Back in 1944, a bartender known as Trader Vic (real name Victor Bergeron) based in Oakland created the hit sensation the Mai Tai.

And while the world continues to enjoy the Mai Tai, bartenders and rum geeks have seen the cocktail as a real conundrum and have dedicated their careers (and free time) to cracking this Holy Grail.

The reason the Mai Tai possess this Holy Grail is because Trader Vic's original Mai Tai was created just as its base rum ingredient, the Wray & Nephew's 17 Year Old Jamaican rum, was discontinued commercially.

Vic Bergeron or better known as Trader Vic, who created the Mai Tai. (Image Source: Thirsty)

And so this hardcore group of fans have sought to recreate the original Mai Tai.

Appleton Estate's come to lend a helping hand - its releasing a new 17 Year Old Jamaican rum expression called "Legend" that was created in an attempt to recreate the flavor profile of the original Wray & Nephew 17 Year Old.

Before you claim BS, the Jamaican distillery is pretty serious - they've used a quartet of rare distillates that they claim comes as close as possible to replicating the original Jamaican rum expression.

The original Wray & Nephew's 17 Year Old expression. (Image Source: Cocktail Wonk)

According to Appleton Estate's Master Blender, Joy Spence, she believes that the original rum, known as J. Wray & Nephew's 17 Year Old Liqueur Rum, was actually still produced into 1981, long after it was thought to be commercially discontinued. This was as it might have been labelled under a different name, with the label "Trader Vic's Personal Selection" used instead.

“We used to export it in bulk to Trader Vic’s...[the rum had] really taken off my feet with the amazing flavor profile and the complexity of this rum. I researched into the history [and] spoke to the master blender, because he was integral in the first production.”

Joy Spence, Appleton Estate Master Blender

Joy Spence, Master Blender at Appleton Estate. (Image Source: Hedonism Wine)

Other clues add up, as Joy Spence herself joined the Jamaican distillery in 1981, while her predecessor, Owen Tulloch had joined Wray & Nephew in 1945 just a year after Vic Bergeron had created the Mai Tai, just as the expression was discontinued.

Spence further shared that Appleton had long intended to work on this project and had laid down marques for the expression as early as 2005, with the original expression a blend of four marques.

“We had the formulation in [Owen Tulloch’s] formula book. He would print long sheets of paper, and then he would cover them with pieces of cardboard that he took from the boxes we shipped the rums in. Then he would punch two holes and tie it with a nice ribbon and that would be our formula book! Those formulas are actually in our archives stored with our legal department.

We had the formulation, we had the specification, so we know what the technical composition was, and what the sensory flavor profile is. We worked assiduously to develop these special marques of rum. When you're developing a new blend, you just have the ability to be able to select all different marques and create distinctive flavor profiles. When you're recreating a product. It's a completely different ballgame. It's very technical, very difficult to make sure I can get those flavor profiles as close as I can to the previous product. And so it was, to me, the most difficult task.”

Joy Spence

The Appleton Estate. (Image Source: Exotic Excursion)

Nonetheless much to the disappointment of fans, Spence has also shared that due to the technical complexities, in particular with one of the four marques needed, it seems that the expression will be a one-off release.

"There's one particular marque that is so unique, and you had to set the ferment in a particular way and distill in a particular way, which is not what we're doing now for the other estate marques.”

Spence mentioned that by 2022 with the full 17 years of aging, only 10 barrels of stock remained, which would total 1,500 bottles worldwide. 

The Appleton Estate Legend 17 Year Old is entirely pot distilled, unlike some of the distillery's current lineup which consists of both pot and column distilled spirit, with the rums distilled entirely onsite at the distillery like the original expression.

The Mai Tai. (Image Source: Food and Wine)

For some context, J. Wray & Nephew had purchased Appleton Estate in 1916, and had used the Appleton Estate to produce the rum used in the original Mai Tai.

Nonetheless, Spence did concede that the ex-Bourbon casks used fort the Appleton Estate Legend was unlikely to be the same as the original expression, as the expression was matured during the Prohibition, which would have made ex-Bourbon casks scarce.

All that said, if you're hoping to score the original Mai Tai with the new Appleton Estate Legend, do note that even Trader Vic's recipe for the original Mai Tai has been less than useful, "I took a fresh lime, added some orange curaçao from Holland, a dash of Rock Candy Syrup, and a dollop of French Orgeat, for its subtle almond flavor".

And so with that, the Appleton Estate Legend will be available worldwide in June 2023, at US$500 for each of the 1,500 bottles made available.

Images courtesy of Appleton Estate.

Kanpai!

88 Bamboo Editorial Team