CoR Caroni Trinidad No. 4 1998

I sometimes say the best Caroni was bottled a few years ago. I may need to adjust this opinion – this is really good

Got this sample for free from RumX. It’s a single cask bottling from the legendary Caroni distillery that closed down in 2003. It’s a column still rum distilled in 1998 whereafter it’s tropical aged for 11 years in an ex-bourbon barrel and then continentally aged for an additional 12 years in an ex-whisky barrel before bottled in 2022 in just 250 bottles with a cask strength of 62,9%. Overall a very intense, complex and round rum.

The nose is distinctly dry, barrel-like, with a hint of dried wood. After the first sips, it's black tea, dried raisins, with hints of fruits. The taste of an oiled machine, rubber, tar, mixed with slightly sweetened caramel, burnt sugar, coffee, spices, wood and a barrel spreads in the mouth. You want to taste this insanely beautiful madness. The finish is long, warm, with no unpleasant spiciness.

Slightly less sweetness and fruit on the nose (and palate) than the 98s I've tasted so far. For dried thyme on the nose and palate. Especially at the beginning ... unfortunately fades after a while. I like overall really good, because the sweetness is sometimes really too much for me with the Caronis.

Tasted at J. B. Labat and at the German Rum Festival in parallel with cask #10. A rather light, machine-shop nose with quite a lot of fruit. Like a buttery side too. The palate is lively, but like the nose, rather balanced between machine shop notes and fruit. The finish is long and delicious, as is the empty glass. A rum with fairly few rough edges, but rather in balance. A better nose than cask #10, but the palate is far less interesting.

16.05.2023 Normally I don't do tastings during the week because I have to go to work pretty early the next day. This blind tasting just stating "Colours of Rum" just tickled my brain to say "book and participate" and I didn't regret it. It wasn't only a great experience, but we had a blast of an evening with many new faces around the table. Caroni's are expensive and so is this one. It stil does pretty well though and the traditional Caroni notes are there. Nose and palate are intense but in a good way. ABV and wood are really well integrated and the fruit takes a backseat here. The palate is lightly oily and medium dry with a herbal touch. The finish is long and kind if fresh and spicy with a light medicinal note.

Little more wood forwards and more dry than its CoR brother. Intense, dirty, herbal.

A Caroni in keeping with the standards of its vintage. The nose is rather sweet, on caramel candy, coupled with burnt sugar, raisin and roasted hazelnut notes. The smoky, petroiferous side gradually rises without imposing itself. The profile is well balanced and nicely rounded. A conventional but pleasant Caroni. The palate is marked by the sweet duo of caramel and the oiliness of tar and rubber. Herbaceous notes of black tea and exotic fruit mingle with the profile, which is rather dry, intense and quite dark (roasted hazelnuts, wood, smoke, pepper, chocolate). The profile is rather pleasant, it could be a good "everyday" Caroni. The alcohol is well integrated. The finish is long, focused on spicy, smoky, even burnt oak, tobacco and hydrocarbons. Tannins and medicinal, herbaceous and fruity notes give a lovely tone and balance to the profile. Caroni is both intense and full-bodied, with a beautiful aromatic palette. However, it lacks a little something to take it to the top.

I am not a Caroni expert, but personally I have had better Caronis in the glass. There is almost everything I expect from a Caroni, but not enough of anything. Still a very good rum, but not top class.

Schwarztee, intensiv, Eiche, Gummi/Teer, dreckige Noten und einen sehr trockenen Abgang.

Le Cask numéro 9 est absolument magnifique , on sent le sucre de canne et c’est très bon. Extrêmement puissant en bouche et le goudron sur la langue , c’est très intéressant et en bouche sa brûle un peu

Notes issues du Whisky Live Paris 2024 - à revoir et approfondir. Caoutchouc, pruneaux, petit thé, et peut être une minéralité (étrange non ?) pour le ce petit Caroni. On rêve en voyant la bouteille, mais en bouche finalement, c'est pas non plus l'extase. Chocolat noir et légers tanins en fin de bouche.

Ein sanfter Caroni, zumindest was die Nase angeht. Im Geschmack und Abgang kommen Caroni Fans auf ihren Geschmack wobei es noch deutlich dreckigere gibt.

Needs real time in the glass. In the nose first sweet after burnt sugar, oak, dried fruit, leather, rubber and asphalt (tar). A little more fruit on the palate, not at all as dirty as some other Caroni... Leather, rubber and dark chocolate. Alcohol well integrated. Some bitterness on the finish but within limits.