Hearts Collection - 2002

Appleton Hearts 2003 - 2002 - 1993Nose: All three very, very similar. Same marque? Banana bread, dried apples, licorice, caramel, fine spice, glue and glue. Powerful and warm. Compared to the 2003, the 2002 is a bit drier, dustier, a bit more licorice and less fruit . The 1993 is a bit woodier and more complex. All three great.Mouth: 2003 and 2002 again very similar. The 2002 a bit woodier and spicier. The 1993 then again...maybe a touch too much.Conclusion: all three shine with a nice flavor profile. All three highest craftsmanship in terms of quality, integration of alcohol and wood maturity. The latter also applies to the 1993, 29 years of tropical storage and - matter of taste - just fine. Which one do I like best? Difficult decision, probably the 2002.what I miss? The variety. How many Marques can Appleton offer? Is that all after 7 bottlings?now another Muckerl has flown in and committed suicide....

Oops, somehow I thought this was my first Appleton, but it's already the fourth! It's funny that rum from this distillery always seems new to me, I felt the same way when I tasted RX11399. I probably didn't really notice Appleton before, but that has now changed with this specific 2002 vintage. This rum is simply a jewel, it tastes incredibly smooth and round and like Caribbean sunshine and even better than the already very good 2003 (RX11399) - this will be my new vacation rum!

Wow die Congener hitten übelst. Mein erster guter Appleton und ich hab ehrlich nich damit gerechnet, dass ich das Zeug so geil finde - zum preis vob 120 ein absoluter Schnapper ... für die 400 Geld die auf dem deutschten Markt verlangt werden ... naja .... find ich übertrieben, aber steht ja luca gargano drauf .... Nase : Man merkt, hier is was im Spiel, was man nicht direkt als Fruchtsäureester beschreiben würde, aber einen viel schwereren Geschmack auf der Zunge hinterlässt - die übrigen Congener und eine leichte Glyzerinnote und fast etwas Clarendon. Am Gaumen geht es dann weiter - voll aufgeladen mit Aromen von Holz, Zigarre, Glyzerin, Fudge/Caramell, Vanillinbackaroma, Mango und Apfel - und ein bisschen erinnert er mich an einen weniger fruchtigen Vertreter der EMB Clarendons. Für mich eine klare Überaschung, die ich mir zum hier veranschlagtem Preis niemals zugelegt hätte. Macht sich auch hervorragend im MaiTai und Daiquiri - da braucht man keinen Wray and Nephew 17 mehr 😇😋 Auch die 63% sind verdammt gut wingebunden.

Rum Friendly Club Advent Calendar, day 20. A nose of esters and tropical fruit with varnish, young wood and a slightly unpleasant acetone edge. The palate is soft on entry, then the fruit and ester aromas gain strength, supported by the wood. The wood becomes bitter on the finish. The finish is rather long and surprisingly fruity at the very end. A very fine rum!

Great product. One of the best of the Hearts series collection from the over-the-top palates of Joy Spence (Appleton) and Luca Gargano (Velier) . A rounded rum but at the same time full of character and notes that make it unique.

Nice combination of dark notes, spices and a yellow fruit basket. A little rough on the edges.

Appleton Hearts Crosstasting with the vintages 2002, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999 (RX15475, RX15474, TBD) 2002: Fruity and spicy with a hint of menthol. Lots of wood and spices on the palate, slightly astringent and bitter, very subtle fruity notes. 1993: Significantly more intense with more spices and more from the cask, plus dirty notes that remind me of TDL or Chairmans. Extremely dry and bitter on the palate with a good barrel impact, slightly charred. I miss something fruity here. The finish is very long! 1994: Similar to 1993, but more fruit and a clear minty note. Clear parallels on the palate too, but not quite as bitter and dirty and fruit notes are still discreetly present. 1999: Lots of wood and spices, with dried fruit and tropical fruit in the background. Fruits in the background. Lots of spices and wood on the palate, but hardly any fruit notes, but no charred/bitter notes either. 1995: Again, dirty aromas with tar, leather and varnish. Similar to 1993/1994, the woody, bitter aromas also dominate the palate here. For me: 1994 ->8.8 2002 + 1999 ->8.7 1993 + 1995 ->8.6

On the nose a great combination of fruits (cherry, apples, mango), citrus and sweet notes (caramel, vanilla). Quite dry on the palate with red fruits (cherries again) and spicy wood notes. Little esters, but a pronounced spiciness and creaminess. Great Jamaican rum with little funk but power.

Heute Zwei Appleton im Glas: Rum Shark: Die Nase ist alkoholisch scharf und sticht unangenehm. Am Gaumen geht es genauso weiter. Leider viel zu alkoholisch. Etwas Frucht und Blumigkeit. Das ist gar nicht mal so gut. Hearts 2002: Das ist schon ein ganz anderes Kaliber. Schokoladig, holzig und mit dunklen Früchten garniert. Toller Rum, der in der Flasche noch besser geworden ist.

Edit: It would be a dream to be able to try the whole Appleton Hearts range. My conclusion would be that this is a really high-quality range. All in all, they are all great bottlings. I personally find it difficult to choose a true winner here. Only the 84 falls a little short. Both it and the 02 can't quite keep up, although that's complaining at a high level. However, if I had to choose one, it would probably be the 03 because it was the first one I tasted from the series. Yes, what can you say for 125€ at LMDW - a nobrainer! A super grenade for the price. A comparison with the other Hearts is still pending, but for the time being a more than good 8. I unknowingly gave it more than an hour in a jar with a lid. Just super tasty how it developed.

Slightly fruity notes paired with caramel, marzipan and barrel influence. I like very much!

Round and elegant on the nose, cherry, vanilla, unripe banana and apple on nose and palate. Very nice to sip. Thanks Tobias for opportunity to try. Edit from today. Quite enjoyable on the nose, on palate it's a bit too medicinal for me. However adding a couple of drops of water helped me to balance it, bringing out some sweetness and mint.

In my opinion, very successful. Wonderfully fruity nose with caramel, some wood, (light) coffee and also very light menthol. Palate also very tasty. The RRP is still okay.

Franconian Rum Tasting Gang & Jakob, 2023-07-27 Part 1: This time all Appleton Hearts at the start (1984, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2002 and 2003). For me, the 1994 is still the best of the bunch, closely followed by the 1993 and 1998. The 2002 was also surprisingly tasty. The 1984 is right up there on the nose, but falls short on the palate due to the excessive wood influence.

Of all the Appleton velier releases this one for me is the least convincing!The nose is intriguing while when you taste it it all fades a little too soon!It leaves you with lots of citrus, some spice and a fair amount of cask influence!A few notes of caramel, roasted pineapple and red fruits remain only on the side and a greater presence of them would have helped!Overall a good rum with a few flaws!