JAMAICAN ME CRAZY! Appleton Estate VX Rum

Yummy Rummy. Rum is a relatively new pleasure of mine, not really having drunk much of it until recent years but it's now a favourite spirit (alongside gin). This week, I was sent a little taster bottle of Appleton Estate VX Jamaica Rum and a ginger beer to go with it, so as I aint no mule (cocktail people laugh now. Other people just smile and nod. Thanks) I thought I'd give them a try.

For the last 260 years, the Appleton Estate distillery has been in the Nassau Valley, part of the famous 'Cockpit Country' of Jamaica. Just like wine producers, the folks at Appleton are obsessed with terroir and they insist that the limestone soils which make up their 11,000 acre estate play a massive part in the flavour of the rum. I decided it would be very foolish and possibly even stupid of me not to test out this rum, totally not for my sake but for YOU. I wouldn't want you drinking bad rum now...

Although I had a can of cold ginger beer next to me, not wanting to make an ASS (another mule joke there) of myself, I tried the rum straight in the awesome rum cup i got given.
The rum has a really attractive nose that isn't super strong, like some other rums that make your nose hairs feel like they are going to set alight and fall out. It is nicely refined. Although a hardened rum drinker (Pirate is the technical term) might want a little more intricacy on the nose, there is no doubt that this is a very good start.
It is much the same on the palate; nice and smooth, with a bit of spice, without too much of a burn, followed with a nice hint of vanilla. This is a great starting place for anyone wanting to get into proper rum, as it is easy to get your head around. There isn't the depth of flavour that the very best rums have but this is delicious none-the-less.

Appleton Estate really comes into it's own in cocktails, such as the Jamaican Mule (aahhh you see now!?), so I added a bit of the Old Jamaica Ginger Beer and a squeeze of lime.
I'm not usually a fan of ginger at all, so ginger beer on it's own is something I generally avoid, however the rum goes really nicely with the Old Jamaica, making something really refreshing and easy drinking, perfect for a hot summers day.

Appleton Estate VX Rum is available from The Whisky Exchange for £19.35 a bottle (70cl) - it's well worth a try, whether you are an avid cocktail nut or if you have to buy a present for a friend.

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