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!

Very balanced and aromatic. I like very much! Currently my favorite from the Hearts Collection!

On the nose, great vanilla sugar notes from the bourbon barrel, the tropical maturation classic notes for the

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

This rum is perfect for winter evenings ! Quite complex with sweet notes of dried oranges, chocolate, ginger bread, ... It smells and tastes like a Christmas rum ! Additional aging makes it better than the 2003 vintage in my opinion. Nice release from Velier 😋

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.

On the nose briefly reminiscent of foursquare by coconut, orange peel and banana, then comes caramel and some mint, as well as floral notes.Taste then clearly floralerb

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.

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.

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.

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 2021 Day 5 Nice nose, a little too alcoholic overall.

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

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!

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