We are very happy to present a tasting of rare single vintage release from one of the Caribbean’s finest distilleries. The five pure pot still rums in the line-up are the result of a close collaboration between Appleton’s master distiller Joy Spence and pioneering independent bottler Luca Gargano. Every bottle in the Hearts Collection is offered at natural cask strength, without filtration or additives – a clear expression of Jamaican rum at its best.

With this one-off vertical tasting, we will explore the way Appleton’s spirit evolves over time, by sampling expressions from as far back as 1984 with the person that know them best. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any rum enthusiast.

Please note: This will be a physical tasting of the rums listed below hosted by Sly Augustin with Joy Spence and Luca Gargano joining us live via Zoom. 

Esters, responsible for many of the flavours and aromas found in rum, can produce startlingly different effects depending on their makeup and concentration. The same compounds that give us notes of mango and banana in one bottling might bring to mind rotting pineapple, olive brine and petrol in another. This spectrum of flavours – known collectively as funk or hogo – can be challenging initially but quickly becomes enormously compelling.  

This session offers a closer look at esters in rum with the industry leaders that know them best. An icon of the rum world, Hampden Estate has been the undisputed home of Jamaican funk since 1753. Foursquare distillery is a newcomer by comparison, having first come online in 1996. However, the Seale family has been in the rum business on Barbados since the 1820s. Under Richard Seale’s direction, the Foursquare name has become synonymous with quality, earning a cult following around the world.

A selection of new and exclusive bottlings will be sampled in this session, until then, rum's the word! 

These curators of the spirit world build reputations on their ability to find liquid gold in warehouses around the word. By selecting casks that are particularly exceptional or unusual they offer us a different experience of our best-loved distilleries. Often bottled at cask strength without chill-filtration or additives, this is – for many devotees – the perfect way to enjoy rum.

Single Barrel Selection from spirits distributor 1423 showcases single rums and unusual cask finishes, partly matured at warehousing in Denmark. Founder Benjamin Boothe put Levy Lane on the map with the Tamosi series, which tells stories of the people that inhabited the Caribbean in the pre-Columbian era. That Boutique-y Rum company is the fourth year of its ongoing mission to ‘bring delicious rums to confirmed geeks, adventurous rookies and the rum-curious.’ A noble endeavour if ever there was one.