Excellence Rhum Caroni 1998

Excellence Rhum is the bottling label of a French rum specialist, and this single cask goes to Caroni, the Trinidad distillery that closed in 2003 and became rum's most mythologised closed name. From the heavy 1998 vintage, it was tropically aged 23 years before bottling at 65.2%.

Maturation in a single ex-bourbon cask under tropical conditions gives a slightly fruitier, drier reading of the industrial style. The aroma carries dried fruit, barrel, rubber and spice, the palate turns toasted and spicy with burnt sugar and oak, and the finish stays woody, dry and tarry with a firm tannic grip. The dirt and depth of classic Caroni remain, lifted here by extra fruit and a leaner, more austere wood profile. Unsweetened and powerful, it is a rewarding variation on the heavy 1998 theme for drinkers who already enjoy full-strength Caroni.