Appleton Estate

Appleton has been making rum in the Nassau Valley since at least 1749, which puts it among the longest continuously operating distilleries in the Caribbean, and the estate still grows its own cane in the valley around it. The tour covers the cane, the mill, fermentation, the copper pot stills and the ageing warehouses, and ends with a tasting through the range. Jamaican pot-still rum has a heavier character than most Caribbean rum, and the tour explains why.

What you actually see

• The pot stills - copper stills producing the estate's heavier style.
• The ageing warehouses - barrels held in the valley's warm conditions.
• The cane fields - the estate's own cane growing in the Nassau Valley.
• The tasting - a guided run through the range at the end of the tour.

When to go

December to April is the drier season and the most comfortable. Cane harvest runs roughly from January to June and is when the mill is working. Tours must be booked in advance.

Honest expectations

Tours run to a fixed schedule and walk-ins are not accommodated. The mill is only running in harvest season, so out of season part of the process is not seen. The drive in from the coast is long and the roads are rough.

Nearby

Black River is south, and Y S Falls is southwest.