Caroni distilled in 1994 and bottled by Velier after 23 years as Heavy Trinidad Rum, the dense, high-flavour style the closed distillery is known for. Reviewers of Velier's 1994 bottlings point to a rounder, more mellow profile than many Caronis.
About This Rum
HTR on a Velier label stands for Heavy Trinidad Rum, marking casks from the heavier end of Caroni's range. The 1994 casks spent more than two decades maturing in the tropics, and that long in a hot climate costs a barrel most of its volume, which explains the concentration in the glass. Velier bottled its 23 year old 1994 stock in 2017 at full proof, without added sugar or colouring. The exact strength depends on the batch or cask, so it is printed on the label.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Tar, bicycle inner tube and tobacco over brown sugar syrup, caramel, orange liqueur and a menthol lift.
- Palate: Full and dry, with tar, bitter herbs, mint, espresso and old oak, then burnt banana and mango.
- Finish: Long and powerful, spice and wood fading into rubber and liquorice.
Serving & Food
Let the glass stand for a while before tasting, since the tar and rubber settle and the fruit comes forward with air. Serve at room temperature in a copita, with water to hand. Good company for bitter chocolate truffles, grilled pork belly, or a hard aged cheese such as Mimolette.
How to Enjoy
A long evening with an old rum, or a vertical beside Velier's 1996 and 1998 Caronis.
Product Details
Distillery: Caroni (closed 2002)
Origin: Trinidad and Tobago
Bottler: Velier
Style: Heavy Trinidad Rum (HTR), column still molasses rum
Vintage: 1994
Bottled: 2017
Age Statement: 23 years old
Additives: No added sugar or colouring
Volume: 700mL
About the Distillery
The modern story of Caroni began in October 2004, when Luca Gargano of the Italian firm Velier travelled to Trinidad with photographer Fredi Marcarini to shoot a book on Caribbean rum. At the shuttered Caroni site he found warehouses still full of barrels, some dating back to the 1970s and others to the final distillations of 2000.
Gargano sent samples to Italy for analysis, then bought most of what remained. Velier released the rum over the following fifteen years at full or high strength, and many of the labels use Marcarini's photographs from that first visit.