Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996
Loved by Jakob, Oliver & 52 more
For seasoned enthusiasts only: a full-proof, 22‑year Caroni that hits hard with tar, rubber, dark chocolate, dried fruits and heavy oak. RumX members praise its insane complexity, balance and endless finish.
Aggregated from 54 community reviews.
- Massive complexity
- Perfect integration
- Iconic Caroni profile
+10
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Stern Magazine Details about Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Velier, at 66,5%.
How does Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996 taste?
Aggregated from 54 community reviews.
World‑class, full‑power Caroni beast For seasoned enthusiasts only: a full-proof, 22‑year Caroni that hits hard with tar, rubber, dark chocolate, dried fruits and heavy oak. RumX members praise its insane complexity, balance and endless finish.
Hardcore Caroni lovers and high‑ester, high‑ABV fans who enjoy dirty tar, rubber and heavy oak wrapped in deep complexity.
Beginners, those sensitive to high ABV, or drinkers who dislike dirty, technical profiles and pronounced wood bitterness.
How is Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict , 9.3 lands squarely in the "Excellent" band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Rum reviews
A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Jakob
Epic Velier Caroni Tasting 2023: Exquisite and stylish HTR representative from 1996. Rich sweetness with powerful rubber and tar notes. Balanced, drinkable and yet with rough edges. A highlight in the already impressive Employees series.
Review by Oliver
An extraordinary Caroni! For me, a real highlight from the Employee series. However, it has a tad too much bite for a top rating.
Review by Aussierumfan
Wow! Well this one has to be one of the best Caronis I have tasted to date! It's just so well balanced! Alcahol is perfectly integrated. Very complex, with all the right caroni notes and nothing out of wack. Tar and rubber, but a lovely tropical fruits and burnt wood as well! Dark chocolate and a lovely sweetness at all times. A long satisfying finish. To me this is just stunning. 1996 is definitly a vintage to look out for!
Review by DomM
Very nice bottling out of the 1996 vintage. Powerful with cacoa notes, dirt and fruits.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Had a very nice Caroni tasting yesterday and what a tasting :-) This one had all the typical Caroni flavours in it while also being heavy, intense and complex. When it was released the bottle wasn't too expensive but the prices have already skyrocketed.
Review by Tschusikowsky
chocolate, gum, casis, herbal, spicy, wood, methol, plastic Rubber, plastic, very fruity, pear bread, smoky, chocolate, wood, cedar, peach, Very good balance here too. Alcohol well integrated for 66.5%. Complexity and balance go hand in hand. Absolutely great Caroni.
Review by Mirco
Wunderbarer 1996 Velier Caroni aus der Employee Reihe. Jedoch nicht ganz die Spitze der Serie. Top Teer und Guminoten gepaart mit Früchten, Holz und Gewürz. Schön kantig, was ihm Ausdruck verleiht, toll!
Review by Maxence
This one takes time to open up. A bit too dry at the beginning, it becomes so round and well balanced with tropical fruits, caramel, molasses and pastries. In addition to this, alcohol integration is perfect. Another great 1996 Employee 🥰
Review by Tom Buteneers
Caroni highlight
Review by Christoph H.
One of my favorite caronis. Although there are caronis that have been in the barrel longer, the tropical aging has already hit properly here, both in smell and taste. Personally, I like it. On the nose, typically 96, furniture polish, bicycle inner tube, dried fruit, coconut, plum. Also lots of honey and caramel. In the mouth very powerful, heavy, dry and mouth filling. A slight sweetness with some honey and burnt sugar. Lots of barrel, roasted flavors, kerosene, polish and spiciness, hardly any fruitiness. Many could be the already over the zenith, I personally love him
Review by Beach-and-Rum 🏖️🌴
Der hat mal wieder ordentlich Dampf unterm Kessel. Sehr komplex ohne in eine Richtung zu stark abzuweichen. Eine der besten bisher von mir verkosteten Caronis aus der Employee Serie. Für eine noch bessere Bewertung hat er etwas zu viel Punch. Vielen Dank Oli für das Sample.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Brutally medicinal herbal Caroni.
Review by Jarek
Ohhh… Danke an Tobias, der mit uns die Flasche aus besonderem Anlass öffnete. Was für eine Nase! Da ist die fruchtige Seite mit schwarzer Johannisbeere und Pflaume, aber natürlich auch die dreckige Seite mit Teer und Gummi. Dazu Leser und die Süße von Karamell, sowie leichte Mentol-Note. Am Gaumen weniger Frucht, dafür kommen Holz, Lakritze und schwarzer Tee dazu. Schöner Abgang der die würzigen und dreckigen Noten nochmals betont.
Review by Serge
Danke an Tobi fürs Öffnen dieser nicht alltäglichen Flasche in unserer FTG Runde. Frisch geöffnet stehen erstmal Holz, Teer, Gummi, Tabak, etwas Menthol, Gewürz, Sandelholz und Tee im Vordergrund. Mit etwas Standzeit kommt Rosine dazu. Nach noch einer Weile dann noch etwas dunkle Frucht (Cassis evtl. Sauerkirsche). Ein toller Rum und ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass der sich in der Flasche nochmals entwickelt.
Review by Harald
Caroni 1996 Employees First Release John "D" Eversley Heavy Rum (HTR) - Full Proof Distilled: 1996 Bottled: 2018 Aged 22 Years 66.5% One of 1192 bottles from 5 casks Color: Bright cherry mahogany, oily Aroma: Creamy sweet and aromatic with fruit aromas of pineapple, plum and Mon Cherie cherries. Aromas of gingerbread, hot chestnuts, cocoa, chocolates, tobacco, cloves, leather, sandalwood and floor wax intermingle to create an intense, powerful smell. Superb! Taste: Sweet and creamy in the mouth at first, then spicy. Then very spicy on the swallow. Strong and intense flavor with a lot of licorice. This is almost too many impressions at once: first sweet, then chewing tobacco and licorice, then tea extract, then pineapple, then bitter old wood with tree bark decoction. Finish: Very long, warms from deep inside. Licorice, black tea and wood extract. Aftertaste dry and slightly bitter at the same time. Conclusion: A fantastic tropically aged Caroni, though not quite up to the very best to my taste. 91 points
Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
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Expert review by Barrel Aged Thoughts
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Community purchases
108 bottles logged by 84 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
8% opened, 5 emptied and repurchased.
What does Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996 cost?
Community paid €388–€2,000.
Current best price: €1,890.00 – within the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
108 purchased · 56 tasted · 46 wishlist · as of
About the Caroni distillery
The Caroni distillery is located in Trinidad. Rums from Caroni have been reviewed 10,195 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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