Thompson Bros. Caroni HTR 1998

Caroni, the closed Trinidad distillery that ceased production around 2003, left behind heavy HTR marks that collectors chase above all others. This single cask comes from Thompson Bros of Dornoch, the Scottish outfit with a strong following for natural, full-proof bottlings. Distilled in 1998 and aged 23 years in ex-bourbon oak, it is presented at a powerful 60.6% cask strength. The heavy Caroni house style typically runs to tar, burnt rubber, diesel and machine oil over dark dried tropical fruit, smoke, brine and deep oak, oily and dense, the archetypal industrial rum. At over 60% the proof carries that savoury, petroleum intensity at full force, rewarding a drop of water. A finite, collectible pour from a distillery that is gone.