Appleton Estate releases celebratory blend

Campari UK owned Appleton Estate rum distillery in Jamaica has released an Appleton Estate Joy Anniversary Blend, a 25 Year Old limited-edition rum celebrating Joy Spence's 20th anniversary as master blender.

After graduating from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and the University of Loughborough with a Master of Science in Analytical Chemistry, Spence joined Appleton Estate in 1981 as chief chemist. Under the guidance of then master blender, Owen Tulloch, Joy honed her sensory skills, developing an unrivalled mastery of taste and smell.

Joy’s prestige in the industry rose at a time when rum was primarily made and consumed by men, and her 1997 appointment as the world’s first female master blender certainly served to shatter the spirits industry’s glass ceiling.

Joy Spence says: “For my anniversary blend, I simply set out to create the rum that I’d like to sip while watching the colours of my garden change in the warm glow of the Jamaican sunset. It includes two rum marques which are of particular sentimental significance to me: The first of these marques was laid down to age in 1981, which is the year I joined the Appleton Estate team, and the second is my favourite marque of pot still rum. The final blend is a wonderful rum that I hope will be become a cornerstone of my legacy.”

Appleton Estate Joy Anniversary Blend 45%ABV will be rolled out across markets starting in March 2017 at an  RRP of £225.

28 February 2017 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor