Deep within the beautiful Jamaican countryside lies Appleton Estate, home of the family of wonderful Appleton rums. During our recent trip to Jamaica, we made the long trip from Negril through the lush fields of Nassau Valley, to take a tour and learn more about Appleton rums.
During the drive to Appleton, we passed by fields and fields of sugarcane, as well as mangoes, bananas, breadfruit and peanuts.
The estate itself sits on a beautiful site in lush Nassau Valley, close to the Black River.
We arrived at Appleton, were greeted by the friendly staff, paid our tour fee ($25 per person) and ushered into the bar, where we were offered a rum punch.
While sipping the tasty punch, we watched a brief video on the history of Appleton Estate and it’s rum.
Our tour guide then led us outside then to the estate grounds, where we were shown how donkeys were used to help squeeze the sugar cane and many other historical artifacts that have now been replaced with modern technology and processes.
We climbed the lookout tower to get a great view of the surrounding estate, countryside and limestone hills that protect the estate.
The tour moved on to the area where the distilling and aging take place.
Photography was not permitted in the actual distilling area, but we were able to snap some pictures in the aging area, where the rum is aged and rests for for many years in oak barrels.
After learning about the different distillation processes and examining the aging areas, we had the chance to press our own sugarcane and sample “wet sugar” (molasses) out of a copper pot.
A few more pictures of the grounds and we headed in to the best part (in our opinion) of the tour – the rum tasting.
We were given the opportunity, and encouraged, to try all of the rums that are somehow connected in the Appleton Rum Family including Wray & Nephew Overproof and Rum Cream, Coruba, Jamaican Blue Mountain Mist Coffee Liqueur and several Appleton Rums such as V/X and Genesis (white).
Unfortunately, the wonderful aged rums, Appleton Estate, Appleton 30 and Appleton 50 were not available for sampling. We though about bringing some of the Appleton 50 home and probably would have it we had more room in our suitcase… ;)
Is the Appleton Rum Factory Tour right for you? The cost of the tour is $25.00 per person (which includes a small complimentary bottle of rum to take with you). We paired the Rum Factory Tour with YS Falls and Floyd’s Pelican Bar, which made it an affordable experience for us. The cost of getting to Appleton can be high from Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and Negril, but if you enjoy rum and would like to learn more about a premium rum manufacturer, the estate it’s produced on and have the opportunity to sample different rums in their portfolio, you will probably really enjoy this tour. We did.
Find Appleton Rum Estate on our Jamaica Map
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