Category: master blender (Page 2 of 2)

Appleton reveals new packaging for Estate Blend Rums

Friday, April 24, 2015 / Robert Burr / 0 Comments

The iconic Appleton Estate brand of fine rums from Jamaica recently unveiled a new bottle and label design, an update that helps consumers better identify and classify these special blends.

Signature Blend

Appleton Estate, aged blended rums, Jamaica, master blender, Joy Spence

Appleton Estate presents their iconic aged blended rums from Jamaica with new packaging, featuring the signature of master blender Joy Spence.

While the rums themselves remain unchanged, the packages reflect a more accurate description of the rums by name and presentation, starting with the Appleton Estate Signature Blend. This popular expression is a blend of 15 select pot still and column still rums that sets the standard for the Appleton Estate Rum series. Perfectly balanced complex citrus, fruity and sweet notes, the rum suggests subtle orange peel on the palate, with dried apricot, fresh peach and a hint of molasses and woody notes.

Reserve Blend

Next in line, the Appleton Estate Reserve Blend is a marvelous combination of 20 high quality marques skillfully integrated with complexity, depth and balance for those that prefer a premium blend. Full-bodied, smooth, and delicately-balanced spice and nutty notes on the palate are followed by oaky honey, subtle vanilla and a hint of hazelnut all wrapped in rich, dried orange peel. It is reminiscent of a spicy fruit cake.

Rare Blend 12 Year Old

As the name suggests, Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old is an upscale expression — containing rare sipping rums at least 12 years old aged in Number One Select American oak barrels — that defines the authentic Jamaican style known around the globe. With a constantly evolving taste experience — you’ll find deep oak, fruity and cocoa notes, followed by delicate molasses, vibrant orange peel, and subtle coffee, with a hint toasted oak and almond. The Rare Blend 12 Year Old at 43% ABV exemplifies the life work and accomplishments of Appleton Estate’s Master Blender Joy Spence.

Master Blender Joy Spence

The first female to be appointed Master Blender in the industry, Joy notes: “We wanted the new packaging to capture the craftsmanship and exceptional quality of our range and celebrate the uniqueness of the Appleton Estate including our heritage, our land, our process and our people.

“Although the names and packaging for our three core variants have changed, the award winning liquid inside the bottle remains the same. In addition, we have not changed the names, packaging or liquid for our luxury brands, Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Jamaica Rum or Appleton Estate 50 Year Old Jamaica Rum.”

The new packages have been refined to express the key elements that distinguish the brand. The cap now includes the signature of Master Blender Joy Spence to reinforce Appleton Estate’s crafted approach to producing rum. Estate Distilled and Jamaica Rum, are repeated at the base of the closure to highlight the brand’s Estate and Jamaican provenance. The name of the variants have been moved from the cartouche to the main label and Appleton Estate’s rich heritage as a rum producing establishment since 1749 is now highlighted on the cartouche. The new label features the lush landscape of the Appleton Estate and Jamaica’s world famous Cockpit Country where the Estate is located.

Crafted in the heart of Jamaica

The Appleton Estate logo has been updated. The words “Crafted in the heart of Jamaica” have been placed under the logo to speak to the care and passion that goes into making Appleton Estate rum, as well as the geographical location of the Appleton Estate in the heart of Jamaica.

The historic medals, which date back to the 1800s, are featured on the bottom left of the label. The Appleton Estate heart icon appears as a watermark on the bottom right of the label.

The Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum range is Jamaica’s leading premium rum and is exported to over 60 countries around the world.

Don Pancho Fernandez, Origenes, luxury rum, Panama, Terlato wines — Don Pancho Fernandez's brand of Origenes luxury rum from Panama is now being distributed across the Unites States by the artisan spirits division of Terlato Wines.

Don Pancho Origenes Rums now available in USA

Saturday, December 20, 2014 / Robert Burr / 0 Comments

The new artisan spirits division of Terlato Wines has announced the immediate availability of Don Pancho Origenes luxury rums from Panama across the United States, including the award-winning 8 year old, 15 year old and 30 year old expressions.

Don Pancho Origenes - Don Pancho Fernandez, Origenes, luxury rum, Panama, Terlato wines

Don Pancho Fernandez’s brand of Origenes luxury rum from Panama is now being distributed across the Unites States by the artisan spirits division of Terlato Wines.

Don Pancho Origenes rums are produced in Panama by the legendary Cuban master rum blender Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez, who is globally recognized as one of the most experienced and respected rum blenders in the world. The brand marks Don Pancho’s first rum under his own name. The contents of each bottle reflect a lifetime of expertise and vision.

After learning the distilling craft from his father, Master Distiller Don Ramon Corrales Fernandez, Don Pancho was instrumental in modernizing Cuba’s rum industry in the 1970s.

The Panamanian Connection

After a global conglomerate acquired Cuba’s national brand, he relocated to Panama, where, in the 1990s, he discovered a neglected distillery in the Herrera region of Panama, which he built, with business partner Carlos Esquivel, into the Las Cabras Distillery.

At Las Cabras Don Pancho produced super-premium rums made with estate-grown, hand-harvested sugar cane in the Cuban tradition for many brands, while he watched and waited as the barrels of rum that he had been aging in Panama since the 1980s started showing some intriguing flavors and aromas. He soon realized that there was an opportunity to produce a blended aged rum under his own name — one that would be his own personal expression of aged rum.

Don Pancho Origenes is Born

Crafted in the classic “Cuban style,” Don Pancho Origenes rums are made with molasses from hand-harvested sugar cane and a proprietary yeast, are distilled in copper column stills and then aged in American Oak bourbon barrels of uniform size. Each barrel is hand selected by Don Pancho from his own private collection spanning decades. Renowned for his exacting standards, Don Pancho true-age-dates his rums by the age of the youngest rum in the blend, meaning the youngest rum in the 8-Year Old is 8 years old, and the same for the 18 and 30 year olds.

The 8-year is aromatic with hints of butterscotch and vanilla. Particularly smooth for its age, this rum makes for a perfect accent to cocktails or can be enjoyed neat or on the rocks. The suggested retail price is $40.

The 18-year is characterized by a beautiful, cherry wood color. Filled with delicate aromas of sweet tea, honey, moist dates and figs, this rum is smooth with a rewarding finish. The elegant mouth-feel fades gently to expose dried fruits and notes of bourbon due to many years aging in American oak bourbon barrels. Additionally, the 18-year recently won the Gold Medal at the Berlin Rum Festival, the only rum to earn a perfect 100 out of 100 points by noted rum expert Robert Burr in a blind tasting. The suggested retail price is $90.

The 30-year is the most exclusive and luxurious of the series, with only 2,000 bottles available worldwide and 600 in the United States. This expression has a complex nose with wood, bourbon, orange peel and apricots. Remarkably creamy and full-bodied, its rich flavors of fudge and caramel melt into the fruity nose with a complex, long finish. Best enjoyed on its own, neat. The suggested retail price is $425.

“With Don Pancho Origenes, Don Pancho created the kind of artisan rum that he had always envisioned making. We instantly knew that Terlato’s Artisan Spirits division was the perfect place to build our brand in the marketplace,” said Carlos Esquivel, executive director of Don Pancho Origenes. “After decades of experience producing some of the world’s finest rums, we are excited to work with the Terlato family as we release such a high quality series of rum expressions for the first time under Don Pancho’s name.”

Don Pancho Origenes is imported from Panama by the Artisan Spirits division of Terlato Wines, the leading marketer of luxury wines in the United States, with a 20 percent market share of wines $20 and up in the U.S. The exceptional quality of the Terlato portfolio is underscored by more 90+ scores from leading wine publications than any other wine company.

Banks Rum Connoisseur’s Cut aged rum from Jamaica, Guyana and Nicaragua

Tuesday, August 12, 2014 / Robert Burr / 0 Comments

A limited edition release, the Banks Rum Connoisseur’s Cut blend of robust aged rums from Jamaica, Guyana and Nicaragua is a noble expression that successfully balances big bold flavors from a multitude of rich authentic Caribbean marques.

From Master Blender Arnaud de Trabuc, Banks Rum, Connoisseur's Cut is a limited edition masterful blend of fine aged rums from Jamaica, Guyana and Nicaragua.

This Limited Edition Connoisseur’s Cut expression from Banks Rum features an intriguing blend of fine aged rums from Jamaica, Guyana and Nicaragua.

These well chosen continuous and pot still aged rums were distilled in 2001 and 2012, then blended in 2007 before returning to oak casks for further aging.

The aroma begins with funky ripe banana over earthy toasted wood. A bouquet of rich dried fruit featuring apricot and citrus rinds leads to cashew and cigar box before resonating with gunpowder, oak and and bright pepper. On the palate, a big bold mouth feel presents initial sweet funky fruit on charred wood, then a delicious bananas foster over cedar plank that continues to evolve through the complex mid palate with notes of green banana and spices. The finish is long, woody and warm.

Founded by master blender Arnaud de Trabuc and R. John Pellaton, the Banks Rum brand is named for the 18th-century explorer Sir Joseph Banks, a noted English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook’s first great voyage (1768–1771) visiting Brazil, Tahiti and Australia. Approximately 80 species of plants bear the Banks name.

The Banks Rum brand distinguishes itself by creating unique blends of rum from around the world featuring complex and intriguing hybrid mixtures of spirits of many varieties. The unique skill of the master blender is in matching the qualities of various expressions in combinations that will pique the interest of seasoned rum enthusiasts.

Among the most popular Banks Rum products are the Banks 5 Island white rum and the Banks 7 Island gold rum. The Endeavour Limited Edition I is a release of only 1743 bottles featuring a sophisticated blend of two fine old rums individually selected from exclusive Banks reserves with a minimum of 16 years in the cask. Banks Connoisseur’s Cut Limited Edition rums are blends of specific styles of spirit from well known rum territories culled from the finest stocks in the Caribbean, then carefully blended to perfection in small quantities.