Appleton Estate's 26-year-old Hearts Collection 1999 has 1,406 bottles at $500

Appleton Estate has rereleased its 1999 vintage in the Hearts Collection, this time aged 26 years. The rum spent five additional years in wood compared with the earlier bottling of the same vintage, and it ships at 63 percent ABV with 1,406 bottles available worldwide.

Each bottle is priced at $500, though the rum is expected to climb well past that figure on the secondary market. The liquid comes from a single marque, essentially one lot or batch, distilled on a Forsyth pot still and bottled in 2025.

All of it matured in just ten ex-bourbon casks. Master blender Dr. Joy Spence selected them, and said in a statement: "1999 has become more memorable." Returning to the casks, she said, revealed liquid of exceptional quality.

"That had only grown more delicious and complex with every passing year," Spence continued. "We simply could not keep it to ourselves." The new 2026 release is a repeat of the 1999 vintage rather than a new distillation year.

What the Hearts Collection is

The Hearts Collection launched in 2020 and has carried eight vintages so far: 1994, 1995, 1999, 1984, 2003, 1993, 2002 and 1998. Every one was selected by Spence in collaboration with rum expert Luca Gargano.

Appleton Estate is Jamaica's oldest continuously operating rum distillery, with roots reaching back to the mid-18th century. The first rum bottled under the Appleton name did not arrive until the 1940s, and the distillery now belongs to Campari.

Spence has been master blender since 1997 and was the first woman to hold the title. Beyond the Hearts Collection, the portfolio includes a 17-year-old released a few years ago and a rum aged for 51 years.

Well-aged, high-end rum is a growing category that has crossed over in appeal to whiskey drinkers and collectors. Within the Appleton range, the Hearts Collection is regarded as the pinnacle of the portfolio.

How it tastes and who it is for

Twenty-six years is a long stretch for a rum in a tropical climate, where heat and humidity accelerate the interaction between spirit and wood. According to the brand, all of Appleton's aging is done in that climate.

On the palate the release shows caramel, banana, grilled pineapple, licorice, cinnamon, apple pie, brown sugar and molasses. Despite the high 63 percent ABV, the heat is controlled and never overpowering.

The release should appeal to two audiences. Jamaican rum fans will look for hogo, the funky, savory notes tied to Jamaican pot still rum, while experienced whiskey drinkers can use it to extend their palate into well-aged spirits.

The new Hearts Collection 1999 is available now at specialty retailers around the country. With 1,406 bottles worldwide, stock at those shops is likely to move quickly, so the secondary market is where prices will be tested.

In our guide to the rum brands worth trying for sipping, aged Jamaican pot still rum is a style we return to often. This release is an example of what extra years in a tropical warehouse can do.

The earlier 1999 bottling carried a younger age statement, and this one adds five years to reach 26. Appleton is betting that collectors will pay for that extra maturity, as they did for the series' earlier vintages.

No further vintages have been announced, and Appleton has not said whether other Hearts Collection casks are being held back for future long-aged repeats. For now the 1999 rerelease is the series' latest entry.