Appleton Estate rum is the oldest and one of the most widely recognized rums of Jamaica. Appleton Estate is located in the fertile Nassau Valley region of Jamaica on the edge of the rugged Cockpit Country. As with fine French brandies linked to particular vineyards in France, Appleton Estate rum embraces the idea of terroir because, unlike many other rum brands, Appleton uses sugar cane grown only in its own region. In 1655, the British captured Jamaica from the Spanish and immediately began establishing sugar estates. At that time, rum distilling was already considered an integral part of sugar plantation operations in other parts of the British Caribbean, especially in Barbados. A large number of Barbadians took part in the invasion and capture of Jamaica and migrated there to establish new sugar estates. They brought with them capital, enslaved laborers, and knowledge of how to make sugar and distill rum. Among them was Francis Dickenson, who received the lands that would become Appleton Estate as payment for his services. The property remained in the Dickenson family for more than a century. The earliest evidence for rum making at Appleton Estate is from 1749, though rum distilling there probably began much earlier. In the early twentieth century, Appleton Estate became part of J. Wray and Nephew Ltd., a family-owned Jamaican company with a history of rum making and tavern keeping dating back to the early nineteenth century. Through the early twenty-first century, Appleton’s master blender has been Joy Spence, perhaps the first woman to hold such an illustrious position in the spirits industry. Appleton’s Wray & Nephew White Overproof is by far the most popular rum in Jamaica and is something of a cultural institution on the island.
Campari.See also rum, Jamaica; and terroir.
Smith, Frederick H. Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2005.
By: Frederick H. Smith