Velier Caroni 6th Employees Mahesh “Sonny Black” Bridgelal HTR 1996
Loved by Johannes, Lawich Lowaine & 43 moreFor seasoned enthusiasts only: a 25‑year, full proof Caroni at 64.6%. RumX members praise its intense tar, rubber and roasted oak wrapped in caramel, dark fruit, menthol and vanilla. A benchmark 1996 Velier bottling.
- Deep complexity
- Classic Caroni dirt
- Long powerful finish
Compare all 7 shop offers from 1299.90 €

Details about Velier Caroni 6th Employees Mahesh “Sonny Black” Bridgelal HTR 1996
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How does Velier Caroni 6th Employees Mahesh “Sonny Black” Bridgelal HTR 1996 taste?
Aggregated from 45 community reviews.
Huge, dirty, complex Caroni classic For seasoned enthusiasts only: a 25‑year, full proof Caroni at 64.6%. RumX members praise its intense tar, rubber and roasted oak wrapped in caramel, dark fruit, menthol and vanilla. A benchmark 1996 Velier bottling.
Seasoned Caroni fans and high-ester lovers wanting an intense, fully mature 1996 profile with tar, rubber, heavy oak, caramel and menthol at full proof.
Beginners, anyone sensitive to high ABV, or those who dislike dirty, bitter-woody Caroni notes and prefer soft, sweet dessert rums.
How is Velier Caroni 6th Employees Mahesh “Sonny Black” Bridgelal HTR 1996 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict — 8.9 lands squarely in the "Very good" band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Johannes
That's how a 96 should be!
Review by Lawich Lowaine
Le meilleur de la 6th édition. Tout en douceur.
Review by Michal S
Zajímavý a komplexní rum, pečené tóny karamelu, vanilky a dřeva, v chuti navíc mentol a kůže. V porovnání s ostatními Caroni ze 6. série zaměstnanců za mě nejlepší a samozřejmě doporučuju k ochutnání všem.
Review by Jakob
Epic Velier Caroni Tasting 2023: The age is recognizable, but without imposing an overly dominant bitter note on the rum. Nice sweetness, wood, spice, great fruity note in the finish - only the dirty Caroni notes could be a little more present. However, it fits seamlessly into Velier's series of excellent Caronis and confirms its exceptional position among the flood of releases from the distillery.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
I'm in heaven I can remember thinking while sampling these wonderful rums :-) The nose on this one has the roasted oak, tar and rubber trailed by fruit and caramel and a hint of vanilla. The palate continues where the nose left off. A heavy well balanced rum with roasted oak, tar, rubber and fruit closely trailed by vanilla, chocolate and light leather. The finish is long with roasted oak and a nice mix of spices and caramel and a hunt of rubber.
Review by Martin Švojgr
THX Dusan Houska :-*
Review by kargoles
Un nez délicat pour un caroni. L’alcool est un peu present au nez mais laisse tres vite la place a la delicatesse des fruits banane, la vanille legerement boisé. Le coté vernis et goudron est la par de belle note. En bouche une incroyable complexité le cassis suivis de legere notes boisées avant du coté dirt du caroni qui vient envelopper le tout. Le 64,6 est la sur la chauffe en bouche mais ne gene en rien la degustation. La finale un peu légère portée sur le goudron et le mentholé reste quand meme présente. Un tres agreable moment meme si le prix freine l’envie d’en reprendre
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Caroni is a distillery from Trinidad, producing at the time of its greatest glory rum, which was added at a ratio of 1:10 to the naval blend. It was too strong and strange to be pleasant on the tongue. In 2000, the distillery ceased production and closed. Only in 2010 did tasters appear who took a liking to the rum because of its special taste. And the interest grew. Caroni belongs to the category of "you need to try before you die" rums. I recommend it, Caroni is a truly unique rum.
Review by Oliver
Excellent nose. A tad too astringent on the palate for a top rating.
Review by Joachim Guger
The color is already a dream... As expected, a dense, full, balanced Caroni nose. Varnish, lots of charred oak, tar and rubber. Behind that, full caramel and nice cocoa notes. Great. In the mouth the full load, lots of wood and spices. Long finish, again a lot of wood. Again high level, as mentioned great nose, a bit one-dimensional in the mouth. Still an experience.
Review by MathiasR
The best Caroni for me (so far!). 😄
Review by Maxence
Nose is quite dry, woody and spicy, therefore, feels slightly unbalanced. Palate brings some better balance with more fruits and round notes. However, alcohol integration is not the best. A Caroni with some small flaws but which remains a very good rum : that's why this distillery is so special 👌
Review by Sebastian Kornett
Schmeckt wie eine dreckige Autowerkstatt. Sehr intensiv bitter metallisch und eine leichte Menthol Note
Community purchases
83 bottles logged by 52,000+ RumX members. The ratio of closed / opened / emptied, indicates whether this rum is meant to be drunk or is a collector's item.
Also on the wishlist of 17 members.
About the Caroni distillery
The Caroni distillery is located in Trinidad. Rums from Caroni have been reviewed 10,080 times with an average of 8.8/10.
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Oliver · FounderBy rum lovers, for rum lovers
I'm Oliver — together with Jakob, Robert and Lukas, we started RumX in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.
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