Berry Bros & Rudd Caroni Finest Caribbean XO

Berry Bros and Rudd, the venerable London merchant, bottled this Caroni at an approachable 46 percent, a softer strength than the full-proof monsters the closed Trinidad distillery is famous for. Caroni shut in 2003, and its heavy marks remain prized, but this Finest Caribbean XO offers an easier route into the style. At 16 years it keeps the character while toning down the intensity.

Distilled from molasses and matured in ex-bourbon oak, it shows the recognisable Caroni signature: rubber, dark chocolate, toast and butterscotch on the nose, then rubber, toffee, a medicinal edge and cocoa on the palate, finishing on tobacco, rubber, caramel and a touch of sharpness. The oily tar-and-rubber profile is clearly present but relaxed, the lower proof giving away a little potential power in exchange for drinkability. A genuine, approachable way into Caroni for those wary of the 60 percent bottlings.