Appleton rums are redesigned and reclassified

Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum has unveiled its re-envisioned line-up of its premium rum range.  While making no changes to the award-winning liquid, Appleton Estate announced a new naming classification and packaging design for its core range to “convey the quality, care and passion that goes into producing these premium rums and emphasises the crafted blends that fill each bottle”.

Richard Black, global integration director for rums at brand owner Gruppo Campari says: “Appleton Estate has been producing premium, quality Jamaican Rum for more than 265 years. While the liquid in the bottle remains exactly the same, we decided to bring a consistent and coherent naming structure to help consumers appreciate the differences among our three core variants as well as the hierarchy between the new variants.

“We feel that the new naming classification is unique to the rum category and to Appleton Estate and, more importantly, celebrates the art of blending which is so integral to the rum industry and is what makes our Appleton Estate rums so rich, complex and flavourful.”

Under the new naming structure Appleton Estate Signature Blend is the new name for Appleton Estate V/X, Appleton Estate Reserve Blend is the new name for Appleton Estate Reserve and Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old is the new name for Appleton Estate Extra 12 Year Old. 

Appleton Estate’s master blender Joy Spence, the first female to be appointed master blender in the industry, notes: “We wanted the new packaging to capture the craftsmanship and exceptional quality of our range and celebrate the uniqueness of the Appleton Estate including our heritage, our land, our process and our people.

“Although the names and packaging for our three core variants have changed, the award winning liquid inside the bottle remains the same.  In addition, we have not changed the names, packaging or liquid for our luxury brands, Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Jamaica Rum or Appleton Estate 50 Year Old Jamaica Rum.”

The New Packaging

Bottle: Appleton Estate’s iconic bottle, which has been a hallmark of the brand since it was first launched, has been retained to provide consumers with a familiar visual cue. 

Closure: The cap now includes the signature of Master Blender Joy Spence to reinforce Appleton Estate’s crafted approach to producing rum and ‘Estate Distilled’ & ‘Jamaica Rum’, are repeated at the base of the closure to highlight the brand’s Estate and Jamaican provenance

Cartouche: The name of the variants have been moved from the cartouche to the main label and Appleton Estate’s rich heritage as a rum producing establishment since 1749 is now highlighted on the cartouche.

Label: The new label now features the lush landscape of the Appleton Estate and Jamaica’s world famous Cockpit Country where the Estate is located. 

The Appleton Estate logo has been updated and the words “Crafted in the heart of Jamaica” have been placed under the logo to speak to the care and passion that goes into making Appleton Estate rum as well as the geographical location of the Appleton Estate in the heart of Jamaica. 

The historic medals, which date back to the 1800’s, are featured on the bottom left of the label and the Appleton Estate heart icon appears as a watermark on the bottom right of the label.

The new packaging design and naming classification will be rolled out across markets starting this month, April 2015.  

15 April 2015 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor