Aroma visualization from community tastings
Appleton 21 Years
"Very smooth and easily approachable" is how one taster sums it up, and that's the story of this 21-year Appleton. The nose is the highlight: vanilla, caramel, toasted oak, orange peel and a whiff of solvent, almost cognac-like. The palate is rounder and gentler than the nose promises, with dark chocolate and spice. The recurring gripe: at 43% it feels a touch light and watery for the age.
The community says- Beautiful complex nose
- Round and balanced
- But: Light at 43%
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The look inside the bottle
How does Appleton 21 Years taste?
Aggregated from 238 community reviews.
Elegant aged Appleton, gentle but a bit light Loved for its balance and elegant, complex nose, but many feel 43% holds it back and the palate turns thin. Several openly prefer the cheaper 12-year.
People easing into aged Jamaican rum who want smooth over funky
Fans of bold, high-ester Jamaican funk or cask-strength intensity
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
84 of 238 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
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How is Appleton 21 Years rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.0 sits in the “Very good” band. 90% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 1% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
63% rate it 8 or higher. 15 selected write-ups from 238 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
One of the community's most-rated rums
Review by Jack M
Lovely sipper. Very smooth and easily approachable. Some subtly fruit flavours - orange and coconut, dark chocolate and a certain sweetness. Oak and spice notes come through, particularly in the finish.
Review by Stefan Persson
Most helpful positive review
As a summary it’s complex with a deep taste and a fantastic balance between sweetness and dryness. The nose is a little of everything, but mostly strong aromas of fruits. At the palate all the flavors comes to you together with a certain sweetness and roundness.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Most helpful mixed review
This is a super good rum for the price. A little bit of Jamaica funk all the way and a real joy. You can taste the complexity of the 21 years of maturing.
Review by Galli33
I found it at a bar on my holiday in bibione! Great to start a holiday 😅… So it’s a very fruity interesting solid lovely rum. I can suggest to everyone, who will end a hard working day with an fruity rum to relax! try it you won't regret it. Cheers *Update: Still one of my favorite rums 🥃
Review by Oliver
A very good introduction to the world of unsweetened rums. Round and harmonious without the typical Jamaica ester funk.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
if Jamaica should be easy sipping then it would be this one. Definitely one of the better old Jamaicans with a nice honey banana note! could only have a few more %😅 but for a really nice harmony of wood, sweetness, fruitiness and light ester notes.
Review by cigares
A rum I expected too much of? A blend of vanilla and tropical fruit with a lingering impression of caramel. On the palate, a diluted side first, then spices, caramel again and tropical fruit and prune. The finish is rather short. There's still some spice, wood and tobacco. I find it good but a little disappointing.
Review by DomM
I honestly think this is outstanding quality. Only downside is the low ABV. Nevertheless the rum does not fail to deliver an intense profile. Highly recommended if excessive ABV is not (yet) your cup of tea.
Review by LukaŽiga
8:On the nose, what's immediately striking is its balance. The woodiness is toasted, the alcohol present but well blended and no single aroma takes precedence over the others. Vanilla, floral notes, almond, caramel, woodiness and orange form a winning team with all tropical fruits and funkiness and roasted aromas that emerge on airing. 8,5:On the palate, the attack is both lively and greedy, sweetness is pleasant . The batch is more present here than on the nose(long ageing), but blends very well with the molasses and brings us nutty notes, spices, caramel sweetness and overpowers that famous Jamaican funkiness with grassy and ripe tropical fruits notes. Walnut returns at the end and is a leading note through the palate. 8:The finish is relatively dry, yet long. A mixture of brown sugar and toasted woodiness accompany us for quite a while. Well rounded and smooth, yet lack of that strong omnipresent Jamaican funkiness that we find in Appleton 12 rare casks. Edit:25.4.26
Review by Joachim Guger
Verkostet in der Dino’s Aphotecary Bar 16.12.2025. Er riecht sehr gut, Lösungsmittel, Lack, gebrannter Zucker, getrocknete Früchte, ein Hauch Kokos, Vanille, Gewürze. Ausgewogen, warm, trocken, wenig komplex. Im Mund dann würzig und etwas Schärfe. Langweiliger Abgang. Insgesamt ein guter, trockener Sipper, mehr aber auch nicht. Die Empfehlung geht da klar an den 12-Jährigen, der ist günstiger, besser und aufregender.
Review by Timo Groeger
Strong part, you notice the 21 years almost immediately. Great nose which is rather sweetish, vanilla, caramel and burnt sugar. The palate also has a subtle sweetness, dark chocolate, vanilla and caramel. The wood only becomes noticeable in the finish.
Review by Tim
Tastes much better to me now than when I first tasted it, probably because I now also noticed a toasty chocolate note alongside all the fruit and caramel/honey.
Review by Pavel Spacek
Nice drinking rum of my style - sweet taste, caramel, nuts
Review by Leo Krüper
Very nice Appleton, which unfortunately lacks 10-15% power. Do not understand why this release runs so under the radar.
Review by Godspeed
It is very good but it does not excel beyond its price point. Better integration of alcohol than its younger counterparts. One of those “you get exactly the level you paid for” kind of rums.
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Expert reviews
5 critics scored it, averaging 8.1/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
Read full review →
Expert review by Rhummer
Read full review →
Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →If you are an enthusiast of Appleton Estate's rums then trying the 21 will be a must. Its not hugely better than the 12, it is similar just slightly sweeter and with a little bit more going on. You could pay £100-140 for a rum half as good as this!
Expert review by Zucker und Zeste
Noble and elegant. A Jamaican that is not demanding and yet presents typical flavors. Ideal for the ambitious beginner.
Expert review by The Rum Champion
Found this bottle collecting dust in Northern California. Was very excited to grab it. Unfortunately, when I went to take the cork off it basically disintegrated. This is a pleasant enough rum. That said, by no means is this worth $130. There are far better rums at way lower price point. Tasting notes: brown sugar, black tea, tobacco, raw almonds, citrus zest, allspice
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 77 € – 158 €
from 8 sales, latest 04/2025
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 125 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about Appleton 21 Years
A Pot & Column Still Rum from Jamaica, distilled by Appleton Estate, at 43%.
Community purchases
487 bottles logged by 435 collectors.
A drinker & collector.
30% opened, 56 emptied and repurchased.
What does Appleton 21 Years cost?
Community paid 69–125 €.
Current best price: 133.00 € – above the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
+8 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
487 purchased · 255 tasted · 322 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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