Aroma visualization from community tastings
The Duchess Caroni Nautilus 1991
Tar and rubber sit lighter here than most Caroni fans want, with yellow fruit — apricot, apple, a little mango — vanilla and dry American oak filling the middle. This 1991 Duchess is a 31-year-old at cask strength, and most tasters call it a restrained, textbook Caroni that never fully opens. Several note the alcohol isn't perfectly integrated and the palate dips mid-sip.
The community says- Yellow fruit, apricot
- Balanced at 54%
- But: Restrained, one-dimensional
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The look inside the bottle
How does The Duchess Caroni Nautilus 1991 taste?
Aggregated from 27 community reviews.
Light, restrained old Caroni, oak-forward Recognizably Caroni but muted — light tar, rubber and yellow fruit over oak. Many find it too restrained and a touch hot; a few praise its balance and easy drinking.
Caroni collectors who want a lighter, oak-driven old profile
Fans chasing heavy tar-and-rubber Caroni intensity
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
17 of 27 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Recommendation
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Velier Caroni 34th Release 100 Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum 1996
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The Duchess Caroni Trinidad HTR 1998
8.2/10674 €First choice: 21 of 21 tasters who tried both prefer it.
How is The Duchess Caroni Nautilus 1991 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.0 sits in the “Very good” band. 96% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
52% rate it 8 or higher. 13 selected write-ups from 27 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by cigares
A rather interesting nose with lots of fruit (pear and apricot among others), bitter herbs, minerality and rubber. On the palate, there's a very bumpy start, followed by a dip and the reappearance of a few aromas. Red apple and apricot, bitter herbs, rubber. The finish is short, but some aromas persist, including butterscotch. The empty glass is more balanced, with a woody/smoky edge. Far from uninteresting, but not the Caroni you'd dream of owning. The imbalance on the palate is what disappointed me here. Thanks Tom for the split.
Review by DomM
Nose is definitely on the lighter side of things. While there isn’t any Caroni dirt, it is not quite a flat column nose either. Solvent, vanilla, some wax and (rather fresh) yellow fruits and apple. On the palate: vanilla, caramel and chocolate. Some wood and yellow fruits in the background. By far not terrible. However, not exiting either. Definitely nothing akin to the sought after HTRs. For background info what this stuff actually is, I highly recommend Steffen‘s Caroni bible :) Side note: I just tasted some 1991 TDLs in parallel. They are handsdown preferable over this - at least if you plan on drinking rather than collecting.
Review by Rodolphe
Thanks to Tom for this beautiful split. Well, we're in Caroni territory on the nose, no doubt about it. The oily, rubbery notes are there. But the nose is a little closed, next to it is essentially wood. Then, with time, rather pleasant yellow fruit aromas develop, even if the nose remains relatively closed. On the palate, spices, yellow fruit and more "garage" notes. In the end, it's pretty good, the oil/rubber flavors not being my favorite. But on such an old rum and at such a price, one might expect a stronger, more expressive profile.
Review by Jakob
An der Nase recht verhalten, neben gedämpften Obstlernoten nehme ich noch Anklänge von Holz und Gewürzen und ein paar Caroni-typische medizinisch-gummige Aromen wahr. Am Gaumen passiert etwas mehr, die Früchte werden ausdrucksstärker, ebenso das Holz. Nach und nach kommt etwas Teer, Früchte und Mineralik dazu, auch Gewürze und süsse Aromen finden sich. Wirkt wie ein HTR-Light, den Aromen fehlt die Durchschlagskraft - insgesamt leider deutlich zu farblos.
Review by Thunderbird
Dieser Caroni ist mehr auf der würzig dunkleren Seite. Nehme ich an der Nase noch Fruchtnoten von gelben Früchten und Pfirsich wahr, verlieren sich diese am Gaumen vollends.. dort sind nur Gewürze, röstige und chemische Aromen. Diese setzen sich auch im Abgang fort. Das ist kein Caroni, der mir zusagt..da fehlt mir die Fruchtigkeit und Ausgewogenheit.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
I wouldn't necessarily have been blind with caroni, especially from the nosing, but rather with similarly old, rather Spanish 92 TDLs... The taste is already recognizable as caroni, albeit rather restrained and in the background. Could still be a TDL with more power throughout. For 1000€ the alcohol is also too beastly and poorly integrated for me and overall the PLV here is rather bad than right for me... You can do it, but you can also leave it.
Review by Jarek
Franconian Rum Tasting Gang & Jakob, 2023-07-27 Teil 3: Ja, es ist eindeutig ein Caroni, etwas dreckig, etwas Teer, etwas Gummi. Aber sehr eindimensional, langweilig und unspektakulär. Frucht etwas unterrepräsentiert. Um die 150,- Euro für die Flasche würde ich noch verstehen. Aber für den Release-Preis eine ziemliche Enttäuschung.
Review by Leo Tomczak
Etwas sprittiger, scharfer 1991er. Nur sehr leichte Caroni-Anklänge. Da hat man bei manchen 91er TDL's mehr Caroni-Feeling. Etwas bitter, etwas Teer. Insgesamt überhaupt kein guter Caroni. Der Preis von 1000€ ist eine Zumutung für die Qualität.
Review by Tom Buteneers
Very fruity with the recognizable Caroni notes present but not overpowering. Very well balanced and easy to drink, the 54,1% hits the perfect spot.. Glad to have a couple cl left after the split on the forum. Happy to give my father a taste of it today.
Review by Oliver
Recht zurückhaltender, unscheinbarer Caroni. Der Alkohol könnte besser integriert sein.
Review by Gregor
Angenehme Nase nach Schokobohne, Zitrusfrüchte (Orange, Grapefruit), leicht Gummi, etwas Rauch und Walnuss Gaumen: wie die Nase, Gummi/Pneu kommt etwas mehr durch, Alkohol sehr gut eingebunden, Abgang nach süsse Mango, Papaya
Review by Arnaud Faverjon
A fairly light profile, the nose took a good 30 minutes to finally express itself. Rather pleasant on the whole, without being overpowering, we're far from a heavy rum, but age has done it good.
Review by Johannes
Relatively neutral with few caroni notes. Tastes like neutral alcohol that has been stored for a long time. I cannot associate this rum with Caroni.
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Market value
Avg. community purchase price 995 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about The Duchess Caroni Nautilus 1991
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by The Duchess, at 54,1%.
Community purchases
2 bottles logged by 1 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
50% opened, 0 emptied and repurchased.
What does The Duchess Caroni Nautilus 1991 cost?
Current best price: 1290.00 €.
2 purchased · 27 tasted · 2 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
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