Aroma visualization from community tastings
Appleton Reserve
Banana, caramel and a clear smoky-oak backbone, with vanilla and honey filling in around the edges. This 43% Appleton lands between the fruitier Signature and the woodier 12 — spicy on the palate, a little dry, and only lightly funky. Most tasters call it a rounded everyday Jamaican; a few find it a touch bland or wish for more ester punch.
The community says- Ripe banana nose
- Good value
- But: Low funk
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The look inside the bottle
How does Appleton Reserve taste?
Aggregated from 235 community reviews.
Fruity, smoky everyday Jamaican, light funk Widely liked as a well-priced daily Jamaican — fruity nose, spicy-smoky palate. The common gripe: not much funk, and some find it a bit straightforward next to the 12.
People wanting an easy first Jamaican, neat or in a Mai Tai
Funk chasers wanting big Hampden-style esters
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
75 of 235 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
Your next rum
One difference each to this rum.
Rated better
Appleton 15 Years Black River Casks
7.9/1058 €
More intense
Chairman's Reserve 1931 - 5th Edition
8.0/10First choice: 46 of 51 tasters who tried both prefer it.
How is Appleton Reserve rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 7.5 sits in the “Good” band. 67% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 2% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
77% rate it between 6 and 8. 16 selected write-ups from 235 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
One of the community's most-rated rums
Review by abaker-rum
I love the nose on this rum. It is a good marrying of caramel, vanilla, and oak with banana and pineapple. The taste carries the banana, caramel, and honey, the fades with a medium finish of barrel notes and molasses. I think the 8 year keeps up with the 12.
Review by Steve the Barman
Most helpful positive review
All my Tastings and Scores are purely based on “Rums under £50”. I rarely look at Rums over £50 for my YouTube.
Review by Krogulczyk
Most helpful critical review
Its good for it’s price. Too bourbon-forward for my preferences. Would not buy a bottle. Spices and wood are dominant, very little amount of solvents shining through the barrel notes. It does not have as many estery notes as Appleton signature, at the same time it is not as balanced and complex as Appleton 12. Get an Appleton Signature or Appleton 12
Review by Stefan Persson
Bought a bottle and tasted this rum in Nerja, Spain. It’s a blend of many distillates, both from column and pot still, aged for a minimum of 8 years. Overall a rum that surprised me in all aspects in a good way. The nose is delicious, fruity, spicy and woody with scents of orange, baking spices and oak. At the palate it’s balanced, smooth, full bodied, sweet, fruity and spicy with flavors of honey, orange, pineapple, apricot, pepper and vanilla. The finish is very smooth and longer than expected.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
A retaste for me and I still stick to my initial score and statement 😊 I have to say that this one is best used in a mixer.
Review by LukaŽiga
7,9:On the nose, roasted oak with caramel, spicy with vanilla, banana, pineapple, citrus fruits, medicinal, metallic touch, light esters, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, the molasses is fresh, flowery, herbaceous, hints of rubber come out, crème brûlée. 7,6:On the palate, the attack is slightly sweet with smoky wood and caramel, spicy vanilla, cinammon, fruity with banana, orange peel, dried apricots and orange, as the molasses is grassy, herbaceous. 7,5:The finish is quite short, dry and tannic, with grassy molasses, banana, citrus fruits and roasted, smoky, spicy oak..
Review by Rumpalumpa
The nose is really nice and fruity, especially right after pouring, when the esters are strongest. Pineapple and banana. The palate is quite different, very spicy and lots of molasses. Pretty good but not quite outstanding
Review by rum_sk
Taking few points down but still great rum. ,,A,, as Appleton. I thought that there would be a huge difference or leap between 8 & 12 year version. But no. The only difference is price and a slightly more prominent smell as well as taste in this 8 year version which is more rougher, but in a good way. 12 is more subtle and smoother while keeping the same taste and smell. Other than that, I cannot tell the difference. However, I will compare them against each other directly and revisit the rating but boy I love Appleton Estate.
Review by Lutz Lungershausen
Beautiful, aromatic neat sipper. Smell and taste on a ridge between young / fruity and aged / spicy, which gives an exciting complexity.Have him again as 200ml Flask in a supermarket in Negril / Jamaica bought.
Review by Marcus Ekornes
Very good rum, but not nearly as funky as other jamaican rums
Review by Michael Ihmels 🇩🇪
The next Appleton Estate. In my opinion, again very solid and suitable for beginners. The fruity taste and smell dominate here again, but not too artificial. Therefore quite tasty
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Very solid Appleton. Round and top PLV.
Review by Portman
Pretty nice sipper, but the alcohol could be integrated more smoothly. You get a good value for the price though.
Review by Philipp F.
The smell is typical Jamaican, pineapple, banana, lots of fruit, light caramel notes, for me a very round bouquet overall. The taste continues the whole thing, lots of banana and pineapple, cramamell and vanilla, light ester notes, very round and mild taste, fun. The finish is in the medium range with light wood notes, fruity and mild. For me, a very good mixer, e.g. in Mai Tai, but can be enjoyed very well on its own.
Review by HenryL
Top rum, especially for the price! Nice and fruity on the nose, with more spicy notes on the palate. I like the finish, first strong and dry, later pleasantly sweet. It's good on its own and also works well in cocktails. Those who like wood are better off with the 12, those who like it a little sweeter and fruitier should go for the 8. For me, it depends on my mood which one I prefer.
Review by Michael Schillheim
Can be drunk neat, but as a mixer, whether Mai Tai or Rum Cola, a very good choice with a very good price-performance ratio.
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Expert reviews
4 critics scored it, averaging 7.5/10. 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 Rum Runner Labs
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Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review →If you want funk from Appelton Estate than Wray and Nephew White Overproof is what you want. If you want an afforadable and very nice every day sipper and a premium mixer - get this in your shopping trolley next time Tarquin takes you to Waitrose. The old Aged 8...
Expert review by The Dunder Hut
Better in a drink, slightly worse on its own
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
Avg. community purchase price 29 €
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 Reserve
A Pot & Column Still Rum from Jamaica, distilled by Appleton Estate, at 43%.
Community purchases
536 bottles logged by 481 collectors.
A drinker & collector.
33% opened, 74 emptied and repurchased.
What does Appleton Reserve cost?
Community paid 24–37 €.
Current best price: 29.90 € – within 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+ →
+41 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
536 purchased · 247 tasted · 192 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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