Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2002
Made for people who want a Jamaican with real oak and dried-fruit depth but not a funk bomb. This 20-year Appleton from Velier is the fruitiest of the Hearts run: cherry, dried apricot, orange peel, warm roasted oak and vanilla, with only light esters. Several tasters call it rounder and more accessible than its siblings; a few find it too woody and bitter neat.
The community says- Fruitiest Hearts vintage
- Well-integrated 63%
- Woody, bitter finish
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Buy Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2002:
Compare all 8 shop offers from 185.33 €
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2002 taste?
Aggregated from 144 community reviews.
Fruity, oaky Jamaican with light funk Loved for its fruit-forward, roasted-oak profile and well-integrated 63%. The catch: it's less complex than other Hearts vintages, and some find it too woody, bitter or thin on the finish.
Jamaica fans who want fruit and oak over heavy funk
People chasing high-ester funk or a smooth, low-ABV sipper
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
63 of 144 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2002 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 →
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Community voices
What does the community say?
14% rate it between 6 and 8. 20 selected write-ups from 144 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Oliver
Most helpful positive review
On the nose a great combination of fruits (cherry, apples, mango), citrus and sweet notes (caramel, vanilla). Quite dry on the palate with red fruits (cherries again) and spicy wood notes. Little esters, but a pronounced spiciness and creaminess. Great Jamaican rum with little funk but power.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Most helpful mixed review
Is similar to the 2003 already just not my profile. Way too much wood, hardly any fruit, a bit spicy and earthy, a lot of tannins and also the alcohol could be integrated a bit better. Has for me no nice drinking flow. Unfortunately not my case.
Review by Jakob
Round profile with sweet notes of vanilla sugar and caramel on the one hand and a fresh potpourri of tropical-citrus fruits as well as red berries, mango and apples on the other. The cask also makes its presence felt with mild woody aromas on the nose and a subtle bitterness on the palate. The Hearts with the most present fruity note. Very nice.
Review by Dr.Django
Two Appleton in a glass today: Rum Shark: The nose is alcoholically sharp and unpleasantly pungent. It continues in the same way on the palate. Unfortunately far too alcoholic. Some fruit and floral notes. Not even that good. Hearts 2002: This is a completely different caliber. Chocolaty, woody and garnished with dark fruits. Great rum that has become even better in the bottle.
Review by SaibotZtar
Exciting... you can clearly see the somewhat younger age.... not quite so round less barrel influence ... Floral notes, somehow solvent and glue. Somewhat bitter and rough, at least pure. I will test it in May Tai.
Review by Basti
Appleton Hearts Crosstasting with the vintages 2002, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999 (RX15475, RX15474, TBD) 2002: Fruity and spicy with a hint of menthol. Lots of wood and spices on the palate, slightly astringent and bitter, very subtle fruity notes. 1993: Significantly more intense with more spices and more from the cask, plus dirty notes that remind me of TDL or Chairmans. Extremely dry and bitter on the palate with a good barrel impact, slightly charred. I miss something fruity here. The finish is very long! 1994: Similar to 1993, but more fruit and a clear minty note. Clear parallels on the palate too, but not quite as bitter and dirty and fruit notes are still discreetly present. 1999: Lots of wood and spices, with dried fruit and tropical fruit in the background. Fruits in the background. Lots of spices and wood on the palate, but hardly any fruit notes, but no charred/bitter notes either. 1995: Again, dirty aromas with tar, leather and varnish. Similar to 1993/1994, the woody, bitter aromas also dominate the palate here. For me: 1994 ->8.8 2002 + 1999 ->8.7 1993 + 1995 ->8.6
Review by zabo
Edit: It would be a dream to be able to try the whole Appleton Hearts range. 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. Yes, what can you say for 125€ at LMDW - a nobrainer! A super grenade for the price. A comparison with the other Hearts is still pending, but for the time being a more than good 8. I unknowingly gave it more than an hour in a jar with a lid. Just super tasty how it developed.
Review by cigares
Rum Friendly Club Advent Calendar, day 20. A nose of esters and tropical fruit with varnish, young wood and a slightly unpleasant acetone edge. The palate is soft on entry, then the fruit and ester aromas gain strength, supported by the wood. The wood becomes bitter on the finish. The finish is rather long and surprisingly fruity at the very end. A very fine rum!
Review by Leo Krüper
Warm vanilla wood nose. Some spice and bitterness on the palate, but still within limits. Full pot still power, minimal mint at the back. The alcohol could be a touch better integrated. Unfortunately quite expensive, but a good rum.
Review by DomM
Nice combination of dark notes, spices and a yellow fruit basket. A little rough on the edges.
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
Oops, somehow I thought this was my first Appleton, but it's already the fourth! It's funny that rum from this distillery always seems new to me, I felt the same way when I tasted RX11399. I probably didn't really notice Appleton before, but that has now changed with this specific 2002 vintage. This rum is simply a jewel, it tastes incredibly smooth and round and like Caribbean sunshine and even better than the already very good 2003 (RX11399) - this will be my new vacation rum!
Review by Giorgio Garotti
Of all the Appleton velier releases this one for me is the least convincing!The nose is intriguing while when you taste it it all fades a little too soon!It leaves you with lots of citrus, some spice and a fair amount of cask influence!A few notes of caramel, roasted pineapple and red fruits remain only on the side and a greater presence of them would have helped!Overall a good rum with a few flaws!
Review by Mirko Frosini 🇮🇪
I would have expected much more from both the name and the retail price. So much alcohol that it makes everything elusive. Still a good rum, but personally I would never spend 300 euros on it, maybe barely 60 euros. Let me say that the world of rums, but not only, often presents rums with excessive costs but poor quality. Just look at Samaroli or Velier who now too frequently, exploiting their name, offer bottles for sale at prices at least double their real value. As is often the case, where business is successful, prices go up relegating certain tastings to a small group of people. This creates an inflation that could in the future put a strain on the rum world and close its doors to the masses who will look elsewhere.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4024 This one has a bit more power in the profile and I can actually get the coffee on the nose. Again nice and fruity with nice roasted wood and some added caramel and spices. This one also draws really nice curtains in the glass and the empty glass has a nice caramel touch. Price to quality is pretty OK though these releases are getting hyped and picked up by people to be auctioned off.
Review by Aussierumfan
Not a bad rum by any means but doesn't stand out massively to me. Quite a nice nose, on the palate it is quite powerful and maybe even slightly rough? I'm getting lots of fruits, some caramel, vanilla and maybe coffee? A shortish finish. I am getting a bit of barrel influence as well. A good rum to try!
Review by mto75
Today the 1993 in direct comparison with the 2002. This Hearts-typical note, which somehow smells like polish or floor polish, I have with both in the nose, with the 02er a bit more pronounced. The 93 goes a bit more in the direction of freshness, herbs and tobacco, the 02 more in the direction of orange liqueur marzipan cake and brioche. On the palate, both with dried fruit, the longer aging is clearly evident in the 93, expressed in a slight (but not unpleasant) bitterness, tannins and black tea. The 02 has even more sweetness and goes more in the direction of allspice and latte. Both again top notch bottlings, but the 93 is already a bit more complex.
Review by Johannes
Slightly fruity notes paired with caramel, marzipan and barrel influence. I like very much!
Review by LukaŽiga
8,8:On the nose, tons of fruits like mango, bitter orange, dried apricots, cherries, apple and unripe banana, camphor, toasted/roasted wood with caramel, coffee, chocolate, pastry, biscuits, bump into our nosetrils, very tempting. On aeration, medicinal, chemical notes arise, like rubber, plastic, various aspects of wood with nuts, vanilla, baking spices, milk chocolate and fruits like lemon peel, as the molasses is flowery. 8,8:On the palate, the attack is tasty, buttery, creamy and round with roasted oak notes, caramelized, pastry, later cream toffee, spicy with vanilla and allspice, fruity with pineapple, banana, mango, citrus fruits like bitter orange, cherries, the apples are baked, camphor is flowing underneath, also some rubber. 8,7:The finish is rather long, dry&tannic, as roasted oak with mocha, caramelized nuts, sone caramel, spicy, pairs grassy, earthy molasses with root and various tropical, citrus and dried fruits.
Review by Mirco
A lot of wood / bitter and for me little fruit. Am somewhat disappointed. Alcohol could be better integrated.
Review by Joachim Guger
Appleton Hearts 2003 - 2002 - 1993Nose: 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...maybe a touch too much.Conclusion: all three shine with a nice 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 I miss? The variety. How many Marques can Appleton offer? Is that all after 7 bottlings?now another Muckerl has flown in and committed suicide....
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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 Rum nagykövet
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Details about Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2002
A Pot Still Rum from Jamaica, bottled by Velier, at 63%.
Community purchases
169 bottles logged by 118 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
14% opened, 12 emptied and repurchased.
What does Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2002 cost?
Community paid 27–278 €.
Current best price: 185.33 € – 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+ →
+6 purchases in the last 3 months.
Added to collections, last 12 months — dark bars are the last 3.
169 purchased · 149 tasted · 50 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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Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2003
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Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1993
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1993Old, wood-driven Jamaican with mint and tannin
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1994
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1994Deep, oaky, minty aged Jamaican
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1998
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1998Rich tropical Jamaican with beautifully tamed 63%
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1984
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1984Gorgeous nose, brutally woody palate
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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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