Corman Collins & Bristol Classic Rum Caroni HTR – Le blog à Roger 1997

This 1997 Caroni was bottled jointly by the Belgian house Corman Collins and England's Bristol Classic Rum for the Le blog a Roger label, a single cask drawn at almost 23 years and presented at cask strength, 58.5%. It comes from the Trinidad distillery that closed in 2003, whose surviving stock has become some of the most collectible rum around.

Distilled from molasses on the column still and aged in ex-bourbon oak, it delivers the dirty Caroni signature without tipping into the brutal extreme. Tar, rubber and oily workshop notes lead, balanced by caramel, dried fruit and a cooling menthol freshness, with smoke and dry oak through the finish. Unsweetened and full proof, it still drinks with a relative roundness, the fruit staying present alongside the grime so the whole thing feels composed rather than punishing. A well-judged selection for drinkers who want classic heavy Caroni in a powerful but balanced and sippable form.