TBRC Caroni Islay Cask Finish 2023

This That Boutique-y Rum Company bottling takes a 20-year Caroni, the closed Trinidad distillery rescued by Velier and now finite, and finishes it in ex-Islay whisky casks. The Boutique-y house approach is honest and additive-free, but the cask choice here is bold: heavily peated Islay wood layered over one of rum's most characterful spirits at a full 63%.

The result puts smoke, whisky and malt front and centre, with the Caroni tar and oil sitting underneath rather than leading. The nose is smoky and whisky-driven, the palate smoky, malty and barrel-heavy, the finish much the same. Most drinkers find the peat dominates, so it reads more as a peated whisky than a Trinidad rum, an outcome that splits opinion sharply. One for the curious who love Laphroaig or Lagavulin and want to see that profile collide with Caroni, rather than for purists chasing the classic heavy style.