Bristol Caroni HTR 1997
For experienced palates: a powerful 18‑year Caroni at 61.5% with classic dirty notes of tar, rubber, leather and workshop, wrapped in dark chocolate, dried fruits and bitter orange. Loved for balance, depth and price (at release).
- Classic Caroni dirt
- Great ABV integration
- Complex dark fruits
Details about Bristol Caroni HTR 1997
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How does Bristol Caroni HTR 1997 taste?
Aggregated from 49 community reviews.
Intense, dirty Caroni with balance For experienced palates: a powerful 18‑year Caroni at 61.5% with classic dirty notes of tar, rubber, leather and workshop, wrapped in dark chocolate, dried fruits and bitter orange. Loved for balance, depth and price (at release).
Seasoned enthusiasts who love dirty, tarry Caroni profiles with dark chocolate, dried fruits and bitter orange at full cask strength.
Beginners, anyone sensitive to high ABV or who dislikes smoky, oily, rubbery notes and doesn’t want to pay current Caroni prices.
How is Bristol Caroni HTR 1997 rated?
RumX's 0–10 scale is strict — 8.6 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 cigares
Tasting some Bristol Caronis. End of a bottle, an excellent thing to appreciate a Caroni. The glass perfumes the room before you even put your nose to it. The nose is strong and sweet at the same time, with bitter orange, dark chocolate and a hint of red wine and, of course, the distillery's typical perfumes. A lively attack, but immediately afterwards fruit and machine shop aromas come to the fore. A long, flavorful finish, with a return of bitter orange and chocolate. A hard, closed rum when the bottle is opened, but tasty with oxidation, and even better with lots of oxidation and a magnificent finish. One of the best of the tasting.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
A slightly older tasting. A very nice Caroni where you have the traditional rubber and tar notes as well as some fruit and chocolate. Really nice balance between the flavours and also pretty good ABV integration. Pretty good price at release and the empty glass was really nice.
Review by Joachim Guger
A really great Caroni! Classic Caroni notes with a light red wine character. Of the weaknesses of the 1997 batch is here absolutely nothing to notice.A serious alternative to the black bottles. Meanwhile, however, already difficult to get. This rum is my recommendation next to the 17 and 21 Extra Strong to dive into the Caroni world.
Review by Timo Groeger
Beautiful Caroni from Bristol. Typical, great nose, where you can recognize rubber, tar and leather. The palate also has rubber and tar, but there is also a nice fruitiness (dried fruit) and some wood. Very successful.
Review by SaibotZtar
Very good 1997 Caroni... well-balanced and easy to drink, alcohol well integrated. Nice balance between fruit, chocolate and the typical dirty notes (tar, rubber etc) In the finish it tastes a bit like caramel and dark fruits.
Review by Dr.Django
Ein Tasting mit vier 1997er Caronis, die alle den typischen dreckigen Caroni Stil sehr inzensiv in sich haben. Der Alkohol ist bei allen sehr gut eingepflegt. Der Bristol fällt etwas ab, da am Gaumen eher verhalten und im Abgang relativ kurz. Zudem schlichter als die anderen. Der V&M ist sehr fruchtig dreckig und wirkt gaumenschmeichelnd, fast schon elegant im Vergleich zu den anderen. Trotzdem sehr dreckig, da ist wohl jemand auf dem Weg zum Abschlussball mit seinem Sakko in eine tiefe Ölpfütze getreten. Der Rum Cask ist am Gaumen eine andere Liga, als die zuvor genannten, voluminös und voller Power, beginnend mit einem rotfruchtigem etwas sauren Anflug von Aromen. Der Abgang ist wie bei den anderen beiden mittellang bis lang. Das Beste zum Schluss. Der Berry Bros ist hier eindeutig mein Favorit. Voluminös, sehr komplex, dreckig und extrem fruchtig zugleich mit einem ewig langem Abgang! Für mich der beste 1997er, den ich bislang im Glas hatte. Geiles Teil!
Review by Skyfly
Super complex Caroni that is really fun in a glass! Rubber, tar, wood, smoke, tobacco and leather accompany you from nose to finish. The sweet/fruity aspects are provided by dried fruit and caramel. First-class alcohol!
Review by Mentalo
Der Alkohol ist gut integriert. Eine gute Balance aus Süße, fruchtigen Noten und dreckigen Noten. Dazu noch etwas dunkle Schokolade. Eine schöne 1997er Abfüllung von Bristol mit recht langen Abgang.
Review by Tschusikowsky
Sehr ausbalancierter Caroni. Relativ fruchtig für den Jahrgang, geht für mich eher in Richtung 98er. Schöne Nase, stimmiger Mund und guter Abgang. Der Alkohol ist gut integriert. Nicht sehr viele Kanten aber sehr zugänglich. Ich mag die älter Abfüllung von Bristol aber noch einwenig besser.
Review by Alex1981
Bristol Caroni Vergleich: Deutlich besser als seine reduzierten Brüder, eher fruchtig als dreckig. Alkohol leider nicht so gut integriert, favorisiere klar den RX1057. Dennoch guter Bristol Release tum meider nicht so guten Kurs
Review by Mike H.
I like the Bristol Caronis that didn’t suffer from a reduction and this one is no exception. Nose and taste are right where I like them to be, with dirt, rubber and tar. In addition there’s a slight chocolate note. Lovely stuff 🥰
Review by Leo Krüper
Ausgezeichneter dreckiger 97er Caroni, nicht anfängerfreundlich. Tolles PLV und ehemals gute Verfügbarkeit, jetzt leider kaum noch zu kriegen.
Review by Jarek
Von dem hätte ich gerne eine Flasche gehabt..
Review by Serge
Tasted against the Berry Bros
Review by mto75
die typischen, dreckigen Caroni-Marker sind deutlich vorhanden, aber was mir hier besonders gefällt, sind die Noten von dunkler Schokolade, sowohl an der Nase als auch am Gaumen.
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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Community purchases
104 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 14 members.
About the Caroni distillery
The Caroni distillery is located in Trinidad. Rums from Caroni have been reviewed 10,072 times with an average of 8.8/10.
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