The Jamaican Joy; A warm welcome

BY NOEL CUNNINGHAM

A few days ago I had the opportunity to return home to Jamaica for the 10th staging of the Montego Bay Jerk Festival as the guest chef. And of course it’s always a great feeling to be back home. As soon as I cleared the airport I hit a popular seafood restaurant for some seafood which didn’t end well, but thank God KFC never fails. The following day I woke up to one of the best emails ever. I received an email which reads; The Appleton Estate brand would like to gift you with an Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Old, signed by its Master Blender, Dr. Joy Spence to honour your accomplishments and celebrate two Jamaican brands!

I was super surprised and honored. For some strange reason I thought it was just Appleton doing marketing and PR. When I went to collect my bottle of rum from the brand manager Tannika White and media relations manager Vanessa Metzger I was informed that this was a request from Joy Spence herself. I almost lost it. Tannika says she’s been working with Joy for the past four years and she never makes a request or any request of this sort. She went on further by saying that Joy did not only sign the canister “To Noel welcome home one love” but she signed the bottle as well which is not the norm. I’ve been following Dr. Joy’s story for the past eight years or more along with the incredible work that she is doing in the rum industry.

As Appleton Estate’s Master Blender, Joy Spence, has the honour of being the first woman to hold the position of Master Blender in the spirits industry. In this role, Joy is responsible for ensuring the quality and consistency of existing blends, creating new rum blends and monitoring the company’s inventory of ageing rum stocks. Simply put, it is Joy’s job to ensure that that all Appleton Estate rum blends meet the high standards that consumers have grown to love and expect.

A little back story. On March 8^th, 2018 I was doing my mixology exam at Red River College in Winnipeg and I randomly chose Joy’s signature cocktail Joy of Rum not realizing it was international women’s day, so being the dramatic Noel that I am, I started sharing her story with everyone that tried it and it was a hit for the night. I sold the most cocktails out of 15 students. Nov 7^th, 2018 I was invited to represent Jamaica at the prestigious James Beard House in New York for “Savoring Jamaica” when I finally got the opportunity to meet her. As a young chef to be recognized by Dr. Joy Spence for my work and contribution to brand Jamaica means the world to me, not knowing she was watching my growth or even remembered me. Thank you so much Appleton Jamaica and Dr. Joy Spence for this warm Jamaican welcome; it’s one I’ll never forget.

Joy of Rum cocktail recipe

The Joy of Rum, named after the Appleton Estate’s Master Blender, Joy Spence, mixes the tanginess of grapefruit, liveliness of soda with Appleton Estate Signature Blend for a simple take on a refreshing Jamaican classic.

Ingredients

• 30ml Appleton Estate
• 70ml grapefruit juice
• 2 tsps sugar
• Soda water
• Grapefruit wedge

Instructions:

1. Measure and pour grapefruit juice into glass
2. Add sugar and stir to dissolve
3. Add Appleton Estate
4. Fill glass with ice and top with soda water
5. Garnish with grapefruit wedge