Whisky Krüger Caroni Bürgermeister Rum HTR 1997

This is a 1997 vintage Caroni bottled by German independent Whisky Kruger as the Burgermeister Rum, an eighteen year single cask. Caroni is the closed Trinidad distillery established in 1918 and shut in 2003, its finite casks among the most sought after in rum since Velier brought them to light. This bottling turns the usual garage-and-petrol profile toward something fruitier and more elegant without losing intensity.

Matured in ex-bourbon oak, it shows an oily, dense body. The aroma carries varnish, burnt sugar, tar and tobacco, the palate brings tar and burnt sugar alongside caramel and warmth, and the finish runs long with caramel, burnt sugar, rubber and a surprising lift of tropical fruit. Overripe banana and caramelised fruit sit beside the machine-shop notes, a less brutal face of the heavy style that stays powerful and warming. The texture is thick and the finish vast, a serious neat pour at 63.8%.