Hearts Collection - 1999

A classic Appleton is certainly not, there is certainly the 94 New Yarmouth batch much closer to it.Blind I would rather guess Demerara. The nose is beautiful and unique, Appleton also recognizable in the background. Then difficult in the mouth, very much licorice and herbs. The alcohol is super integrated, the 21 years of tropical aging resulted in a lot of depth and richness.Expectations met? No. Still a very interesting beautiful rum.Edit: The bottle is now open for a year. Licorice and herbs have given way to dried fruit. Really great to drink, an excellent rum! Yesterday enjoyed a glass with a perfectly matured Cazadores. A favorite rum that needs a while to develop in the open bottle.

Edit Edit: It would be a dream to be able to try the whole Appleton Hearts series. 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. Edit: Tasted it again yesterday in peace and quiet with a cigar and DomM. The rum is simply amazing. Corrected upwards a little again. Franconian Tasting Gang on 19.04.2024 The first and last individual tasting this time on this very advanced evening/night. From memory, but behind the 2003 that is still present in my memory. A complete blind crosstasting of the Hearts series will follow.

Heavy dark notes for wood and leather on the mos with (dried) fruits and quite some medicinal notes and herbs. Nice. Well balanced on the palate with more sweetness than expected alongside milkchoclate and toffee. Dried fruits show up here again.

Too herbaceous on the nose for my taste. A bit too peppery and wild on the palate. For me, the weakest of the series.

19.12.21 RumX Advent calendar blind tasting: On the nose I get floral, earthy notes, geranium, grapes and nuts. The palate is peppery, spicy, fruity, medicinal, confectionery, spices. A great rum. Beautifully complex, there's a lot going on. However, it is too bitter and too sharp-edged for me to give it a higher rating. Retasting: Taste impression remains. Very tasty, like all the rums in the range: great nose. But alcohol is quite sharp-edged in the mouth, clouds it a little for me.

#19 RumXCalendar Blind tasting: Nose: fruity, woody, apricot, apple M: anise, licorice, woody, fruity, orange F: wood, anise Prediction: I had little to no time to taste so i went all in predicting this is the appleton hearts 1999, because of the fruity nose and the guyana mouth/finish, approx. 60% and approx. 21 years …. wohooo! Haha thanks for the joke yesterday rumX guys 🤪 Very pleasant to drink. Not to woody, very delicious, but it lacks in the finish. Nose: delicious, fruity, apple, apricot, floral, anise, licorice, woody, orange peal, solvents, glue, spicy Mouth: warm, complex, delicious, dry, herbal, minty, licorice, anise, oak, vanilla, fruity, herbal, spicy Finish: medium, astringend, oak, vanilla, nutty, licorice, anise

This was a very nice surprise. I was lucky to get my hands on all 3 releases and this is the first one I sampled yesterday. A rum that brings you to cloud 152 and never let's you down again. A super rich nose with fruit and oak. There is something elegant about the nose. The palate, once you get used to the proof, is even more wonderful than the nose. Spicy, warm, and bit herbal and medicinal. Super long finish and not your typical Jamaican funky rum!

Leckerer Rum mit toller Nase mit Kleber und etwas medizinischem. Habe mein Sample auf zwei Tastings verteilt … die zweite Runde nach gut 2-3 Wochen deutlich besser. Die Oxidation hat dem Rum gut getan.

Very unusual Appleton profile... The nose makes you want more with lots of roasted pineapple and caramel, later herbs and vinegar notes are added, taste then clearly woodier & smokier than expected with strong salty, bitter notes of olive brine, licorice, prune, burnt wood and tobacco. Overall not quite mine, also a slight acetic acid is rather disturbing for me and the alcohol content is not too well integrated.

8,8:On the nose, the first impression we get is medicinal with esters and glue, tropical fruits like pineapple, banana, herbaceous molasses and roasted wood notes like leather and caramel, spicy. On aeration, citrus fruits are out, among them also an orange peel, yellow ones, a lot of spices like anise, vanilla and baking spices, the wood is more toasted with notes like pastry and burnt sugar...very balanced with prunes help, flowery and grassy tones. 8,6:On the palate, the attack is quite intense, bitter with esters, glue, herbaceous molasses, tropical, yellow fruits and pretty spicy with allspice, perhaps ginger, the wood is nicely roasted with chocolate, caramel, leather, when rested with salted pastry, grassy and flowery molasses and citrus fruits. 8,8:The finish is round, dry, a bit tannic, as the smoky roasted wood notes complement tropical and dried fruits and some tobacco, with a touch of spices...

Nose: the alcohol burn kinda covers most of the initial flavors..although I get some light fruity notes (plums and maybe figs?) then toffee, vanilla, licorice. It slowly develops a very gentle note of wood and leather (I guess..). A couple of drops of water release more of those fruity notes (raisins), together with some herbal/earthy flavors. Palate: wow, unexpected to say the least..it jumps at you with salted caramel notes, then the alcohol burn kicks in, followed by a spicy, peppery note. For me, the best of the initial set!

Appleton Hearts Crosstasting mit den Jahrgängen 2002, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999 (RX15475, RX15474, TBD) 2002: Fruchtig und würzig mit einem Hauch Menthol. Am Gaumen viel Holz und Gewürze, leicht adstringend und bitter, Fruchtnoten ganz dezent. 1993: Deutlich intensiver mit mehr Gewürze und mehr vom Fass, dazu auch dreckige Noten, die mich an TDL oder Chairmans erinnern. Am Gaumen extrem trocken und bitter mit ordentlichen Fasseinschlag, leicht verkohlt. Mir fehlt hier etwas das Fruchtige. Abgang ist sehr lang! 1994: Ähnlich 1993, jedoch mehr Frucht und eine deutliche Minznote. Auch am Gaumen deutliche Parallelen, jedoch nicht ganz so bitter und dreckig und Fruchnoten sind noch dezent vorhanden. 1999: Viel Holz und Gewürze, mit Trockenfrüchten und trop. Früchten im Hintergrund. Am Gaumen jede Menge Gewürze und Holz, dafür kaum Fruchtnoten, aber auch keine verkohlten/bitteren Noten. 1995: Auch hier wieder dreckige Aromen mit Teer, Leder und Lack. Ähnlich wie 1993/1994. Die holzigen, bitteren Aromen dominieren auch hier am Gaumen. Für mich: 1994 ->8.8 2002 + 1999 ->8.7 1993 + 1995 ->8.6

RumXmas #19, blind: I have to stop reading here (RumX forum) before I taste, it’s highly influential. I can’t get past everything you’ve described (@Stylo) and agree with most of it. A little bit less salted caramel and more burnt sugar for me. And maybe some orange, orange peel, orange marmelade? A bit like Jaffa cakes? As it sits in the glass, the alcohol fades away in the nose. On the palate however, it remains very present. ABV in the sixties. Guyana or Appleton 1999 seems to me like a good conclusion . The orange thingy does makes me look more towards Appleton 1999. 🥳🙌🏼😎

Le meilleur des trois. Un beau carré de chocolat

RumX Advent calendar, 19.12., blind. First impression: could be Guyana, but the palate tends towards Jamaica. Woody, fruity and slightly vinegary on the nose. Intense and complex. As with the other two, beautifully orange and caramel and a little maple syrup. Here a little more in the direction of sour cherry and papaya, slightly malty and a hint of licorice at the back. Fresher on the palate than the other two. Woody but with something like saffron and nutmeg. Some caramel here too, but with more bite. Slightly bitter-salty. A fruitiness reminiscent of yellow apple. Clearly lychee and some caramel at the very back of the finish. The second best of the three Hearts after the 94. But I also really like it.