Caroni Rum Sponge 1997

Caroni, the closed Trinidad distillery rescued by Velier and prized above almost any other, is bottled here by Decadent Drinks for its respected Rum Sponge series. This single cask is from the 1997 vintage, aged twenty three years and offered at 48.5%, a slightly more restrained proof that lets the aromatics breathe.

Distilled from molasses and matured in ex-bourbon oak, it leans into the savoury, funky side of the heavy style: rubber and a dirty, medicinal edge wound through fresh tropical and yellow fruit. The palate stays fruity and rubbery with a bitter twist, the finish carrying that same interplay of fruit and funk. This is a characterful, savoury Caroni for those who enjoy the distillery's industrial fingerprint, a scarce single vintage cask from a name that no longer produces.