Appleton Rum Estate

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Appleton Rum Estate

Appleton Rum Estate - St. Elizabeth

If you love rum then you're sure to be fascinated with the famous Appleton Rum Estate. You'll get an overview of the history of the estate, get to see how rum is made and sample many different types of rum along the way. Be sure to also check out the scenery on your journey to Appleton Rum Estate. The estate comprises of 11,000 acres of fields in the Nassau valley. The valley sits at the foot of the Santa Cruz mountains and is watered by the Black River which flows through it.

The Appleton Rum Tour

The tour starts with a video giving an overview of Appleton Rum Estate and its activities. Next you get to see some remnants from the history of the estate, including antique equipment and machinery. Two old sugar cane crushers have been preserved, the estate's donkey is on hand to give a demonstration of one and guests on the tour are offered the chance to operate the second one. Your efforts will no go unrewarded as you will also get to taste some of the freshly squeezed cane juice.

The next stage of the tour takes you to the distillery to see the famous rum being distilled. Here you will get to taste "wet sugar" (aka molasses) and see it being distilled in giant copper pots.

The next stage of rum production that you will witness is the aging house. Here you will see thousands of white oak barrels ageing various types of rum. Some varieties of rum require three years of aging, some require up to 30! The final stage of the process you will witness is the blending. This is where the rums are blended in to the world famous Appleton flavour.

The most popular part of the tour is a trip to the tavern where you get the opportunity to sample the 16 varieties of rum produced at Appleton Estate. You even get to take a mini bottle of rum to savour at home.

Also on site is a gift shop where you can purchase souvenirs and, of course, Appleton rum! If you have an appetite for more rum after the tasting session, there is also a bar on site where food and drink are available.

History

The Appleton Estate was founded in 1655 and is believed to be the land payment made to Francis Dickson for his role in the English capture of Jamaica from the Spanish. His two grandsons, Caleb and Ezekiel, are the earliest known owners of the estate. It was not until 1749 that the estate began producing rum. Appleton Rum grew in popularity during World War II when a rum was sought to supplement the insufficient supplies of Whisky on the Island. Appleton became the rum of choice due to its smoothness and lightness.

Appleton Rum Estate currently produces around 10 million litres of rum per year and 160 tons of sugar a day. Wray and Nephew (the company which makes Appleton Rum) also owns the New Yarmouth and Holland sugar estates. However, the Appleton Estate is the largest and most modern in Jamaica.

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