CoR Caroni Impressions (Selected by Steffen Mayer) 1998

The Colours of Rum is a Polish purist bottler favouring cask strength and full transparency, and this single cask is a personal selection from the heavy 1998 Caroni vintage. Caroni closed in 2003, and tropically aged 25 years, this bottling lands at 60.1% as a more polished, refined take on the industrial Trinidad style.

Maturation in a single ex-bourbon cask under Caribbean heat keeps the dirty Caroni core intact while age rounds the edges. The aroma balances rubber and tar with sweet vanilla, toffee and a citrus lift, the palate stays vanilla-rich with rubber and roasted wood, and the finish closes sweet and spiced with a tarry undertone. The result leans almost whisky-like in its balance, the workshop notes present but woven through fruit, toffee and nuts. Unsweetened and contemplative, it suits a slow glass or a cigar, a gentler doorway into 1998 Caroni for drinkers who want depth without brutality.