Aroma visualization from community tastings
Appleton Legend 2005
Not your usual Appleton. Where the core range leans oaky and orange-peel polite, this one throws out esters, glue, tropical fruit and Jamaican funk — people who tasted it blind often didn't recognize the brand. Expect ripe mango, banana, guava, spice and a medicinal edge. It was built to echo the old Wray & Nephew 17, and many drinkers reach for it specifically for a Mai Tai.
The community says- Tropical fruit-forward
- Real Jamaican funk
- Thin mid-palate
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The look inside the bottle
How does Appleton Legend 2005 taste?
Aggregated from 52 community reviews.
Funky, fruity Appleton unlike the rest Loved for its unusually funky, ester-driven, fruit-forward take on Appleton. The common gripe: reduced to 49% it turns a touch thin, with a shorter finish than the big nose promises.
Fans of high-ester Jamaican funk and old-school Mai Tais
Those wanting a rich, oaky classic Appleton
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
22 of 52 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Appleton Legend 2005 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.5 sits in the “Very good” band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
13% rate it between 6 and 8. 15 selected write-ups from 52 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Olimpia1936
A spectacular blend from Joy Spence...top!
Review by Rex Stone
Best as a Mai Tai
Review by mto75
On the nose dried fruit, polish, fermented fruit and a little menthol and iodine. Very spicy on the palate, allspice, nutmeg, espresso. Really exciting part, but probably even more exciting for the Mai Tai faction, who do not want to put 50k on the table for the Wray & Nephew 17 😅
Review by Steffmaus🇩🇰
Tasted this one in "Tiki Week" at my favorite cocktail-bar in the city centre. Had a talk with the manager and ambassadors from Appleton Estate. Amazing nose of ripe fruits and caramel, and an explosion of taste! I got notes of fruits, funk and some citrus. Updated with location
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4145 This little sample arrived straight from the US this morning and a friend brought it to the door 😊 He just wanted to get a bottle before most and had to lay down close to 800 USD to get a bottle. I'm certain this will turn into a collectors item and many not being opened and used as intended by their master blender Joy. This rum is more Jamaican than the regular Appleton releases for sipping. More funk and a bit more esters and on top of that a lot of fruit. Draws beautiful curtains in the glass and the empty glass has some caramel and dried fruit. Heavily overpriced but who cares if you're a collector 😊
Review by Joachim Guger
Very oily! Extremely complex nose. Ester, dried fruit, after longer breathing gasoline or workshop. Each time smelling in and a new image emerges. Rancid sweat.😅 Very complex, alcohol top integrated, good drinking strength. Then a bit thin in the mouth. Plastic and medicine. Herbs!!! The finish could be a little longer. An Appleton off the beaten path, there one has clearly helped oneself to New Yarmouth stocks. Certainly not an uninteresting product, which then in rudiments reminds of old Jamaicans (1941, 1945). By Limitation and the story told in addition, this becomes a collector's item.
Review by Johannes
I honestly did not expect much, but I like it surprisingly well! For an Appleton a lot of esters, little wood, some marzipan, yellow fruits, very ring and balanced. Probably too round for a Mai Tai....
Review by Henry Davies
Wow. What a nose, and not what I was expecting, much more by the way of esters and tropical fruit than the standard Appleton releases and even the Hearts collaboration. Nose brings cinnamon and nutmeg, with some glue like esters and tropical fruit. The mouth compliments with pear and banana, some nutty oak and herbal notes. Complex and incredibly inviting on the mouth. A really impressive rum, the finish is smooth and fades into one of the most tropical fruit finishes I have tried in a while, all banana, guava, and mango but keeps you interested for a long time after tasting. The ABV at 49% just works and let’s you explore the flavours. Overall a top notch rum, not sure it is worth the price tag but hype notwithstanding it is an impressive Appleton!
Review by Filip Lojín
I didn't recognize Appleton in the blind, something else entirely. Beautiful rum, but shorter finish
Review by rgrgr
Made to recreate Trader Vic's original Mai Tai. Characteristic sipper
Review by SaibotZtar
It is already a polarizing rum. Personally, I like it very much because it is simply quite different from all other Appleton's. Lots of fruit, esters, honey but very little wood. A few bitter notes. Pure is good to drink even if not overdimensionally complex but just different. In the Mai Tai he delivers a good final product if he is also here (maybe it's because of the expectations or also because you already had incredibly good stuff in the MT) not really the bringer. The price I leave out (that would correct the rating strongly down) because I want to evaluate the pleasure not the price!!!
Review by Adrian Wahl
Really exciting Appleton. A profile that you really don't know. I'm extremely excited to see what he brings in May Tai.
Review by Filip Šikula
Je to něco, co prostě překvapí. Nechme stranou cena/výkon. Je to jiné, než ostatní appletony. Je to funky esterové, skoro žádné dřevo, ať už ve vůni, nebo následně v chuti. Estery ve vůni doplní leštěnka a ovoce. V chuti je to velmi jemné, sneslo by to vyšší abv. Konec střední a moc hezký. Je to moc příjemné, ale svou cenu si to narozdíl od hearts serie neobhájí.
Review by Thunderbird
This is a very unusual Appleton... not particularly outstanding, but still very pleasant to drink. I still like the nose best...esters, fruit, vegetal and pastry...you keep discovering new nuances... On the palate, the reduction is clearly noticeable and it loses something...I would have liked more complexity here. It's a kind of fruit/vegetable mixture The finish is almost similar with a tendency towards more plantiness
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Incredibly beautiful nose of rum pot with tropical fruits and whole cinnamon sticks, slightly acidic and woody. Aromatic then surprisingly woody, tannic, slight acidity from the barrel and unfortunately also very slight plastic associations... Also somewhat bitter, medicinal and fresh, herbal, bitter and almondy. Unfortunately, on its own it doesn't get me as excited as I had hoped... Definitely more aromatic power than some other Appleton and also more esters, but not an aromatic wonder like the Appleton Joy, for example! Certainly this rum makes a very good Mai tai, but does it have to be for ~700€ a bottle or can't other rums be used just as well or even better? Mai tai test outstanding (if I get affordable samples again)😃...
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Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 8.8/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Zucker und Zeste
Read full review →The 17 years in the barrels have given the rum nice oak notes, which provide a roasted, nutty undertone and pronounced vanilla aromas on the palate. Nothing here is over-woody, and the alcohol (bottled at 49% ABV) is fantastically integrated. The rum is complex without being tiring. You can really sniff and taste it for a long time with pleasure.
Expert review by The Dunder Hut
How do you want to rate it. Unfortunately, I really liked it better on its own than in May Tai. Lost style meets it. But in the mai tai unfortunately no more than a reminder of days gone by.
Details about Appleton Legend 2005
A rum from Jamaica, distilled by Appleton Estate, at 49%.
Community purchases
58 bottles logged by 35 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
6% opened, 1 emptied and repurchased.
What does Appleton Legend 2005 cost?
Community paid 416–786 €.
Current best price: 599.00 € – within the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
58 purchased · 53 tasted · 34 wishlist · as of
About the Appleton Estate distillery
The Appleton Estate distillery is located in Jamaica. Rums from Appleton Estate have been reviewed 4,294 times with an average of 7.8/10.
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