Velier Caroni 100% Rum 17 HTR 1998

Caroni is the most mythologised name in Trinidad rum, a distillery that ceased production around 2002 and closed by 2003, its forgotten warehouses rediscovered and championed by Luca Gargano of Velier. This is a 1998 vintage in the Heavy Trinidad Rum style, the marque collectors chase, bottled at full proof and matured entirely in the Caribbean rather than shipped to a cooler climate.

The nose leads with the signature industrial character of heavy Caroni, tar, burnt rubber and diesel over leather, before the palate opens onto dried tropical fruit, tobacco, smoke and charred oak from long tropical ageing in ex-bourbon wood. At 55% it is intense yet rounder and more drinkable than the brute strength editions, with an extra layer of fruit and dark chocolate depth. Velier bottles its Caroni without added sugar or colouring, so what is in the glass is purely cask and time. A reference point for the distillery's savoury, petrol and tropical fruit signature, and a finite one, since no more is being made.