After 26 years of coming to Negril, one of the most memorable experiences was meeting Joy Spence, Master Blender at Appleton Estates. It started with just seeing a very simple add in the Observer advertising a rum blending class taught by the master herself. The add said it would be a once in a lifetime experience, and I have to say it probably was. We drove our little jeep to Appleton, met Joy and spent about 2 hours in a lab style classroom while she taught us in depth about how rum is made. There were 12 in the class. Joy also went into detail about the flavors or notes of the Appleton's rum and we had a taste up to and including the 30 year old. We then had a small contest where Joy gave us the notes that she wanted to smell and provided us with several bottles of rum of different ages for blending. We also got samples of the smells, like an orange peel, coffee bean, chocolate, and nutmeg. We had to smell each sample and then each blend of different aged rum. We had to mix the rum in accordance with her instructions for what she wanted to smell in a blend. I managed to win 2nd place and got a bottle of 12 year old Appleton's for my effort. First place was a 30 year old bottle and I missed it by that much.
If anyone is planning a South Coast tour, I would highly recommend the Joy Spence Appleton Estates Rum Experience tour. Even if you have taken the tour before, I would still recommend seeing it again. Appleton was closed for some time while doing a multi million USD renovation and is now opened again. They have re-named the tour and the welcome center in honor of the contributions that Joy Spence has made to the Jamaican rum industry. For those that don't know, Joy Spence is the Master Blender at Appleton and has been for over 20 years. She was the first ever female master blender anywhere in the world and has just received the Order of Distinction Commander Class from the Jamaican Government. This would be the equivalent of receiving the Order of Canada for all us Canadian's out there. Also of interest, we were told by Joy herself that Jamaican rum has been granted Geographic Indicator status which makes it protected under the Jamaica Intellectual Property Organisation. What this means is Jamaican rum is now a part of Jamaica heritage and is protected by law to be Jamaican and Jamaican alone. Jamaican Jerk also has such a status.
The new Joy Spence Welcome Center is something to behold. You could very well spend hours there just looking at the architecture and wood work. Previous, at the end of the tour, visitors were taken to a rum tasting class which was in a small, dark studio and if the tour before you was late and the room was occupied, the tasting was done out in the hallway. Not so now. There are several classroom style rooms for taste sampling. They are large, bright, and welcoming.
A trip worth taking IMHO, save for the roads mind you. The road through Bamboo Avenue is a disgrace. Bamboo Avenue is on every map ever made and is a popular tourist destination. The Jamaican government should hang their heads in shame for the condition of that road.
Originally Posted by mwenvlay
