Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2003
Loved by Oliver, Joachim Guger & 176 more
For seasoned enthusiasts: an 18‑year, cask‑strength Appleton that rewards patience with layered tropical fruit, caramel, tobacco and polished oak. RumX members love its balance of low‑ester Jamaica character and serious complexity.
- Complex fruit-wood mix
- Great alcohol integration
- Long satisfying finish
+9Compare all 6 shop offers from 345.00 €
Details about Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2003
How does Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2003 taste?
Aggregated from 190 community reviews.
Serious Appleton for seasoned palates For seasoned enthusiasts: an 18‑year, cask‑strength Appleton that rewards patience with layered tropical fruit, caramel, tobacco and polished oak. RumX members love its balance of low‑ester Jamaica character and serious complexity.
Experienced Jamaica fans and bourbon/single malt drinkers who enjoy cask‑strength, oak‑forward rums with balanced tropical fruit and subtle funk.
Beginners, those sensitive to high ABV, or drinkers who dislike woody bitterness or are seeking an easygoing sweet sipper.
How is Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2003 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict , 8.7 lands squarely in the "Very good" band. 98% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Based on 190 ratings
Review by Oliver
Very coherent low-ester Jamaican. Spicy, earthy and just the right amount of fruitiness.Very nice Abfüllubg! In the top 3 of the Hearts Collection series.
Review by Joachim Guger
A very nice balanced nose. Dried fruit dominates, restrained barrel maturity given the age. Unlike the other Hearts, no solvents. Alcohol perfectly integrated. In the mouth very powerful, full warm. Now very spicy and black olives. Complex. A great Appleton. High craftsmanship. Perhaps a bit too well-behaved at the end. Closest in flavor profile to the Rare Blend. Appleton Hearts 2003 - 2002 - 1993 Nose: All three very, very similar. Same marque? Banana bread, dried apples, licorice, caramel, fine spice, glue and glue. Powerful and warm. Compared to the 2003, the 2002 is a bit drier, dustier, a bit more licorice and less fruit . The 1993 is a bit woodier and more complex. All three great. Mouth: 2003 and 2002 again very similar. The 2002 a bit woodier and spicier. The 1993 then again... perhaps a touch too much. Conclusion: all three shine with a beautiful flavor profile. All three highest craftsmanship in terms of quality, integration of alcohol and wood maturity. The latter also applies to the 1993, 29 years of tropical storage and - matter of taste - just fine. Which one do I like best? Difficult decision, probably the 2002. What do I miss? The variety. How many marques can Appleton muster? Is that all after 7 bottlings? Edit: Now the bottle is empty. A great bottle, a pleasure every time.
Review by Jakob
Good rum, similar DNA, but somewhat fresher and with more fruit than the representatives from the 90s. Harmonious extension of the Hearts series, wonderfully demonstrates the potential of the "younger" tropically aged Appletons.
Review by zabo
Edit Edit: Day 7 in the 2024 calendar and completely wrong again. I hate blind tastings 🤣 Edit: A dream to be able to try the whole Appleton Hearts series. My conclusion would be that this is a really high-quality range. All in all, they are all great bottlings. I personally find it difficult to choose a true winner here. Only the 84 falls a little short. Both it and the 02 can't quite keep up, although that's complaining at a high level. However, if I had to choose one, it would probably be the 03, because it was the first one I tasted from the series. Day 3 RumX Calendar I've had a sample of this one sitting around for ages, I wish I'd opened it. A very tasty piece once again. Many thanks for that. Unfortunately it tasted so good that I had to buy another bottle.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4025 A nice complex nose with fruit, wood and some spice. A very fresh nose with earthiness to it. The palate is only lightly bitter with wood, light fruit, caramel and nuts in the foreground. The finish is medium to long with wood and dried fruit. Price to quality is pretty good when remeased.
Review by RumTaTa
This is my first Appleton Rum and I must say shame on me for not having tried a rum from this distillery before.The nose is already very inviting and wonderfully balanced. The alcohol is only subtly noticeable.On the palate, the alcohol is very much there and introduces an extraordinary explosion of flavors. This is abruptly over with the gentle impressions of the nose and the force of barrel, spices and rusty notes takes over. The medium-long finish has the emphasis on that and spice, a slight not disturbing bitterness comes to it.A very good rum, which causes me to try more bottlings of Appleton.
Review by Maxence
Nose is quite nice with some spicy and earthy notes, some fruits and pastries. Mouth is quite similar. Everything is fine but not my kind of favorite profile 🤷
Review by Tschusikowsky
RumX Advent 3.12.23 Der Rum schmeckt nach tropischer Lagerung, leicht salzig, Trockenfrüchte, anklang von Litschis, Kirsche, eventuell etwas Menthol/Minziges im Abgang. Auch eine gute Portion Holz. Irgendwie zieht es mich hier in Richtung St. Lucia. Der Alkohol finde ich für das aber sehr gut eingebunden. Mein Guess war: die Chairmans Abfüllung von RumX und GotA. Finde den Rum sehr lecker. Retasting: St. Lucia Eindruck bleibt. Der Alkohol ist sehr kräftig aber passend eingebunden. Die Ester machen sich im Mund ebenfalls bemerkbar. Sirupartiger Tabak mit viel tropischen Früchten.
Review by Alex1981
RumX Calendar 2024 Day 7: first impression on the nose Funk & cookie dough, slightly alcoholic. Reminiscent of St. Lucia. Becomes better integrated with a little time in the glass, more sweetness appears in the background, sugar cane. Roasted notes and dark fruit are added. Delicious! Strong, edgy, alcoholic in the mouth. Seems to be quite high abv. Long finish, but the alcohol drowns out everything else. Nose top, mouth rather flop. Stick with St. Lucia, but could be anything.
Review by cigares
RumX Advent Calendar, Day 7. An expressive, complex nose with lots of fruit, pineapple and banana, but also yellow fruit, apple and quince, a sweet, herbaceous side. The wood is discreet. Expressive on the palate, the alcohol perfectly supports the fruit aromas, with more wood than on the nose. A smoky woodiness follows. The finish is moderately long, not so complex but incredibly well-balanced and tasty. An expressive and delicious rum!
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Very herbal, earthy-spicy nose with lots of glue and some banana. The taste is then extremely woody, bitter licorice, strongly burnt tones, nutmeg, iodine, menthol and glue, alcohol could be much better integrated and the fruit nodes are simply hard to find here even after almost an hour of breathing... Too woody, bitter and herbal for me personally and not quite what I look for & like in a Jamaica rum. I can't understand the hype & the price for this bottling with the best will in the world...🤷🏼♂️ but in direct comparison to the new 2002, it is much more harmonious and complex and also more drinkable! Update: almost passed for an old TDL in the blind test, awesome! Unfortunately I still don't warm to it, too bitter, too burnt, too alcoholic...
Review by WiltChamberlain
A dream for single malt enthusiasts like me.
Review by Christoph
Kiba (juice with cherry and banana). Pineapple and orange in the mouth. Out the back it becomes woodier and more bitter, but very pleasant. Alcohol extremely well integrated.
Review by Timo Groeger
RumX Advent calendar day 7 - for me the best so far. Has a really great nose, vanilla and caramel, but wood is also recognizable here. Continues on the palate, with chocolate and some liquorice. Many thanks to the RumX team.
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
Subsequent tasting of the rum from 03.12.2023 of the RumX Christmas calendar: Now that's a tasty treat! To my shame, I have to confess that I've never had an Appleton in my glass before. That's about to change, because this Appleton was really convincing. I particularly liked this warm, Jamaican oiliness.
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Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Le Blog À Roger
Read full review →
Expert review by Rum Runner Labs
"A really compelling installment in the Appleton Hearts collection. Fruity and earthy on the nose, its juicy without leaning much in the ethyl acetate direction. On the palate the cask shows up, plenty of spice and oak notes, balanced nicely with dried banana and pineapple. Satisfying finish."Read full review →
Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
"It is dangerously drinkable even at 63% ABV. I'll answer the question though which do I prefer the 1984 or 2003? I'd probably go for a bottle of this, given the choice - but I think both rums over something completely different. Both have been rums I have been really..."Read full review →
Community purchases
338 bottles logged by 52,000+ RumX members. The ratio of closed / opened / emptied, indicates whether this rum is meant to be drunk or is a collector's item.
Also on the wishlist of 69 members.
About the Appleton Estate distillery
The Appleton Estate distillery is located in Jamaica. Rums from Appleton Estate have been reviewed 3,770 times with an average of 7.9/10.
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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, together with Jakob, Robert and Lukas, we started RumX in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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