Velier Caroni 2nd Employees David „Sarge“ Charran 1996

Velier bottled this Caroni from the 1996 vintage in its Employees series, honouring David Charran, one of the distillery's own workers. Caroni closed in 2003, and Velier's finite tranche of tropically aged, full-proof casks is what made the name legendary. At twenty-three years, unsweetened and a towering 66.5%, this is heavy Trinidad at full power.

The molasses spirit, matured in ex-bourbon oak in the heavy marque style, opens on raisin, wood and tar with a minty edge. The palate is dense and heavy with tar, dark chocolate and menthol, and the finish runs woody and long with rubber, mint and spice. This is the archetypal industrial Caroni, oily and intense, the kind of bottle built for slow, attentive sipping with a few drops of water. It will speak most directly to drinkers who already chase the biggest heavy Caroni releases.