Velier Caroni 39th Release (The Last) Heavy Rum 1996

This is a Velier bottling of Caroni, the legendary Trinidad distillery that closed in 2003 and was rescued from obscurity when Luca Gargano bought up the remaining casks. Marketed as the last release of this heavy style, it is a twenty-three year old, tropically aged, full proof rum from a finite stock that shrinks with every bottle opened, which is exactly why Caroni has become the most mythologised name in rum.

The heavy Caroni profile is unmistakable and divisive: burnt rubber, tar, machine oil and dark wood, the so-called industrial character, layered over dried tropical fruit, menthol, prune and a sweetness that emerges with air. Long Caribbean ageing has deepened the oak and rounded the edges without taming the workshop intensity, and at 61.9% it is dense and powerful. This is a specialist's rum, savoury and smoky rather than easy, and it rewards patience in the glass. Bottled without additives at full strength.