Berry Bros & Rudd Caroni Rum (The Nectar) 1997

Berry Bros and Rudd, the long-established London wine and spirits merchant, has bottled this 1997 Caroni, drawing on the closed Trinidad distillery that ceased production in 2003. Column-distilled and matured in ex-bourbon for 19 years, it is bottled at 55 percent.

The nose is racy and gourmand, not entirely clean in the way Caroni lovers enjoy, with tar, burnt tyres and leather alongside dark chocolate, rubber and sweet exotic fruit. The palate is intense and almost sweet with smoked meat, nutmeg and a mineral edge, and the finish runs mineral and tarry over more dark chocolate and smoke. Distilled from Trinidadian molasses and matured in ex-bourbon oak, it sits squarely in the heavy camp, the industrial signature wrapped around real tropical fruit depth. A savoury, smoky and impressively long Caroni for those who want the closed distillery in full voice.