On March 23rd, 2017 I attended to a very special tasting event hosted by Joy Spence, Master Blender for Appleton Estate Rum. This wasn’t an ordinary tasting event. Joy Spence and Appleton Estate were serving a very special new rum.
Joy is celebrating her 20th anniversary as Master Blender of Appleton Estate Rum. She joined Appleton Estate Rum in 1982 as Chief Chemist and was appointed as the brand’s Master Distiller/Blender in 1997. At that time, Joy Spence became not only first woman to be the Master Blender of a premium rum brand, but also the first woman in the world to be the Master Blender of a global spirits brand. Since then, she has earned numerous awards, including the honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the University of Louborough and, in 2016, the Golden Rum Barrel Award for the Most Influential Rum Blender of the Last 10 Years.
To acknowledge her extraordinary career, Appleton Estate is paying homage to the revolutionary Joy Spence by releasing Appleton Estate Joy Anniversary Blend, a rare 25-year-old minimum aged limited edition rum.
Here is a link to my full review of the Appleton Estate Joy Anniversary Rum which I cobbled together from the tasting notes I wrote at yesterday’s tasting event.
Review: Appleton Estate Joy Anniversary Rum
I hope you enjoy the review which concludes with a few serving suggestions from none other than Joy Spence herself as Joy shared with me how she would recommend enjoying her special Anniversary Rum with a small group of friends.
In my part of Canada, Lamb’s is one of the most popular rum brands. The brand is owned by Corby, and they trace the rum’s history all the way to 1849 when Alfred Lamb opened his wine and spirits business in London, England. Apparently Alfred stored his rum barrels (which had been imported from the Caribbean) in his underground cellars which were directly beneath the Thames River. The cool underground air which did not experience large seasonal fluctuations in temperature nor large fluctuations from day to night is reckoned to be one of the secrets behind the unexpectedly smooth taste of his rum.
Chic Choc Spiced Rum was developed by Quebec based, Domaine Pinnacle to be the first-ever spiced rum produced with indigenous spices from the Chic-Choc Mountain region in northern Quebec. The spirit is made from blend of rums aged for 3 to 8 years and infused a unique mix of Quebec Nordic spices. These six indigenous plants grow naturally in Quebec’s Chic-Choc mountains on the Gaspé peninsula and include Peppery Green Alder, Pine Forest Spikenard, Witherod Berries, Lovage Root, Wild Angelica and Sweet Gale (aka Bog Myrtle). There may be other spices in the mix which compliment the nordic spices, however theme of the rum is natural flavours in a rum blended and spiced to be lightly sweet and lightly spicy.
The Rum Howler Blog 