Caroni 110 Proof 17 Year Old Rum (700ml)

On offer is a tiny allocation of extra aged, high proof rum from this long closed Trinidad distillery.
While the Caribbean has a long history of rum, a significant part of this history has been irretrievably lost. Trinidad once boasted more than 50 distilleries. The number dwindled to eight by the 1950s and now only Angostura remains. The decline was mostly due to the demise of the local sugar industry (Trinidad now imports molasses for rum production).

This increasingly rare bottling represents a small part of that era.
The Caroni Estate Distillery (est. 1918), closed in 2003 and is now sadly, demolished. It was built on the site of an old sugar factory and for a period supplied rums to the British Navy. At the time, there were some eight to ten other sugar factories operating, each producing different types (and qualities) of rums, bought up by merchants and sold to rum shops all over the island.

Caroni gradually increased the quality of its distilling process, moving on from its original cast iron still to a wooden coffey still, until 1945 when they acquired a copper still which was followed by a single column in 1957 and then a four column Gerb Herman still in 1980. Rums from the estate gained a reputation for being particularly flavoursome.

After the 2003 closure, some Caroni casks made their way back to the U.K. We're pleased to be able to offer an allocation of what is unquestionably a true collector's and connoisseur's delight. Once these are gone, they're gone forever. This bottling, distilled in 1998 was matured for 15 years on the island with a loss of around 80% to evaporation. It was finally bottled in Scotland in 2015. We have secured a very small allocation.

Tasting note: Deep brassy gold. Mild shellac blows off to reveal luxurious aromas of dried banana / mango, vanilla bean and milk chocolate. 2-3 minutes in the glass emphasises honey cornflake crackles, with hints of boiled confectionary and cut grass-like freshness. Concentrated, medium sweet delivery; Entry is lean and oak driven, filling out with a creamy vanilla, sponge cake and raw sugar profile; concludes delicately bittersweet, tingly, peppery with raw sugar and dried banana reverberating in the aftertaste. Deceptively long. A rare treat indeed! 55% Alc./Vol.