Distilia Caroni The Golden Age of Piracy Edward Teach Blackbeard 1999

Distilia bottle this Caroni single cask from the 1999 vintage in their Golden Age of Piracy series, drawing on the closed Trinidad distillery made legendary by Velier's finite tropically aged casks. At twenty-one years and 65.7%, it pushes the heavy industrial style close to its limit, a benchmark for drivers who want maximum intensity.

The molasses spirit, matured in ex-bourbon oak in the heavy marque, leads with tar, rubber, a dirty edge and leather on the nose. The palate is oily and intense with tar, rubber and varnish, yet stays surprisingly elegant as tropical fruit, mint and vanilla emerge, and the finish runs woody and roasted with tar and chocolate. Added sugar is unconfirmed but it drinks dry. This is the archetypal savoury, petrol-and-tropical-fruit Caroni, powerful and dense, built to be sipped slowly with a few drops of water by those who already love the heaviest end of the style.