presents
A Sunny
history
AAs a giant ball of super-hot gas 149.6 million kilometres away, I’ve got a pretty important job, providing the light and heat essential to life on earth. But I like to think of myself as the world’s greatest historian.
From up here, I can see everything... the land, the sea, the clouds.
Want to hear a secret? I have a favourite place. A place where the azure Caribbean Sea kisses the lush green landscape bathed in golden sunshine with the most resilient people in the world.
and as I hit 77° W each day, I can hear the stirrings of reggae music, people splashing around in the rivers and the sea, the hustle and bustle of people going about their daily lives, and the spirited conversations that take place in the numerous bars that dot the island where talk of the island’s famous rum dominates. Ahhh, Jamaican rum. Nothing else quite like it ... it “tastes like the tropics” with delicious flavours of tropical fruits and exotic spices.
Rum is made in many places, but it was perfected in the Nassau Valley. Located deep in the heart of Jamaica, the Nassau Valley is protected by the limestone hills of the Cockpit Country. In this beautiful fertile valley, blessed with the perfect amount of rain and sunshine (thanks to yours truly), is where our story is set: Appleton Estate, a magical place where rum has been made since 1749 and is still thriving today.
The history of rum is the history of Jamaica,
and it all began way back in the 17th century when sugar cane cuttings were brought to Jamaica and flourished on the estates. Looking much like huge blades of grass, these plants found the soil fertile, and were soon used to make sweet-sweet sugar using the labour of enslaved Africans who showed their innovativeness, resilience and creativity when they discovered how to use the by-products of sugar manufacturing to make rum. This technique has been honed and crafted over the years to become the expression of golden perfection that it is today.
Let’s jump ahead to the 20th century, when things got a little shaky, literally - with earthquakes, hurricanes, followed by two World Wars, the Spanish flu outbreak and the Great Depression. Through it all Appleton Estate rolled with the punches, planting new crops to tide the company over in the lean years and later, making a bigger name for itself with Appleton Estate Special, a new kind of sipping rum created for Scotch drinkers facing wartime shortages.
After the second world war, Jamaica’s beaches filled up with tourists, and the rich and famous flocked to the island. Famous writers Noel Coward and Ian Fleming made Jamaica their home and it was here that Fleming created his masterpiece, the 007 James Bond series. Following Jamaica’s independence in 1962, she took her place on the map of the modern world.
Flash forward to the 1980s, when suddenly everything was wildly different—again. The music, the fashion, the dancing! Self-expression was in, and Appleton Estate, a favourite libation, launched new expressions of “gold rum” that stole the spotlight. Appleton Estate was not alone, and Jamaican gastronomy, music and sports took to the world.
As the times changed Appleton Estate continued, as passionate as ever. The brand has had many acclamations; it was the first brand to appoint
who is still hard at work creating her magnificent blends. It was Appleton Estate that created the world’s oldest barrel-aged rum - the Appleton Estate 50-Year-Old Jamaica Independence Reserve, and today Appleton continues to innovate, launching award-winning limited time products. Today, people all over the world know the Appleton Estate name, and they taste its magic with every sip.
Now do you understand why I perk up each time I see Jamaica? I’m afraid that’s all the time I’ve got today. I’ve got places to go, sunrises to attend to.
But rest assured, I’ll be back tomorrow.