Appleton Rare Blend 12 Years
Loved by Shtafermo Shtafermo, Lutz Lungershausen & 77 more
A solid stepping stone into Jamaican rum: medium‑dry, woody and gently fruity at 43%. RumX members praise its balance, value and versatility for both sipping and classic cocktails, especially Mai Tais.
- Great value
- Balanced profile
- Versatile mixer
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How does Appleton Rare Blend 12 Years taste?
Aggregated from 800 community reviews.
Balanced, versatile Jamaican classic A solid stepping stone into Jamaican rum: medium‑dry, woody and gently fruity at 43%. RumX members praise its balance, value and versatility for both sipping and classic cocktails, especially Mai Tais.
Curious explorers wanting a dependable, moderately dry Jamaican that works both neat and in Mai Tais without overwhelming funk or sweetness.
Those chasing high-ester Jamaican funk bombs or ultra-rich, sweet dessert rums; also not ideal if you dislike noticeable oak or a touch of alcohol heat.
How is Appleton Rare Blend 12 Years rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict , 7.0 lands squarely in the "Good" band. 43% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 15% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Based on 800 ratings
Review by Shtafermo Shtafermo
A good old classic. A pretty good humble and contained Jamaica funkiness. Very fruity, vanilla & caramel still present, woody, and subtle spiciness, like cinnamon. Good texture. This one never fails when you need a cozy soft funkiness to chill out.
Review by Lutz Lungershausen
Appleton has turned my originally rather cultural interest in rum into enthusiasm. I have been traveling to the Caribbean regularly for over 20 years, and in recent years I have always been drawn to Jamaica. Naturally, I have also visited Appleton Estate Distillery: On the premises, the aromas of Dunder in the air are intensely enhanced by the tropical heat ... this is exactly how Appleton 12yo smells and tastes. Warm, soft, rich, full of aromas, lovely, simply very, very tasty. I measure all other rums by this rum.
Review by Stefan Persson
A very good everyday rum. The nose is rather round but mostly woody and fruity with a little spiciness and a little roasted. At the palate the aromas comes back rather strongly as flavors (except for the roastiness) with a certain sweetness.
Review by MarcT
Mild. Not very funky. Good for sipping, but better as Mixer.
Review by Adrian Wahl
Beautiful wood notes and simply a classic. Of course, no High Ester profile, but Appleton 12 belongs for me in a well-stocked home bar.
Review by TheJackDrop
"The ultimate gift bottle? we have a lot of sweetness, some nice aromas, a nice decanter, in short, it's worth the price without being crazy. To sum up, my tasting notes: Nose: Orange In the mouth: Orange, Vanilla "
Review by Godspeed
A truly classic mixed distillation rum and one of the best and most versatile cocktail rums out there. Great as an occasional little sipper too. Delicious oaky taste and a little more gentlemanly than many other jamaicans. You won’t find some hogo esther explosion here but it does have a taste that is uniquely its own. A must-try mega-classic that does what it does very well indeed and at an incredibly affordable price point to boot.
Review by Tim
On the nose, an explosion of fruity notes coupled with caramel. In addition, wood and vanilla and ester rather in the background. In the mouth then comes typical Jamaica the dry, smoky, spicy direction with dark chocolate, which has completely replaced the fruit from the nose. The musty/fermented component is still within limits here. Hints of caramel and fruit in the mouth, but really only subtly. In the finish almost atypical for Jamaica. Probably the best and most affordable rum for an entry into the world of Jamaica!
Review by Andrew Mainprice
Nice and dry
Review by Andi
Great Jamaican for all beginners. Woody notes, slightly sweet, lots of fruit.
Review by rum_sk
Great rum one of my top 10. The old bottling of this Jamaican treasure is a little bit better than the new one. Body is fuller and tastier. I will not go down explaining the profile of this one. Come on. Everybody knows it, everybody loves it. Who doesn't is a fool :P
Review by Rumclub Latvia
Still one of ‘must have’ in bar. Still great quality and value for money. Try for sure hundreds of rums, but still come back to this from time to time.
Review by Quentin Demillière
Très agréable à déguster. Ce rhum me laissais perplexe mais une fois en bouche les saveurs sont présentes. Un nez assez corsé et boisé mais lorsqu’il est en bouche, sa rondeur et sa douceur prennent le dessus. A essayer.
Review by Joachim Guger
Schönes Geschmacksprofil (Eiche, getrocknete Früchte, Orange). Mehr Funk als der 21 Years, leider fehlen ein paar PS bzw. Prozente. Trotzdem ein guter Rum für Einsteiger. Und um 30€ der mit Abstand beste auf dem Platz. Der Appleton eignet sich auch super zum Mixen. Mai Tai wird sehr gut, El Presidente ebenso.
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Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
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Expert review by RUMprobiert
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Expert review by Le Blog À Roger
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Expert review by Zucker und Zeste
"Top mix Jamaican that fits into all drinks that call for a Jamaican and is also pleasing pure and not overwhelming even beginners."
Community purchases
1,079 bottles logged by 945 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
41% opened, 209 emptied and repurchased.
Community paid €24–€45.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
+6 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months.
1,079 purchased · 855 tasted · 422 wishlist · as of
About the Appleton Estate distillery
The Appleton Estate distillery is located in Jamaica. Rums from Appleton Estate have been reviewed 3,976 times with an average of 7.8/10.
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I'm Oliver, together with Jakob, Robert and Lukas, we started RumX in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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