PBMichiganWolverine
Caroni 1998 20 Year (Ultimatum)
Aged Rum — Trinidad & Tobago
Reviewed
April 3, 2019 (edited April 13, 2019)
This might be my first 5 star rum. I’ve had a few, but always found rum overly sweet, like artificial sweetener or sugary. This one drinks like whiskey. I opened up my sample, and immediately got aromas of brown sugar and oak. Thick and viscous in the mouth, tastes of green olives (???!), cinnamon heat, and almost a herbaceous aftertaste...like thyme? Tasted blind, I’d have guessed a really well made American craft whiskey ( maybe like Balcones, Stranahan’s, or Westland), but better. Much better. The cask strength adds a hot cinnamon finish, but after adding a wee bit of water, it quickly dissipates to a lingering aftertaste. This is the first rum that I have myself saying “I need to buy a bottle”. How the hell did this distillery go out of business????!!!!
Create Account
or
Sign in
to comment on this review
@cascode I just pulled the trigger on a Caroni as well. It’s still reasonable compared to a similarly aged whisky, and far more reasonable than a closed whisky distillery that might not even be a fraction as good
@PBMichiganWolverine It's been happening slowly over the last decade - 10 years ago you could find the 17 year old at a quarter the current price. I have a strong suspicion that there is a huge stash of this rum in enthusiast's collections. I know one guy who is a total rum-head who bought a case of both the 17 and the 15 at a rum tasting I went to a few years ago.
I know zee Wijck, which ships to the US, has this and an Adelphi 20 year sherry cask Bowmore.
@cascode maybe it’s just me, but seems like just now eyes are opening up to this run? And prices seem to reflect the sudden attention
@PBMichiganWolverine Caroni closed down because Angostura murdered it. In 2001 they acquired a majority holding in the distillery from the Trinidad government, who had held 49% of the shares (it was originally a state-owned enterprise). Angostura operated Caroni in a lacklustre fashion for 12 months, then closed the operation and demolished the plant. The only reason we have any Caroni now is due to Luca Gargano, the owner of Velier, who discovered hundreds of warehoused barrels in the early 2000s and acquired the lot. When that stock runs out … that’s it for Caroni.
@ScotchingHard I can—send me your address at [email protected]
@PBMichiganWolverine would love a sample. I live in Maryland. Is there a secret way to get it to me?
@ScotchingHard I have 1/2 sample left (3cl)—if you’re interested, I’d be happy to send it your way. It’s unusual enough of a rum to give it a go.
Ah caroni rum. On my bucket list.