Spirits Shop Selection Caroni 10th Sansibar Whisky HTR 1997

Spirits Shop Selection bottled this Caroni in its tenth Sansibar Whisky release, drawing on the 1997 vintage of the closed Trinidad distillery. Caroni stopped production in 2003, and genuine HTR stock is finite and collectible. This single cask was bottled at a robust 59.3 percent and carries a whisky-cask influence over the rum.

Made from molasses and matured in ex-bourbon oak, it shows the dirty, industrial Caroni character clearly: a dirty, spicy, leathery nose with vanilla, then a woody palate of dark chocolate, intensity and grime, finishing on espresso, wood, cinnamon and more of that dirty note. The whisky finish adds an extra layer that sits over the classic tar and rubber rather than masking it. Intense and savoury, this is a heavy Trinidad for experienced palates who enjoy the distillery's grimier side with an additional cask twist.