CoR Caroni 1998

This is a 1998 vintage Caroni bottled by Poland's The Colours of Rum, a twenty-three year single cask. Caroni is the closed Trinidad distillery established in 1918 and shut in 2003, its finite casks the most mythologised in rum since Velier brought them to light. The Colours of Rum is a young but top-tier purist house releasing cask strength, additive-free single casks with high transparency, and this bottling shows a gentler face of the famous vintage.

Matured in ex-bourbon oak, it keeps the heavy Caroni signature while turning it fruitier. The aroma carries chamomile, rubber, tar and dark chocolate, the palate is full-bodied with rubber, tobacco and tar, and the finish stays warm with rubber, tar and a cappuccino note. The dirty industrial markers sit a little restrained here, balanced by tea and tobacco and a creamy mouthfeel. The 62.2% is well integrated into a warm, medium close, a rounded and approachable way into the 1998 style for those who already enjoy it.