Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12-Year

Aroma: Vanilla, cinnamon, sugar

Body: Oak, toffee, some vanilla, tobacco

Finish: Dark chocolate, oak, coffee

Conclusion: Nice rum, definitely not on the sweet side of things, very spicy. You can't do anything wrong with this one. It's not spectacular nor very complex but a very good every-day rum.

Kind of bland...not horrible but nothing special either.

To be honest, i love rum, but am no specialist. Ordered this to try, and just love it. Nice smooth taste. Tried a cheap Appleton rum in the past and disliked it. But this is really good, simple as that. Just buy it and enjoy!

It reminds me alot of Zaya rum. I got the bottle as a gift, don't think I would purchase again unless I was somewhere that didn't have a large selection.

A sophisticated funk. Great nose with ripe banana and vanilla. A classic Appleton blend.

Un buen ron lindo color , el sabor es aceptable , lo noto muy alcoholico al beberlo y al final , yo lo tomo solo o con un hielo , en el limite de lo recomendable

Et bien voilà un bon rhum, sans sucre ajouté, bien ficelé une attaque franche, un développement harmonieux avec une belle longueur finale. Des arômes fins et des notes caramel léger. Tout ce qu'on demande à un bon rhum, tout ça à moins de 40€. Bravo.

Yeah, u need to like that Jamaican style, i prefer Barbados or Cuba... anyway thats interesting difference. This one is more fruity, i can feel more vanilla, pineapple, a specific flavour. It is worth to taste it.

I'm actually rather a cocktail wonk than a straight drinker, but this is one of the few liquors I prefer straight, because of its fantastic flavour. Granted, it's not that ester-rich as the stereotypical Jamaican rum, but it's still unmistakably the powerful English style. The aroma is hard to describe, I don't know of anything that tastes like this, apart from a few other rums. It's sweetish and candy-like, but not like toffee or the usual suspects. Mount Gay the last Ward 10 yo. struck me as similar. Of course it's stupid that Appleton thinks they have to dye this with caramel colour, but alas, many distillers do this, and gladly it doesn't alter the taste. If you're not familiar with this sort of powerful rum, then it may well bite your nose if you approach it too closely. In that case it recommends keeping your proper distance, so you can enjoy the wonderful aroma uninterruptedly. On the palate it's quite soft, for sure softer than most Singe Malt Whiskies.
EDIT: There are some commenters here describing this rum as mildly funky, even with some hogo. Nothing could be farther from the truth! This rum has great aroma intensity and a powerful flavour, but this doesn't mean it's funky. Its aroma is molasses happily married with oak. Jamaican funk is something else, it's esters.

Great value in this bottle and the 12 years really is above and beyond the Special, Reserve, and even the 15 year.