Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1994
"Best of the first Appleton Hearts Trio," as one taster put it, and the reviews keep circling back to that. Twenty-six tropical years show as deep oak, glue, orange peel and roasted spice, with a surprising mint streak and ripe tropical fruit. Blind, people kept guessing Guyana or Caroni — it doesn't taste like standard Appleton. Give it 15 minutes of air first.
The community says- Complex and layered
- Well-hidden 60%
- But: Wood can dominate
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Was 366.40 €, now 329.00 € All price drops
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1994 taste?
Aggregated from 157 community reviews.
Deep, oaky, minty aged Jamaican A repeat favorite of the Hearts series — complex, minty, fruity and heavily oaked, with the 60% well tucked in. A few find the wood too dominant and want more character.
Experienced drinkers who love heavily-aged, oak-driven Jamaican rum
Anyone who wants light, easy sipping or bright ester funk
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
67 of 157 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
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One difference each to this rum.
Rated better
Velier Caroni 34th Release 100 Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum 1996
9.1/10793 €
Milder
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2002
8.5/10185 €
Similar rating, cheaper
Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 2003
8.7/10193 €First choice: 54 of 63 tasters who tried both prefer it.
How is Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1994 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.8 sits in the “Very good” band. 98% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
96% rate it 8 or higher. 45 selected write-ups from 157 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Mirco
Very mature Appleton with a calm, balanced profile. On the nose, ripe tropical fruit, orange peel, a hint of banana and a subtle herbal note, accompanied by wood and a touch of menthol. Deep and well-structured on the palate with fruit, spices, dry wood and a slightly tart note that adds excitement. Seems composed and elegant, clearly designed for maturity and balance, without being loud or overloaded.
Review by Galli33
#5 RumXCalendar Blind tasting: Nose: fruits (apricot, cocconut, banana), fruity, woody M: spicy, woody, astrigend, roasted, minty F: oak, vanilla, caramel Prediction: guyana maybe (had some appleton estate in mind, but with that tastes… i‘m unsure) , approx. 55-60%…. totally wrong 🙈 Update: Still the beste AE Hearts for me An amazing Appelton Estate! It has a nice burnt umber color and oily tears. The first impression is a smell of glue and different fruits, the typical Jamaican/appleton smell. For sure this one needs time to fully open. In mouth it has a bitter, complex, ginger, tropical fruits… and low ester. The finish is a warm, dry, salty, woody, vanilla with a bit of orange. Resume: Best of Appelton so far!
Review by Oliver
Very balanced and aromatic. I like very much! Currently my favorite from the Hearts Collection!
Review by Jakob
On the nose, great vanilla sugar notes from the bourbon barrel, the tropical maturation classic notes for the
Review by Basti
Edit: For me, the best from the Hearts series. Appleton Hearts cross-tasting with the vintages 2002, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999. 2002: Fruity and spicy with a hint of menthol. On the palate, lots of wood and spices, slightly astringent and bitter, fruit notes very subtle. 1993: Clearly more intense with more spices and more from the cask, also dirty notes that remind me of TDL or Chairmans. On the palate extremely dry and bitter with a strong cask influence, slightly charred. I miss some fruitiness here. Finish is very long! 1994: Similar to 1993, but more fruit and a distinct mint note. Also on the palate clear parallels, but not quite as bitter and dirty and fruit notes are still subtly present. 1999: Lots of wood and spices, with dried fruits and tropical fruits in the background. On the palate plenty of spices and wood, but hardly any fruit notes, and no charred/bitter notes either. 1995: Again dirty aromas with tar, leather, and varnish. Similar to 1993/1994. The woody, bitter aromas also dominate on the palate here. For me: 1994 8.8, 2002 + 1999 8.7, 1993 + 1995 8.6
Review by Tschusikowsky
5.12.21 RumX Advent calendar: Babäämmm👊🏼 What a piece! In hindsight, I probably should have left it in the air longer. I was rather blind with TDL. The rum has a lot to discover, lots of nuances, lots of complexity. Top👏🏻 Retasting: best of the series for me. Very long finish. Lots of concentrated red fruits. Delicious
Review by Maxence
This rum is perfect for winter evenings ! Quite complex with sweet notes of dried oranges, chocolate, ginger bread, ... It smells and tastes like a Christmas rum ! Additional aging makes it better than the 2003 vintage in my opinion. Nice release from Velier 😋
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
On the nose briefly reminiscent of foursquare by coconut, orange peel and banana, then comes caramel and some mint, as well as floral notes.Taste then clearly floralerb
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Yesterday evening it was time to open the last and oldest of my three hearts collection. From opening the bottle to the finish you're not in doubt that this is an Appleton Estate. The nose is there from pouring the glass and if you leave it for a while, you don't even need to put it to your nose to pick up the beautiful nose. The nose is both typical Jamaican and Appleton Estate; dark, oak, polish and spices topped off with a bit of orange. The palate is wonderful, full bodied and complex again with oak, spices and fruit. If you leave the sip in your mouth it will get bitter on you.
Review by Serge
Update: in direct comparison with the 94 Platzhirsch, it really did extremely well. The 94 is somewhat fruitier and sweeter in my opinion and the 93 has the nicer tannin, wood and minty mixture. Both outstanding and actually almost on a par ... the 94 perhaps a little more feelgood and the 93 more demanding on the palate.
Review by Stefan L
This is just so good! Having a great tasting evening with my friends and just wishing I had more of these fantastic drops. - Totally agree with myself from above.
Review by zabo
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.
Review by Frank
RumX Advent Calendar, 5.12., blind.How blatant can you get wrong: the fruitiness paired with menthol and something dirty has allowed only one conclusion for me. Caroni! Totally wrong.A very round fruity-woody-caramel nose. Tobacco, leather and some oil and graphite are right there as well as blood orange, cherry, pear and papaya. Something fresh is there, maybe a hint of mint or thyme? The wood is also very pleasant and dry with some vanilla. A slight vinegar note comes through.On the palate, initially strong, bitter-salty with an almost umami tinge. Freshness of menthol and something artificial, like iodine, gum or tar. Spicy with cardamom and some green pepper. The lemon balm lingers and it gets a bit soapy.Complex and full-bodied. Age and high abv are top.
Review by Joachim Guger
Wow. A very nice, very, very solid nose. Solvent, deep barrel maturity. Only then dried fruit and orange peel. Extremely complex, needs some water. Warm, full and complex in the mouth. You have to like the intense wood maturity, but it is perfectly done for age.Great rum with the flair of a tropical matured Demerara!!! More! More!
Review by SaibotZtar
RumX Advent calendar 2021 Day 5 Nice nose, a little too alcoholic overall.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,6:On the nose, the first impression we get is a glue, esters, minty, floral molasses, tropical fruits like banana, pineapple, citrus with orange peel and roasted wood notes like toffee, nuts and leather, slightly spicy. On aeration, dried fruits like currants, apricots, some berries, mango, apple and orange are out, vanilla, caramelized confectionery and some tobacco. 8,8:On the palate, the attack is tasty, intense with vanilla, fruits like orange peel, mango, pineapple, red fruits, slightly herbaceous and roasted, smoky with leather, cream toffee, spicy with cinnamon, pepper. When well rested, our tasting buds are hyperstimulated with yellow, dried, citrus fruits, minty, flowery molasses, slightly medicinal. 8,6:The finish is long, dry and tannic, round with roasted wood notes from palate, some new with crunchy bread and salted pastry, fruity and flowery...
Review by MarcT
Best of the first Appleton Hearts Trio, in my opinion.
Review by Thunderbird
My first thought was Trinidad...so not Jamaica...though perhaps not typical...a delicious fruity fresh spicy rum
Review by Christian Rudt
Wood is present throughout but very pleasant. Fruitiness much more pronounced than the 1995. Lots of tobacco and spice, similar warmth to the 1999 comes through Wow. I really like this very very much. Appleton should bring more of it 😋
Review by Tom Buteneers
RumX Advent calendar day 5. Would have never guessed it blind, was thinking it would be from Guyana. A lot of wood, but not overwhelming. The alcohol is incorporated very well. For me it’s the best Appleton I’ve ever had. There’s no turning back from this. It’s very intense and complex but at the same time very easy to drink.
Review by tojo
For the 2nd Advent a great rum: Appleton Hearts 94, which I would have assigned to a Guyana rum (PM vin RA) in the blind tasting. Beautiful fruity notes of peach, plum and orange. On the palate more spice and wood. Then again roasted flavors, leather and orange peel on the finish. Very nice!
Review by Wernie
Awesome drop👌👍🏻 Everything else has already been said.😉
Review by TheRhumhoe
An Appleton that is both fine and deep. On the nose, there's no exuberance of aromas, but exotic fruit, wood, orange, baked apple, dried fruit, spices, glue and solvents come through with ease and subtlety. The attack on the palate reveals bitter notes of orange and leather, accompanied by aromatic herbs, spices, dried and exotic fruits, a touch of empyreumatic smoke and glue. The rum has taken time to soak up the wood, which is more pronounced here. The alcohol is well integrated. Flavors are balanced, without really dominating in the rush of the palate. The rather long finish continues this rather unique profile, combining the bitterness of leather, herbs and orange with woody, fruity, spicy and floral notes. A rum with an atypical profile that has the merit of offering something different in Jamaica.
Review by Stylo
Fifth day of the advent calendar..Nice brown-ish color, turning light yellow on the edges. Nose: acetone, mildly mature yellow fruits (pineapple and papaya, maybe)..there’s a refreshing note of menthol to it, lurking in the background..Mouth: upfront, I get again that minty sensation, but also kinda “dirty”, that slowly evolves into more sweeter, fruity notes. Then dried fruits. it beautifully tingles your tongue as the liquid swirls..The finish is mildly dry, medium, really “fresh” and nutty.I would have never guess it was a Jamaican rum! Sooo different from the “standard” Hogo bombs
Review by Mike H.
Nice nose with a lot of wood, tropical fruit, spices, glue and vanilla. Despite a certain roundness in its taste there is too much wood present, it overshadows all other flavours. I like the strong woody notes that one can find in certain old Enmore’s, but it has a certain harshness to it in this rum that I dislike.
Review by Rene Pfeiffer
Day 5, 2nd Advent RumX Advent Calendar: I immediately had the 2001 TDL or a Guyana in mind. I would never have thought of Jamaica. However, I must also confess that it was my first Appleton. Very tasty.
Review by mto75
in direct comparison the 94, 95 and 99. Nose: the 94 in the background with a light mint / menthol note, the 99 a bit more herbal and in the background apple cider vinegar (perhaps also balsamic) and cinnamon stick. The 95 with orange peel and furniture polish, which I also often get on the nose of 96 Caronis. On the palate, again, the 95 is the 'underdog' with very pronounced charred notes; I like the 94 best here.
Review by Lukas Jäger
RumX Advent calendar, 06.12.2021, blind. You can be so wrong: I thought I was looking at a Caroni! A lot of dirty notes led me on the wrong track. I would probably even have bet here that I knew where it came from. Never in my life would I have guessed Jamaica. It's exciting to see what Appleton can produce alongside its standard bottlings, which are rather boring for the rum nerd. Probably meets the taste of many, as the otherwise rather rare flavors from Trinidad can be found here. Guyana, which enjoys great popularity, doesn't seem to be that far away in terms of taste either. One can only hope that there will be more to come (and that it will remain affordable...). Great bottling, great surprise, I like to have something like this in my advent calendar!
Review by ilRummista
Appleton Hearts collection never disappoints! The 1994 is also a heavy caliber rum. I recommend leaving it 15 minutes to oxygenate in the glass and then enjoying it. Exceptional nose and palate no less. As complex and rounded as it gets. The finish is quite a concert! Absolute must drink.
Review by Steffmaus🇩🇰
Tasted at the Whisky & Rum festival, the 27th october, 2023. Very flavorful, funky, and notes of dried fruits, vanilla and some wood - though not as much as you would expect after 26 years of tropical aging!
Review by alex
Clearly the best of the 3 (hearts series ) It's to die for... a treat. Among the best Jamaicans I've ever had (and I've had a lot 😅😂 My 200th rum tasted on RhumX 🤩 😍😍😍
Review by Leo Krüper
Interesting herbal notes with lots of complexity at the back.Nice metallic nose.PLV reasonable for what you get.
Review by w00tAN
Direct comparison 94, 95 and 99: A beautifully fruity, light ester aroma on the nose. Light vanilla and orange. On the palate, strong, spicy, beautifully woody with bitter notes. Peppery and endlessly long finish. Alcohol super integrated, very nice piece!
Review by Schnubbii
Schön fruchtig, geiles Teil! Edit: Fruchtig und gleichzeitig harzig und adstringierend. Komplex und leicht bitter im Abgang. Dieser Rum hat viele Facetten und ich finde ihn einfach geil. Zusammen mit dem 1998 mein Highlight der Hearts Reihe!
Review by Piotr Ignasiak
A bit herbal dominance on nose and taste. Alcohol not perfectly integrated on tongue for me.
Review by Johannes
Great appleton with a fruity note!
Review by Simon Leroux
Très concentré, très réussi,
Review by Jarek
The 1994 is my favorite of the Appleton Hearts range so far (I haven't tried the 1993 yet, though, that's coming up, and I haven't even gotten a sample of the 1984 yet). I also like the minty note on the palate and in the finish. Addendum Franconian Rum Tasting Gang & Jakob, 2023-07-27 Part 1: All Appleton Hearts at the start this time (1984, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2002 and 2003). For me, the 1994 is still the best of the bunch, closely followed by the 1993 and 1998. The 2002 was also surprisingly tasty. The 1984 is right at the top on the nose, but falls short on the palate due to the excessive wood influence.
Review by Henry Davies
Deep dark brown colour. Woody elements but not over powering, a great nose. Intense in the mouth and strong oak but not over the top and really works well. Long woody and spicy finish. Really great rum and despite everything happening, the intensity, strong woody notes, the 26 years of aging, it all works well. I look forward to drinking more
Review by Benoit Mahe
A little disappointed, it is very woody and herbal
Review by Filip Šikula
Another beautiful rum from the appleton hearts series. The unmistakable combination of polish, spice and cask. A little smoke. In the mouth it is a thick oily piece with intense expression of barrel, overripe fruit and spices. A complex beauty!
Review by Gil Firth
One of my favourite srum series. Definitely. 1994, amazing. This is super complex and tasty. Tropical. Esters. Olives. Chocolate. All you need. This 3 bottles of 200 ml is a great buy. בקבוק לדעתי הטוב מהשלישייה החדשה. פשוט רום מורכב וטעים מאוד. לא יאמן כמה שכבות יש לזה. לא מפוצץ באסטרים אבל מספיק כדי להוסיף עניין. טרופי. שוקולד. עץ. זיתים. קצת תחושת עשן. לקה. מדהים!
Review by Philip M. 🇧🇪
17/08/2025: Opened to celebrate my girlfriends 31st birthday (1994). What an absolute beauty this is! The best Appleton Estate I've ever tasted. Sipping something like this feels like a privilege and I will enjoy every drop very slowly. 1994 > 1995 > 1999
Review by Mopar Rules
Appleton evening sponsored by FTG. A very balanced rum, subtle and smooth. A very good rum but I miss a bit the character. Compared to the NY or Hampden it’s not standing out.
Review by Nils123
Very interesting orange notes. Full-bodied, complex and intense. The bitterness is absolutely within limits.
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Expert reviews
5 critics scored it, averaging 8.9/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
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Expert review by New World Rum Club
A really powerful nose that fills the room. Warm spicy woody flavours with a tone of orange (peel) and tropical fruits.
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 184 € – 337 €
from 33 sales, latest 09/2026
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 227 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1994
A Pot Still Rum from Jamaica, bottled by Velier, at 60%.
Community purchases
254 bottles logged by 201 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
11% opened, 6 emptied and repurchased.
What does Velier Appleton Hearts Collection - 1994 cost?
Community paid 220–351 €.
Current best price: 305.00 € – 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+ →
254 purchased · 164 tasted · 71 wishlist · as of
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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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