Due to high demand and the very limited number of bottles, this rum will be limited to one per customer while stocks last. The Hearts Collection is the exceedingly exciting collaboration between Appleton Estate's Master Blender, Joy Spence, and Luca Gargano of the Genoa-based spirit specialist, Velier. Together, they select exceptionally rare pot-still rums and only the optimum ones make the cut. What makes the Hearts Collection just so thrilling is that these are the first single-marque pot-still rums that the Jamaican Distillery has ever released. Each Jamaican distillery classifies its rum production based on their specific marques (or marks), which correspond to the content of esters after distillation. Esters are the aromatic chemical compounds created during fermentation, and these determine how heavy and how funky the final rum is. Normally rums of different marques are blended together. So, nobody ever really gets the opportunity to taste them in their unadulterated form like this. Distilled in 2003 at a specific marque and aged in the tropical climate of Jamaica, it was bottled in 2021 at a punchy cask strength of 63% ABV. This 18-year-old rum pulses with tropical fruit, dark chocolate, Christmas pudding, ginger cake, soft brown sugar, liquorice, treacle, rose, capers, sesame oil, Belgian cherry beer and lime zest, plus a breakfasty combo of marmalade, honey and coffee. There's also a smoky, ashy and woody note, reminiscent of throwing a fresh log thrown on the fireplace. Only 5,000 bottles were made, and we were only able to secure a dozen. So, don't delay if you want to take up this intriguing opportunity. Renowned around the world for producing wonderfully rich, aromatic and flavourful rums, Appleton Estate also has the distinct honour of being Jamaica's oldest sugar estate and distillery in continuous production. This rare bottling was filled for rum royalty Velier. This outfit out of Genoa, is spearheaded by rum expert, Caribbean hopper, raconteur and international man of mystery Luca Gargano - a gentleman who refuses to associate with watches, cell phones, cars, newspapers or politicians. Anybody seriously into rum in this day and age, needs to be all over Velier. Their expertise in uncovering the world's finest and rarest rums is second to none.£37.86 per 100.00ml