Velier Sancti Spiritus & Caroni Papalin

This Papalin from Velier is an unusual marriage of two very different rums, the soft, light Sancti Spiritus from Cuba and a measure of the legendary closed Caroni distillery in Trinidad. Velier, the Genoese house that did more than anyone to elevate Caroni and old Demerara, here blends the two into an accessible 42% bottling that hints at Caroni's darker world without its full intensity.

The Cuban base sets a sweet, creamy tone with brown sugar, frangipane and dried fruit, while Caroni lends tar, leather and a faint garage oiliness around the edges. The palate is light and gently sweet, threaded with tar and caramel, and the finish carries burnt sugar, oak and dried fruit. Distilled on column stills and bottled at modest strength, it works best as a quirky introduction to the Caroni style rather than a full power expression of it.