CoR Caroni Impressions (Selected by Steffen Mayer)

"Excellent 1998 with great sweetness and nice spice."

"Plenty of sweet notes of vanilla and toffee on the nose, some wood, plus subtle citrusy orange aromas and slight hints of typical dirty tar notes. Very well integrated alcohol. Mouth-filling and powerful on the palate with tar, roasted wood, without becoming too "dirty". In addition, cool menthol and gum notes, slightly earthy-peaty, subtle allspice, and again elegant sweetness of toffee and vanilla, which are, however, significantly less present than in the nose. The finish is pleasantly long-lasting with wood, tar and toffee sweetness. Again light smoke and earthy notes. One of the really good 1998 Caronis, a very successful selection."

"A rum tasted at the WLP. Aromatic depth with a balance between machine shop and fruit on the nose. I spend a good while sniffing this rum, a very good sign for what's to come... An initial taste of unpeated whisky, followed by notes of Caroni and fruit. The whisky is still present on the finish. As much as I found the nose inspiring, I'm a little disappointed by the rather pronounced whisky aromas on the palate. However, this is a top-class distillate, no doubt about it. Edit - Reading other tasters' comments, I wonder if there wasn't a little contamination in my glass."

"Very round and elegant 98 Caroni. Quite sweet with roasted nuts and milk chocolate on the palate. Very nice and enjoyable. Won‘t hit the mark if you are looking for dirty notes, however."

"Nose already fruity and balanced in sum restrained. Lots of caroni on the palate, tends a little towards Laphroiag, medicinal (iodine), salt. The Islay whisky impression continues in the finish with smoke, bacon, salt and iodine. My glass stood for a very long time (covered but about 4 hours) and I'm not sure how much change the long standing time made. On the palate and in the aftertaste I have a strong association with whisky (Laphroiag) which I don't really like in rum but here it goes well together. Overall, a very good, intense rum with an impressively intense and long finish."

"Steffen has chosen something fine here... a wonderful, initially fruity and sweet nose, to which some workshop aromas are added with longer standing time. The same interplay on the palate, then a little more barrel and spice. Creamy and pleasant, it fills the mouth. The finish is long and is accompanied by spice and workshop aromas. I like it 👍🏻"

"Erstaunlich komplexer 98er mit leichten rauchigen Noten!"

"#4331 21.10.2023 Whisky Live 2023"

"Diesen Geruch frisch geteerter Straße hat man nach dem Winter entweder durch die Schlaglöcher oder eben im Glas. Die Kombi mit Milchschokolade habe ich so bei keinem Caroni in Erinnerung. Im Mund angekommen merkt man wie gut der Alkohol integriert ist und es gesellt sich zu verbranntem Holz und Gummi die Vorstellung einer fantastischen Creme Brûlée. Abzüge gibt es in der B Note, da ich den Abgang Caroni untypisch „kurz“ empfinde. Es bleibt zwar einen Moment am Gaumen, diese leckere Creme Brûlée ist aber zu schnell weg."

"A Caroni on the sweet, sensual side. On the nose, empyreumatic notes are discreetly replaced by a more pastry-like (cookie), caramelized and spicy profile. Hazelnut, dried fruit and roasted notes add further roundness. A Caroni that seems very gourmand. There's no mistaking the sweetness of the caramel candy in the Caroni 12 yo. The warmth of spices, toasted oak and roasted notes joins with rubber and medicinal notes. This is a lively, well-structured rum, with well-integrated alcohol. Very pleasant on the palate, but not spectacular either. The finish could have been longer, with the pastry aromas taking over the palate with great greed and an almost mellow quality. The other aromas are totally dominated, notably dried fruit, roasted and medicinal. An attractive Caroni overall, but clearly not at the top of the range. The pretty bottle syndrome proved true once again, with a stratospheric release price unfortunately."

"verkostet bei der RX Masterclass mit Steffen Meyer am 21.12. (vielen Dank für die interessanten Hintergrundinfos!). Guter, sehr runder 98er. Die Abfüllung zielt in erster Linie auf Sammler, die nicht unbedingt höchsten Wert auf Preis/Leistung legen."

"Wonderful balance on the nose. Chocolate, rubber, tar, leather but also sweetness and fruit. The volume doesn't come through in either a positive or negative way. In the mouth it seems too light in places. You can also taste some wood. Not unpleasant but engaging. Harmonious Caroni notes on the finish. This bottling doesn't quite manage to win me over."

"Sehr schöner kontinentaler 1998 Caroni. Vanille-Schoko-Toffee mit Gummi, Teer und etwas Zitrusschale. Gefällt mir gut … aber für den (viel zu hohen) Ausgabepreis würde ich mir natürlich lieber einen tropischen schießen. Aber das ändert nichts an der vergleichbar hohen Qualität im kontinentalen Wettbewerb."

"Online Tasting RumX mit Steffen. Danke fürs organisieren und für den Split zum "humanen" Preis. Sehr runder Caroni mit schönem nicht so dreckigen Profil. Wenn die Preise nicht so utopisch wären, hätte dieser weit aus mehr verdient, dies bleibt aber im Hinterkopf. Aber ein leckerer '98er Vertreter."

"Solider 98er Caroni, viel Rauch, viel Teer. Komplett überteuert. Absolut keine kaufempfehlung."