Aroma visualization from community tastings
Swell de Spirits Caroni Private Garden N°3 (Clos des Spiritueux) 1998
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"One of my best rums ever" from one taster, "quite the deception" from another — this 25-year Caroni divides. Expect a fruit-forward 1998: ripe red fruits, banana, cocoa, vanilla and a light tar-and-rubber whisper rather than the greasy, dirty Caroni some crave. The bourbon cask shows, alcohol is well integrated for 61.9%, and the dirty notes only creep in after a long rest.
The community says- Fruity and chocolatey
- Alcohol well integrated
- But: Light on dirt
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Yes, if you're after bold, mature, oaky rums for sipping neat.
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The look inside the bottle
How does Swell de Spirits Caroni Private Garden N°3 (Clos des Spiritueux) 1998 taste?
Summarized by AI from community reviews.
Fruity, rounded Caroni light on the dirt A well-made, rounded 1998 Caroni most enjoy — fruity, chocolatey, alcohol well hidden. The recurring gripe: too soft and sweet, light on the dirty markers and complexity purists want.
Aroma profileCaroni fans who like the fruity, rounded, less-dirty side
Anyone chasing heavy, greasy, dirty Caroni markers
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
24 of 59 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›
What does the community say?
59 community reviews
33 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Top 20% of Trinidad rums
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Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by DomM
Most helpful positive review
Nose is very nice with just the right amount of dirt, smokeyness and some fruits and sweetness - well balanced. Same sensation on the palate. Very good cask out of the 98 vintage - intense yet well balanced. The influence of the bourbon cask is quite pronounced.
Review by mick
Most helpful mixed review
Good on a sunny Sunday afternoon among friends, what better than to taste the latest Caroni on the market that everyone praises. I specify that I haven't tasted the SCs, only a few employees, the last, 35th release, so I had some Caroni expectations, unfortunately the sky immediately turned dark, attack/mouth and length of a deep boredom, no Caroni marker, an average framework and a meh finish, I don't know what to say here given the other notes, you can find much better for 4 times less money. Big disappointment for me.
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
We come to the heavyweights in the tasting. Yes, finely coked car tires on the nose. But on the palate, it has a little too much sweetness for me to stand up to the heavyweights tasted at the same time.
Review by Timo Groeger
Oh man, what a great rum, definitely even better than the other Caroni from Swell de Spirits. Thanks again to Mika for that. But nice chocolate note, somehow just almost perfect this rum. Delicious...
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4165 This is a very nice and subtle Caroni that has a very good balance both in the flavours and the ABV. Love the fruity bit and that the Caroni flavours develop while it rests.
Review by Michael Ihmels 🇩🇪
Yes, here's another Caroni from swell de spirits from the 98 vintage. I've had better Caroni. Still, of course, absolute Champions League. You can recognize a note of cocoa and chocolate. Very cool
Review by LukaŽiga
8,8:On the nose, industrial notes like rubber, tar, menthol, petrol, roasted wood notes like dark chocolate/cocoa, roasted nuts, leather, caramel, dried fruits like raisins and apricots l, citrus fruits, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, wood is spicy with vanilla, allspice, maple and biscuits join, bananas are out, some polish, 8,7:On the palate, the attack is industrial with rubber and tar, petrol, menthol hints, fruity with dried fruits like raisins and apricots, currants, citrus fruits, cherries and mango, the wood is roasted with caramel, coffee, dark chocolate, spicy with vanilla, allspice, peppery, salty, slightly tannic, as the molasses is slightly minty. 8,8:The finish is long, dry&tannic, dirty, industrial with rubber and tar, fruity with dried fruits, the oak is roasted with nuts, chocolate, caramel, warm, spicy with vanilla, allspice, peppery, as molasses is minty, dark with licorice. Edit:5.9.26
Review by Mike H.
Quite the deception, especially at nearly 600€ for 50cl. Rather flat and a bit weak, fruity with a little spice. If you are looking for classic Caroni markers you will not find them here…
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Very horny and tasty 98 caroni. Extremely smooth for 61.9%. A little too soft and sweet for my taste, but doesn't completely blow me away. I miss a bit more complexity and especially more dirty flavors, the other swell 98 is better in comparison.
Review by Lot-NAS
Let’s just say it’s nice, leaving the price value better out of this verdict. //Update A good year with an almost empty did some good with additional olives, a slightly more intensive rubber and the sweetness becoming more caramelised. An extra + 0.1 for the last 2cl :)
Review by Alex1981
Solid 98 Caroni, fuity & slight spices/wood. Well integrated alcohol, enjoyable. //update: score confirmed, good 98 with slight dirty notes, but the fruits dominate clearly. Good balance overall but not too complex.
Review by Fred Tillac
👃 = A basket of ripe exotic fruits soaked like a rum baba in alcohol with prunes, roasted aromas, ester solvents, and a hint of menthol. 👄 = There is a beautiful, very fruity and caramelized finesse with gingerbread, woodiness, vanilla, resin, tea, and the alcohol content is just right. The length is good, ending with chocolate, pepper, and a hint of acidity. Bravo for this Private Garden 3, which, after aeration, offers an elegant and funky rum 👏
Review by Skyfly
Good Caroni, but I had expected more. The typical Caroni markers are present, but quite weak. Personally, I find the sweet aromas much too strong, overpowering the dirty aromas one would expect in a Caroni.
Review by Mirco
Typical Caroni with distinctive smoky and spicy notes. The rum shows nice complexity and depth, yet remains very accessible. Overall a well-rounded bottling with pleasant balance and character.
Review by Oliver
Beautiful representative of the 1998 vintage. Round with relatively few dirt associations. Great sweetness and balance. Fun to drink!
Review by zabo
Basically, a beautiful representative of the 1998 vintage. The typical markers are already clearly recognizable, with the fruity sweet ones predominating over the dirty ones. The alcohol is well integrated.
Review by Pavel Spacek
Soft, integrated, lightly oily... ... Caroni is a distillery from Trinidad, producing during its heyday a rum that was added in a ratio of 1:10 to naval blends. It was too distinctive and strange to be pleasant on the tongue. In 2000 the distillery ended production and was closed. Only in 2010 did tasters appear who liked the rum precisely for its special taste. And interest grew. Caroni belongs to the category of rums "you need to try before you die". I recommend it, Caroni is really a unique rum.
Review by Romain de L
Smoky, inky nose, bit peated but quite round. Very pleasant. Powerful. Fills the air. One of the best tried so far. Powerful attack. Hints of leather, cloves but still fresh. Bit smoky as well. Overpowering at first. Very long and persistent Very enjoyable Tried again from a sample - really nice - « adult » type rum
Review by Nils123
Not dirty and grimy, but rather on the fruity side. Rubber is mostly present on the nose, but hardly in the taste. Maybe a little in the finish. The alcohol is perfectly integrated. *** Only after 2 hours of standing do the "dirty" notes come in.
Review by Chrischi78
Classic 98 Caroni with smoky-spicy notes, pleasantly round and surprisingly soft for 61.9%. Good balance, but a bit too mild and sweet – lacks some complexity and the typical "dirty" Caroni character.
Review by Thunderbird
A very good but not outstanding Caroni, the finish is relatively short
Review by Johannes
Very round, typical 98 with lots of bourbon notes, lacks some complexity.
Review by John Coffey
A very nice selection.. It's impressive in terms of alcohol integration.. Lots of aeration for a nose that develops over minutes.. On the palate, however, it's excellent with lots of mint and red fruits, still those hydrocarbons but it's not very dirty either..
Review by Mc Pirate
Dark color, announcing persistence. Extraordinary nose of very old rum typical of Caroni, marked by wood but also animal, and the second and third noses focus on something fruitier, vanilla. The palate is impressive and round, with a hint of varnish. Your whole mouth is taken over by this nectar, with notes of wood but also of very ripe fruit! One of the best rums I've ever tasted... Very long finish that lasts for minutes on very old rum!
Review by Niels
At first completely closed on the nose, after some airing 15/20 minutes it gets a bit better, you can smell candied fruit, it seems very gourmand, a slight smell of tar and a hint of vanilla but the alcohol is very present. After 45 minutes to 1 hour the nose is much better; on the palate it's quite different, the alcoholic side present on the nose disappears completely, the alcohol is very well integrated, a little taste of chocolate, fruit paste and a slight hydrocarbon note which is not unpleasant. The finish is not very long but not too short either; I get a cold tobacco taste that surprises me as I'm not a smoker and I don't like the smell of cold tobacco at all, but here I like it a lot.
Review by Leo Krüper
Solid 98 Caroni
Review by Jacques etdom
Nose of peach, wood, a slight smoke. The dirty and garage side is present but in the background. Mouth well balanced and slightly sweet with the appearance of a bit of caramel. Medium-long finish. A few points less due to a somewhat unfavorable quality-price ratio.
Review by Lolo8531
On the nose, you immediately know it's a Caroni, the alcohol is discreet, there's a hint of hydrocarbons and lots of fruitiness, woodiness, cocoa, tobacco leaf, caramel, slight rubber. On the palate, the attack is frank, you immediately get the usual Caroni markers: rubber, tobacco leaf, also the very fruity side confirmed on the palate, banana, red fruit, prune, peach and a hint of menthol freshness. In the finish, there's good length, still very fruity and spicy! Cinnamon, tobacco and a light woodiness, I would place this Caroni between a heavy and a light with a good integration of the 61.9° alcohol.
Review by BnBrt
Closed nose upon opening the bottle. After 5 minutes, no need to lean over the glass. You find the heavy, tar side with a bit of smokiness. Explodes on the palate like a red fruit salad (raspberry) mixed with tropical fruits with a bit of lemon, then gives way to harsh notes with some woodiness and still freshness. When you swallow, it takes your breath away with a mix of tar and wood. Endless finish that leaves me with a leather taste for several minutes.
Review by Vinkes89
Round and a good taste.
Review by MJ97
Caroni swell Nose: I get a lot of rubber, the hydrocarbon side is also there. A little sharp / acidic side that reminds me of lemon zest. I have other fruits like orange / banana. The fruits are ripe and stewed. I don't really get the menthol or floral notes one might expect. I get a lot of strawberries after going back to it after the TDL 2003, same with a milky side that appears (strawberry yogurt). It's far from a big fat Caroni. When I aerate it strongly, I get a fresh paint side but not cloying, pleasant. Overall complex and a bit closed nose. Palate: chili / pepper side, spices I didn't have on the nose. The fruits remain present but it's soft. It's very enveloping, quite oily (but not as much as a fat Caroni). Alcohol extremely well integrated. After the TDL 2003 I no longer get the heavy side that stands out in this one. Finish: the spiciness remains a bit, a bitterness takes place. 87/100
Review by ElReyTristan
Very interesting nose, fruity, with banana, a noble and elegant woodiness, an already opened cigar box, complemented by hydrocarbon notes like gasoline, but also a bit of glue. On the palate it's delicate, you find this noble woodiness but much of the fruit is lost, as well as the hydrocarbon aspect. So it's pleasant but lacks a bit of character. A nice length on the palate. It's a beautiful rum that I would enjoy drinking regularly if you ignore its price. Right now it's much harder to judge so positively. Unfortunately the price of Caroni's rarity remains...
Review by Arnaud Faverjon
Very indulgent, very pastry-like, vanilla flan, slight rubber, a hint of toasted tart, custard cream, blackcurrant, very good if you are looking for a round and pastry-like Caroni, great length, beautiful amplitude.
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Expert reviews
3 critics scored it, averaging 8.9/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by Le Blog À Roger
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Expert review by WhiskyNotes
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Expert review by Préférence Rhum
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Swell de Spirits Caroni Private Garden N°3 (Clos des Spiritueux) 1998 at live auctions
A bid is not a final price: the house sets the buyer's premium, shipping and any customs duty.
All live auctions ›Community shelf
72 bottles logged by 59 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
11% opened, 1 emptied.
What did the community pay for Swell de Spirits Caroni Private Garden N°3 (Clos des Spiritueux) 1998?
Community paid 308–590 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 323 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
72 purchased · 68 tasted · 32 wishlist · as of
Details about Swell de Spirits Caroni Private Garden N°3 (Clos des Spiritueux) 1998
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Swell de Spirits, at 61,9%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
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