From what I understand Appleton Special isn’t widely available in a lot of territories. It is freely available in the UK though.
Rather than being special as such, it is Appleton’s entry level rum. It comes in both a Gold and White expression. It should be noted that whilst this is an Appleton rum it doesn’t have the Appleton Estate moniker. Yes, its of course from the same distillery but it seems Appleton wish to make a distinction between this and the Estate’s entry level rum – V/X. It is notably absent from the Appleton Estate website and rumours have it that it may be being discontinued. If those rumours are true I may have to invest in a few more bottles soon!