Appleton Estate just announced the details of a new rum that is meant to target high-end scotch collectors, but is also a fantastic expression in its own right: The Source, a 51-year-old rum that is the oldest from the distillery to date, and one of the oldest (if not the oldest) to be entirely aged in the tropics. I was one of a group of just three U.S. journalists to get to sample the rum this week, and it was exquisite.
That tropical aging designation is important here because there are indeed some older rums that were partially aged in Jamaica or Barbados or other Caribbean or South American countries, but then transferred to a cooler climate. Moving the barrels slows down the maturation process because the interaction between spirit and wood will be much less in Scotland than in a humid, tropical climate. The fact that the Source spent its entire 51 years aging in Jamaica, and still manages to be a delicate, complex sipper rather than a tannic bomb, is a testament to the skill of master blender Dr. Joy Spence and her team.
I met with deputy master blender David Morrison this week to taste the Source and find out some more details. He told me that this rum was distilled in 1973 on a pot still, and consisted of one marque instead of a combination of marques. A marque is a specific cut of rum that the distiller selects during distillation for its unique flavor profile, and normally several are aged separately and then blended together before bottling. The rum was aged in bourbon barrels which were consolidated as the liquid evaporated—and quite a bit would be lost to the angels over half a century, particularly in Jamaica—leaving just one barrel to bottle.
The Source was distilled when Owen Tulloch was the Appleton master blender, but the barrels have been overseen by Spence since she took over the position in 1997. Morrison has been with Appleton for nearly 30 years, and says that Spence has had her eye on this liquid for a long time. “Over the years, we’ve developed a very deep understanding of these rums,” Morrison told Robb Report. “When we want to showcase certain flavors and styles, we know exactly where to go in terms of the fermentation, in terms of where to get to our cuts from the stills. So this really is a lot of history and know-how in a glass… It really opens up the world to what rum is and what it should be.”
The Source does not immediately register as a 51-year-old rum when you taste it, and I mean that as a compliment. The color is much lighter than you’d expect, and there is no sugar or coloring added to this rum. The nose is fragrant and sweet, and even at 62 percent ABV there’s surprisingly little burn as you sniff. That continues onto the palate, which is rich with notes of brown sugar, orange peel, bright tropical fruit, dark chocolate, molasses, toasted coconut, cinnamon, and other baking spices. There is some oak present, of course, but the notes of leather and dark wood that come with a spirit this old are much more subtle than you’d expect. Overall, this is a fantastic ultra-aged rum.
Of course, it’s also a very expensive bottle—there are just 25 decanters being released globally, each with a price tag of $70,000. That’s high-end single malt scotch territory, and intentionally so as the goal here seems to be to entice well-heeled buyers who are more familiar with the Macallan than they are with Appleton Estate. If you’re interested in buying a bottle, contact your local specialty retailer. And you can find the rest of the collection, including various vintages in the excellent Hearts lineup, available at ReserveBar.
Authors
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Jonah Flicker