The Appleton Estate was allegedly part of land awarded to Frances Dickinson in 1655 for his work during the English conquest of Jamaica. The estate remained with the Dickinson family until 1845. A succession of rums was produced on the estate, all of them were of the pot still variety and they promptly gained a good reputation. Appleton Estate was acquired by Wray and Nephew during the early 20th century. The distillery stands as Jamaica’s oldest and the crop is garnered by machine as well as by machete. The estate is rather large, covering 11,000 acres. The distillery also employs the first female master blender in the spirits industry, Joy Spence. Furthermore, the age statements follow the same rules as do those on single malt whiskies; the age stated must be that of the youngest spirit in the blend. All of the rum is aged in American oak barrels which proffer the vanilla notes present in the finished product.