Aroma visualization from community tastings
Distilia Caroni The Last Cask, Dragon, Artist (Yu Chuan) 1999
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Sip this one slowly and neat — at 68% it's a slow-burner. Members describe stepping into a "workshop": tar, rubber and hot metal, then leather, caramel and a wave of tropical and dried fruit. What sets this 1999 Caroni apart, several say, is how fruity and less ashy-bitter it stays. A few find it sharp until 2-3 drops of water open it up.
The community says- Complex and deep
- Fruity for Caroni
- But: Hot at 68%
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How does Distilia Caroni The Last Cask, Dragon, Artist (Yu Chuan) 1999 taste?
Summarized by AI from community reviews.
Dirty, fruity cask-strength Caroni for sippers Widely loved as one of the fruitier, more balanced 1999 Caronis — dirty rubber and tar with real tropical-fruit depth. The catch: a few find it still sharp and hot, water helps.
Aroma profileCaroni fans who want dirty rubber with real fruit
Anyone put off by high ABV or tar-and-rubber funk
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
27 of 40 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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What does the community say?
40 community reviews
24 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 Thunderbird
Most helpful positive review
GRF13: I was able to enjoy this drop twice in the glass... from my point of view, this is one of the best continental Caronis I've been able to taste so far. Surprisingly, in addition to the expected dirty aromas, dark fruits are also clearly perceptible. The alcohol is very well integrated. Warm, creamy and soft, it spreads across the palate and unfolds its play of aromas... this continues in a long finish... Top barrel selection
Review by Pavel Spacek
Most helpful mixed review
It is not great Caroni but at least it is Caroni on first smell. It is too bitter in my opinion. .. Caroni is a distillery from Trinidad, producing at the height of its glory a rum that was added in a ratio of 1:10 to naval blends. It was too strong and strange to be pleasant on the tongue. The distillery ended production and closed in 2000. Only in 2010 did tasters appear who liked the rum precisely because of 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 Johannes
More on the dirty side, but overall great complexity! On the second tasting, I am impressed by the complexity. In addition to slightly dirty notes, there are also beautiful hints of fruit with tropical notes.
Review by Jakob
Typical Caroni profile with classic tar and rubber aromas, embedded in heavy caramel sweetness. Oak wood, dark spices, hints of fruit. Very tasty, round profile. Great representative of the 1999 vintage.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,5:On the nose, the first impression we get is fruity with citrus, flowery and industrial, dirty with notes like tar, rubber.The wood is roasted, spicy and sweet with burnt sugar, vanilla, caramel, leather. On aeration, the molasses is earthy, dried fruits are stronger and the wood presents nuts. 8,7:On the palate, the attack is fruity and woody, the fruits are tropical with mango dried with apricots, raisins, there are dark berries, as the wood is roasted, spicy with caramel, allspice.The industrial notes are slowly gaining speed with dirty, rubber notes, some menthol could not be overlooked.The molasses is vegetal, minty, dark with black tea, there are pencil shavings. Resting brings out smoky, meaty tones with bacon, dried currants, green pepper. 8,6:The finish is long, as the palate notes linger on and the rum becomes dry and tannic.. Edit:2.8.25
Review by Serge
Actually a very tasty continental Caroni. Dirty with lots of rubber, but with nice accompaniments of fruit (dry, tropical and dark berries), caramel/burnt sugar, wood and spice. I also smell some fizzy drinks. Pleasantly dry on the palate with some menthol on the spices.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
My first 1999 Caroni, insanely intense board for the Taiwan market that Rob Bauer has brought here. "Typical" caroni rubber and tar notes, yet lots of depth and intensity. Nice fruitiness and freshness together with the dirty rubber tire profile. Personally, it's just a little too strong for me, with 2-3 drops of water it becomes more accessible.
Review by zabo
My first '99 Caroni. Overall, it already has the typical Caroni notes, but what I don't quite like here is that it's still alcoholic/sharp-edged even after a while, unlike others I've already had in the glass. That ruins it quite a bit, even if it is very complex. I would have expected a bit more from it. In my opinion, it's a little overrated because of its name.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#5161 20.03.2025 Running some samples at home. Nose Medium intense, wood, light roasted, spice, light caramel, light leather, faint nutts, dried fruit, faint rubber and tar. Palate Oily, wood, light roasted, raisin, light cherry, faint mint, faint caramel, light rubber and tar, medium dry, light tannins. Finish Long, wood, light tannins, faint smoke, light mineral, light cherry, faint caramel, medium dry, light rubber, faint tar. Empty glass Wood, dried fruit, light caramel, light leather.
Review by cigares
Tasting Distilia Artist (Yu Chuan). A broad and generous nose, complex, with mechanical workshop notes immediately followed by tropical fruits and a very pleasant pastry side. The first sip is a bit chaotic, then the fruits, mechanical workshop notes, and a vegetal, refreshing side come together and balance out. The finish is long, harmonious, balanced, and the freshness lingers until the end.
Review by Mirco
Powerful, intensely aromatic Caroni with typical character. Dark tar notes, charred wood and oily spice dominate the profile. Despite the high intensity, a certain elegance remains. The alcohol is strong but not disturbing. A very successful, profound bottling for lovers of the distinctive Caroni style.
Review by DosenZorn
Very nice Caroni, with the typical dirty notes and nice fruity notes, which were missing from the previously tasted 98 from RA at the Rumfest. Especially on the nose, I had associations with a welding workshop or hot metal and machine oil. Great stuff.
Review by Master P
Definitely the winner of the Last Cask series, I was able to taste it at the GRF and now again in peace. It is very well integrated with great caroni notes. I find it surprisingly sweet on the palate with a slight red berry flavor.
Review by Florent Apl
Classic Caroni, with a good amount of tropical fruits and some black fruits as well. There's a good texture and the alcohol integration is well done. Finale is medium long. A very good Caroni but not with a lot of surprise.
Review by Julien Ries
This rum here has aged 23 years and shows 68°. The nose is splendid and noble, but shy, requiring a long time to open in the glass. The profile is obviously very Caroni, with notes of tires, rubber, car oil smells. But much fruitier elements, ripe exotic fruits (mango, passion) appear behind other more medicinal notes. The cask also leaves its mark of old noble oak, with smoky accents of roast and sun-tanned leather. It really smells good. The palate is warm and comforting, without the alcohol taking over. Surprisingly soft on the tongue, while being quite oily. We find an exotic tutti frutti with this smoking tar. All with woodiness and again this very coherent leather with the nose. Incredibly good. The finish is long with lots of complexity. A taste of burnt rubber mixed with fruitiness, on a base of tobacco and old oak, would on paper be off-putting but it's super pleasant.
Review by Mentalo
I haven't had many 1999 Caronis in my glass so far and they have disappointed me. The bottling from Distilia is more convincing. The alcohol is well integrated. The typical Caroni dirty notes come into their own, along with a slight sweetness and fruitiness.
Review by Volkmar Weber
Heavy, powerful Caroni profile, but much fruitier and less ashy-bitter on the finish than many continental matured Caronis. Simply very harmonious, rubber and dirt and sweetish, fruity wood notes for balance. Perhaps the cask spent a few extra years in the tropics before it went to Europe? Just a guess, but a pleasantly different Caroni that knows how to convince in the nose, mouth and finish.
Review by alex
I clearly enjoyed this juice. Tasted on the evening of 31/12/24, it took me at least three hours to drink the glass, so good it was. We find the distillery's usual markers with a bit of tar, rubber, fruit in a mess, beautiful, caramel note I really enjoyed it 😍😍 Nice length in the mouth and alcohol, perfectly integrated
Review by DomM
Small side by side of four 1999 Caronis with Weiron, The first cask and 2x Distilia. The Weiron is enjoyable but suffers from its lower ABV not delivering comparable intensity and lacks complexity. Yet a nice easy experience. The other contenders are more on a level playing field. The last cask is rather restrained on the nose while delivering nicely on the palate. Quite some dirt with a creamy mozzarella and astringent finish. Nice Caroni profile. The two Distilia bottlings take the 1999 even a bit further. Both also deliver on the nose with dirt and some tropical fruits. For the younger there are additional toasted notes and dark chocolate on the plate, while the 25y bottling brings intensity, dirt and some fruits in a very nicely balanced package. This one is particularly nice and takes the crown of the vintage so far.
Review by Martin Ekrt
Excellent aromas of vanilla different fruits and rounded technical notes. A complete bomb to the nose. Taste is quite astringent, but in a good way and irresistible. The finish is again excellent. Plenty of rubber and hospital, tropical fruits, vanilla and more.
Review by DadouRhumRhum
First tasting 28.09.24: bottle opened. First light notes of dirty Caroni, woody and smoky, fruity. On the palate, the 68% has a little trouble getting through, toasty and smoky at first impression, fruit comes later. Taste a little later.
Review by Filip Šikula
Well, this peak of the range turned out very well. It’s a pleasantly technical Caroni both on the nose and on the tongue. The less usual 1999 vintage seems similar to the 97 and 98 vintages to me. Technical notes dominate the grandfather’s workshop.
Review by Michal Jurka
Beautiful Caroni, very rich in dirty, oily, rubbery notes like entering a workshop. When you open a window in it notes of leather, caramel, vanilla, wood, spice, earthiness and tropical and dried fruits enter. Long warm finish, after all it is 68%. Full, complex, balanced. Paradise. I left the empty glass lay around for half a day and it still keeps the dirty, leathery, woody notes. The whole "The Last Cask Series" has beautiful artistic labels.
Review by JFehr
GRF13 Nice and dirty, fun
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Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by The Dunder Hut
Community shelf
25 bottles logged by 18 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
12% opened, 2 emptied.
What did the community pay for Distilia Caroni The Last Cask, Dragon, Artist (Yu Chuan) 1999?
Community paid 392–550 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 411 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
25 purchased · 40 tasted · 16 wishlist · as of
Details about Distilia Caroni The Last Cask, Dragon, Artist (Yu Chuan) 1999
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Distilia, at 68%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
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