Appleton Estate Rum Hearts Collection 1998 Review

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In the world of rum, if volume of flavor is what you’re looking for, then 100% pot still expressions are usually going to end up coming out on top. It’s the nature of the science of distillation–pot stills are less efficient than more modern column stills at yielding a more concentrated, high-level spirit, but that also means they leave more of the delicate flavor/aroma compounds known as congeners in the mix after initial distillation. You’re left with a less pure (and less neutral), more flavorful spirit, but the distillery gets less yield from their fermented materials in each batch. Such is the trade off, and one of the reasons why pot still expressions are often more expensive for the consumer. You’re paying for that flavor intensity.

It’s for that reason that 100% pot still rum expressions aren’t particularly common or easy to come by–when they do exist, it’s often in the form of special limited releases with high price tags. Much of the rum on the shelf is actually what we call “blended rum,” by which they mean a blend of both pot still distillate and column still distillate, a choice that is both economically sound and also allows for more accessible rums that aren’t quite so heavy as 100% pot still rum. But occasionally, it’s good to get the full force of the still, as it were, and you certainly get that in the upcoming release of Appleton Estate Hearts Collection 1998.

Appleton’s Hearts Collection is among the distillery’s most prized signature releases in recent years, and always consists of a handful of casks from a specific year–this year features 25-year-old rums distilled in 1998. It’s a batch from 19 casks, yielding a mere 2,706 bottles globally, so the eye-popping $650 MSRP shouldn’t be a surprise. Previous releases in the Hearts Collection have included 1994, 1995, 1999, 1984, 2003, 1993, 2002 and 1998.

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As ever, Hearts Collection 1998 is bottled at cask strength, which in this case ends up being a commanding 63% ABV (126 proof). Master Blender Joy Spence unsurprisingly suggests adding at least a little bit of water as a result, advice that the rum geeks out there are likely to ignore, but I think it probably benefits the rum in this scenario. Interestingly, this series offers a measurement of “total congeners,” listed as 995 g/100 LAA, but it’s difficult to really put this figure into context without approximate readings for other common products. Please note, this isn’t a measurement of ester levels in rum, which is often expressed as gr/hlAA.

So with that said, let’s get into tasting this small sample of 25-year-old Appleton pot distillate.

On the nose, Hearts Collection 1998 displays bold, decadent notes of ripe fruit and molasses cake, although I will note that these notes didn’t really peak for me until it had been in the glass for a long time–I’m talking 30, 45 minutes before they were really shining through with the most beautifully sweet intensity, so you may want to be intentional about pouring this glass a good while before you’re going to start consuming it. Waves of dark dried fruit are met by fresher, juicy mango, dusted in cocoa powder, coffee and pencil shavings. There’s a real “fruitcake” kind of vibe to this, with flashes of old oak and warm spice.

On the palate, this powerful rum follows through with notes of citrus, darker dried fruit, vanilla bean, molasses cake, roast coffee and sweetly charred oak, eventually venturing into more weathered territory with tobacco and old leathery notes. It finishes a bit more dry than the decadent sweetness up front would initially have you thinking, as all the oaky intensity begins to creep in after the initial rush of fruit and caramelized sugars. All in all, I would describe it as mildly decadent but still composed, with modest tannin and a little bit of pleasant astringency. Particularly with a splash of water, everything comes together pretty harmoniously.

This is an elegant, lovely release from Appleton Estate, of the sort that we’ve now come to expect in the Hearts Collection. Sadly, there are very few bottles out there for collectors to hunt down, but we hope the distillery’s greatest devotees are able to lay hands on one.

Distillery: Appleton Estate
City: Santa Cruz, Jamaica
Style: Jamaican rum
ABV: 63% (126 proof)
Availability: Limited, 750 ml bottles, $650 MSRP

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.