Sansibar Caroni Shinanoya HTR 1997

Sansibar selected this single cask of Caroni, the closed Trinidad distillery whose finite stocks have made it rum's most mythologised name since production ended in 2003. Distilled in 1997 from molasses and matured twenty three years, it sits among the heavy marks, carrying the oily, industrial weight that sets Caroni apart from Trinidad's otherwise light column-still tradition.

Matured in ex-bourbon oak and bottled at full cask strength, the nose runs woody with tar, rubber and dried fruit, while the palate brings chocolate, raisin and smoke alongside the wood, the long ageing rounding the petroleum edge with darker, sweeter depth. The finish stays woody and minty with rubber and raisin lingering. At 60.7% it is dense and powerful, a Caroni that balances its trademark tar against richer fruit, suiting drinkers who want the distillery's character with a little more polish.