recipe” legend could help to describe for those of us who are approximating with a mix of cheaper rums.

I guess I’m looking to hear something along the lines of “I know they wouldn’t have had an agricole in the original but now I understand what flavor note later mixes were trying to approximate by adding it” or “it’s way more vanilla than I was expecting” or “I’d definitely use more/less dark rum in my mix” or “I was expecting it to be more different than straight Appleton 12.”

Most of us will still be doing an interpretation, but I was looking for any thoughts re the “original” to help the rest of us look for flavor notes to try in those interpretations.

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.

Thanks Swizzle.

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts after you try it. From what I’ve had of the Appletons I agree with you. The differences I note at least through the 8 year are more about body and viscosity than flavor. The 12 has more funk on top of the basic Appleton - I’m assuming some more pot still in the mix.

The 17 looks very different - even just from the color. The only other rum I’ve had with that much redness is the Hamilton zombie blend - and that is a different flavor profile than the Appleton or what I have heard included as part of the later trader Vic’s mai tai blends. That color has me as intrigued as the difference between Martin and Jeff Berry’s interpretation of the rum blend.

Not looking for arguably BS subtle pretentious differences (e.g. I’m not looking to see if someone tastes more nectarine than peach), but I’d be curious about your major impressions (e.g. more hogo than you expected from an Appleton, whether you taste anything that makes you think Agricole or if Martin’s Denizen Martinique rum argument seems more valid, strong vanilla [which might make me add a bit of a vanilla-forward Dominican anejo I have], Demerera flavors [which would explain some of the red color but is not something I have heard in the Vic’s blends].)

As perspective, my current blend is 1 oz of Appleton 12, 1/2 oz of a white Agricole, 1/2 oz of an 8 year old Haitian, and a splash of Coruba dark. I am happy with that but am ALWAYS looking to experiment within a reasonable budget (however unreasonable my rum budget might actually be 😂)

So, i tried the rum last night and all i can say is that i agree with my friend that after the very first sip all i could think was, "This tastes familiar, like something i've had before". I personally would not call it a sipper although it was quite smooth and definitely had a lot of hogo to it. Other than that, there's not much i can say about it. It's a special rum because of what it is in regards to it trying to replicate a historic rum from the past, and i'm so glad i got to try it, but i don't think it was anything special as far as rums go. I would love to have been able to try it in a Mai Tai because i think it would stand out a lot but now that i know what it tastes like, if i ever try another rum that reminds me of it i think i'll buy a bottle so that i can make a Mai Tai out of it and at least know i'm in the ballpark.

I've had it now twice and it definitely doesn't taste like the rest of the Appleton line. It does (as a full pot-still rum) have some characteristics in common with the Appleton Hearts releases, but even then as a blended rum does have its own different and unique taste.

Tasting notes at Smuggler's Cove https://ultimatemaitai.com/2023/07/25/appleton-17-legend-mai-tai-at-smugglers-cove/

Tasting notes in London with Appleton's Joy Spence https://ultimatemaitai.com/2023/06/29/appleton-17-legend-tasting/

Issued at 49% ABV like the historic original, this is more than a proofed down Hearts release. The blend of four marques means this is truly unique. There is no traditional Appleton orange peel, nor overripe fruit. Instead there are hints of nutmeg and herbal spices. It is delicious nest from a glass but even better in Mai Tai where the long and lingering finish is truly sublime.

Thanks Kevin. That’s helpful. Makes me wonder if the Martinique rum in some mixes is an attempt to pick up some of those herbal notes.

Like Agricole rums, tequilas and some mezcals are often described as grassy, but I have had some that are more herbal than grassy.

Or maybe different barrel woods impart those different tones before the mix is blended.

My interest is piqued. Let the experimentation continue….