The Joy of Appleton Estate
THE JOY Anniversary Blend Rare Jamaican Rum, special edition, produced by J. Wray & Nephew’s master blender Joy Spence, was sold out locally and internationally in record time.
“I can’t believe that in every country that I’ve visited, the minute I land and start the promotions, it sells out,” said Spence. “It is a record. We have never sold out stocks of what we call limited time offerings in such a short period of time.”
She continued: “We produced approximately 1,000 cases of JOY for the entire world, and the expectation was that this would behave in typical fashion and be depleted over two to three years as with other limited time offers. But Jamaica was sold out in a week. It is awesome to have a Jamaican product being recognised internationally and to actually see people clamouring for it everywhere I go. In the United Kingdom, the Whiskey Exchange sold out the minute we began promotions, and in Switzerland, it sold out in just two days.”
Yesterday, Bob KunzeConcewitz, Campari Group chief executive officer, proudly showed off a bottle of JOY and spoke passionately about it, as well as the professional to whom it pays tribute.
“We’re very proud of her, and we are very appreciative of what she is doing for the brand. She created here a rum that rivals the best whiskeys. It’s complex, it’s smooth, it’s good for somebody who is new to rum. They immediately appreciate that there is something different here, easily digested. You know you are having quality,” he boasted from the comfort of the company’s New Kingston boardroom.
INCREDIBLE LADY
Chairman of Wray and Nephew Clement ‘Jimmy’ Lawrence was quick to add his commendation.
“It reinforces the attributes of the brand because I think that hitherto, rum has always been more playful and just rum. This is putting it clearly in a premium category and reinforcing it by the quality and how it delivers that quality,” said Lawrence.
Kunze-Concewitz puts in perspective the value of Joy Spence to the organisation.
“She is an incredible lady! She is almost the soul of the brand – I mean, the master blender’s master blender. The first lady to take such a position and our industry is still a maledominated industry, and she’s the first one who broke the glass ceiling. Incredible passion, talent, knowledge,” he gushed.