Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1994

#5 RumXCalendar Blind tasting: Nose: fruits (apricot, cocconut, banana), fruity, woody M: spicy, woody, astrigend, roasted, minty F: oak, vanilla, caramel Prediction: guyana maybe (had some appleton estate in mind, but with that tastes… i‘m unsure) , approx. 55-60%…. totally wrong 🙈 Update: Still the beste AE Hearts for me An amazing Appelton Estate! It has a nice burnt umber color and oily tears. The first impression is a smell of glue and different fruits, the typical Jamaican/appleton smell. For sure this one needs time to fully open. In mouth it has a bitter, complex, ginger, tropical fruits… and low ester. The finish is a warm, dry, salty, woody, vanilla with a bit of orange. Resume: Best of Appelton so far!

Yesterday evening it was time to open the last and oldest of my three hearts collection. From opening the bottle to the finish you're not in doubt that this is an Appleton Estate. The nose is there from pouring the glass and if you leave it for a while, you don't even need to put it to your nose to pick up the beautiful nose. The nose is both typical Jamaican and Appleton Estate; dark, oak, polish and spices topped off with a bit of orange. The palate is wonderful, full bodied and complex again with oak, spices and fruit. If you leave the sip in your mouth it will get bitter on you.

Best of the first Appleton Hearts Trio, in my opinion.

RumX Advent calendar day 5. Would have never guessed it blind, was thinking it would be from Guyana. A lot of wood, but not overwhelming. The alcohol is incorporated very well. For me it’s the best Appleton I’ve ever had. There’s no turning back from this. It’s very intense and complex but at the same time very easy to drink.

Awesome drop👌👍🏻 Everything else has already been said.😉

This is just so good! Having a great tasting evening with my friends and just wishing I had more of these fantastic drops. - Totally agree with myself from above.

Wow. A very nice, very, very solid nose. Solvent, deep barrel maturity. Only then dried fruit and orange peel. Extremely complex, needs some water. Warm, full and complex in the mouth. You have to like the intense wood maturity, but it is perfectly done for age.Great rum with the flair of a tropical matured Demerara!!! More! More!

5.12.21 RumX Advent calendar: Babäämmm👊🏼 What a piece! In hindsight, I probably should have left it in the air longer. I was rather blind with TDL. The rum has a lot to discover, lots of nuances, lots of complexity. Top👏🏻 Retasting: best of the series for me. Very long finish. Lots of concentrated red fruits. Delicious

Update: in direct comparison with the 94 Platzhirsch, it really did extremely well. The 94 is somewhat fruitier and sweeter in my opinion and the 93 has the nicer tannin, wood and minty mixture. Both outstanding and actually almost on a par ... the 94 perhaps a little more feelgood and the 93 more demanding on the palate.

Appleton Hearts collection never disappoints! The 1994 is also a heavy caliber rum. I recommend leaving it 15 minutes to oxygenate in the glass and then enjoying it. Exceptional nose and palate no less. As complex and rounded as it gets. The finish is quite a concert! Absolute must drink.

RumX Advent Calendar, 5.12., blind.How blatant can you get wrong: the fruitiness paired with menthol and something dirty has allowed only one conclusion for me. Caroni! Totally wrong.A very round fruity-woody-caramel nose. Tobacco, leather and some oil and graphite are right there as well as blood orange, cherry, pear and papaya. Something fresh is there, maybe a hint of mint or thyme? The wood is also very pleasant and dry with some vanilla. A slight vinegar note comes through.On the palate, initially strong, bitter-salty with an almost umami tinge. Freshness of menthol and something artificial, like iodine, gum or tar. Spicy with cardamom and some green pepper. The lemon balm lingers and it gets a bit soapy.Complex and full-bodied. Age and high abv are top.

RumX Advent calendar, 06.12.2021, blind. You can be so wrong: I thought I was looking at a Caroni! A lot of dirty notes led me on the wrong track. I would probably even have bet here that I knew where it came from. Never in my life would I have guessed Jamaica. It's exciting to see what Appleton can produce alongside its standard bottlings, which are rather boring for the rum nerd. Probably meets the taste of many, as the otherwise rather rare flavors from Trinidad can be found here. Guyana, which enjoys great popularity, doesn't seem to be that far away in terms of taste either. One can only hope that there will be more to come (and that it will remain affordable...). Great bottling, great surprise, I like to have something like this in my advent calendar!

Appleton Hearts Crosstasting with the vintages 2002, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999. 2002: Fruity and spicy with a hint of menthol. Lots of wood and spices on the palate, slightly astringent and bitter, fruit notes very subtle. 1993: Significantly more intense with more spices and more from the barrel, 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

Wood is present throughout but very pleasant. Fruitiness much more pronounced than the 1995. Lots of tobacco and spice, similar warmth to the 1999 comes through Wow. I really like this very very much. Appleton should bring more of it 😋