Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996

This is the first of Velier's Employees series, named for a member of the old Caroni workforce and drawn from the heavy 1996 vintage. Caroni closed its Trinidad gates in 2003, and these bottlings of its rescued casks are among the most prized in all of rum, here matured 22 years in the tropics and bottled at 66.5%.

Tropical ageing in ex-bourbon oak gives a deep, powerful reading of the industrial style. The aroma carries tobacco, tar, rubber and raisin, the palate turns woody and tobacco-laced with rubber over a dense, layered core, and the finish runs long on rubber, liquorice and barrel. Dark chocolate, dried fruit and heavy oak give it weight and depth, and the alcohol is impressively integrated for the proof. Unsweetened and built for slow, focused sipping, it stands among the standout 1996 Employees releases and a high point of the whole series.