Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Ganesh „Buju“ Ramgobie 1998

Caroni closed in 2003, and Velier's rescue of its Trinidad casks turned the distillery into the most collectible closed name in rum. This third Employees release honours a member of the old workforce and draws on the heavy 1998 vintage, matured 22 years in the tropics before bottling at 67%.

Long tropical ageing in ex-bourbon oak gives a wood-forward, intensely dirty reading of the style. The aroma carries rubber, wood, barrel and a ripe banana note, the palate turns woody and tarry with leather over the barrel, and the finish stays roasted, rubbery and oaky. The heavy oak brings a firm bitterness that the tropical fruit and leather hold in balance, and the alcohol needs time in the glass to settle. Unsweetened and powerful, it is a benchmark 1998 release with near-perfect balance between round and dirty, built for slow, focused sipping.