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Bristol Caroni HTR 1997
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Here's the surprise: a Bristol Caroni that skipped the reduction, so it hits full 61.5% force. Think tar, rubber and leather chewed like "a tarred cigar," with dried fruit, dark chocolate and bitter orange peeking through. Several tasters rate it a real, dirty 1997 — though a couple find the fruit thin and one wished for more wow-factor punch.
The community says- Classic Caroni funk
- Great ABV integration
- But: Not beginner-friendly
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How does Bristol Caroni HTR 1997 taste?
Summarized by AI from community reviews.
Dirty, tarry full-strength Caroni Most drinkers love this as a proper dirty Caroni with well-buried alcohol, tar, rubber and dark chocolate. A few find it a touch simpler or less fruity than the best 1997 siblings.
Caroni fans who want the tar-and-rubber style at full strength
Beginners, and anyone chasing sweet or fruity rum
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
33 of 54 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›
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What does the community say?
54 community reviews
26 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
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Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by cigares
Most helpful positive review
Tasting some Caronis from Bristol. End of a bottle, an excellent thing to appreciate a Caroni. The glass perfumes the room even before putting the nose to it. A strong and soft nose at the same time with bitter orange, dark chocolate and a scent of red wine and of course the typical distillery aromas. A lively attack but immediately after come the fruits and mechanical workshop aromas. A long and tasty finish where bitter orange and chocolate return. A hard and closed rum when opening the bottle, but tasty with oxidation and even better with a lot of oxidation and magnificent at the end of the bottle. One of the best of the tasting.
Review by DosenZorn
Most helpful mixed review
Tried as a 5cl sample. Similar again to what I've read about Caroni so far. Smells of tar, rubber, raisin, dried fruits, and a hint of orange. Taste is also a bit dirty, tar, rubber, musty, dried fruits, and damp wood. Smoky, rustic on the finish, and an oily consistency. I like it quite a bit, but not as much as the Cadenheads/The Nectar. However, I don't find the current price of 300€/0.7l justified. Probably just because it says Caroni on it.
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 SaibotZtar
Very good 1997 Caroni... balanced and easy to drink, alcohol very well integrated. Nice balance between fruit, chocolate, and the typical dirty notes (tar, rubber, etc). The finish tastes a bit like caramel and dark fruits.
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 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 LukaŽiga
8,9:On the nose, tar and rubber, some varnish, dirty, industrial, dried fruits like raisins and apricots, citrus, slightly resinous roasted wood notes like caramel, dark chocolate, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, tropical fruits are overripe, orange arises, candied fruits, the wood is smoky, nutty, spicy with anise hints, bicycle tube, menthol and cigar tobacco join. 8,7:On the palate, the attack is intense, oily, industrial with rubber and tar, menthol, bicycle tube, dirty, fruity with dried fruits like raisins, berries and citrus fruits like orange, some fermented hints join, dairy, roasted wood notes like bacon, dark chocolate, caramelized, pastry, coffee, spicy, oaky, oily, salty and smoky, dry, molasses is dark with licorice, black tea, herbaceous, earthy with cigar tobacco. 8,8:The finish is long, dry&tannic, medicinal, industrial with rubber and tar, varnish, menthol, dirty, coppery, fruity with raisins and tropical fruits, furry with roasted oak notes like caramel, confectionery, bacon, nuts, smoky, spicy, warm, molasses is dark with licorice and black tea, earthy.
Review by Tschusikowsky
Very well-balanced Caroni. Relatively fruity for the vintage, to me it leans more towards the 98. Nice nose, harmonious palate, and good finish. The alcohol is well integrated. Not many sharp edges but very approachable. I like the older Bristol bottling, but this one a little bit more.
Review by Alex1981
Bristol Caroni comparison: Clearly better than its reduced brothers, more fruity than dirty. Unfortunately, the alcohol is not so well integrated, I clearly prefer the RX1057. Still a good Bristol release despite the not-so-good price.
Review by Mentalo
The alcohol is well integrated. A good balance of sweetness, fruity notes, and dirty notes. Plus some dark chocolate. A nice 1997 bottling from Bristol with a fairly long finish.
Review by Chrischi78
A very round and soft Caroni but with the typical dirty notes of Ichtholan ointment, i.e. ammonium bituminosulfonate 😊😜. ABV really very well integrated. Only it lacks a bit of intensity and complexity to rise into the 9.0 range.
Review by Thunderbird
A Caroni with clear dirty, tarry aromas, but also containing caramel, dark oranges, wood, dark chocolate. The alcohol is perfectly integrated. Everything plays together harmoniously and is very drinkable.
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
Excellent dirty 97 Caroni, not beginner-friendly. Great value for money and formerly good availability, now unfortunately hardly available anymore.
Review by Jarek
I would have loved to have a bottle of that..
Review by Serge
Tasted against the Berry Bros & Rudd 1997... for me the Bristol is ahead, although it convinces more on the palate and the Berry Bros more on the nose. Both I find rather below average Caronis and in the affordable 97 segment I would clearly prefer the SBS set to both. Of course it still tastes good and after all I like Caroni markers and they are clearly there.
Review by DutchRumPirate
A good Caroni where all the typical notes shine through, along with a touch of fruit and chocolate. But they don't fully come to the fore as a wow factor, which is the only thing I felt was a bit lacking. It also has a long finish, and the alcohol is well-integrated. All with all a nice Caroni.
Review by mto75
The typical, dirty Caroni markers are clearly present, but what I especially like here are the notes of dark chocolate, both on the nose and on the palate.
Review by Christoph
Here the mistake of diluting Caroni to 40% (Bristol VSOC and 1998) was fixed and it is extremely rewarded. Really intense dirty as if chewing a tarred cigar, just how I imagined a Caroni. Not only the nose is inviting but the taste is downright hypnotically intense. Small downside: As a non-smoker I miss some fruit aromas here.
Review by zabo
Delicious Caroni, which also tastes like what you smell. Definitely better than the Doris, I have to admit. Thanks to Serge for the gift. You are always welcome in my little garden paradise to have a dram together.
Review by Banana Joe
This 1997 Caroni from Bristol is also a great bottling. Compared to the 20-year-old, this one is not smoky but has a great orange note. If I had tried this one first, I would have split less 😉
Review by Jakob
Crosstasting 1997 Caronis from continental storage: beautiful complexity, lots of archetypal Caroni-HTR notes. Expressive, powerful release - 1997 top class.
Review by Alexander Rasch
I love the Bristol Caronis. The 2015 was my first and tonight I enjoy my last cl. I now have 2016, 2017 and 2019 in stock. P/L these bottles were simply top. I personally find the continental aging very good for the Caroni aroma. I call it the ashtray aromas 😅 ... love it. I didn't find that with the tropical Velier. Unfortunately awesome. Luckily bought in stock.
Review by Pavel Spacek
...Caroni is a distillery from Trinidad, producing at its peak a rum that was added in a 1:10 ratio to the naval blend. It was too distinctive and strange to be pleasant on the tongue. In 2000 the distillery stopped production and was closed. Only in 2010 did tasters appear who liked the rum precisely for its special taste. Interest grew. Caroni belongs to the category of rums "you need to try before you die." I recommend it, Caroni is truly a unique rum.
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Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 9.3/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate
Read full review ›From what I understand John was one of the first people (before Luca Gargano, I have read) to get his hands on stocks of Caroni. He certainly got a winner with this 1997 vintage. If you like your Caroni the I can't recommend this enough. A classic from Bristol Classic.
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
Read full review ›
Community shelf
69 bottles logged by 48 collectors.
Both drunk and collected.
18% opened, 9 emptied.
What did the community pay for Bristol Caroni HTR 1997?
Community paid 104–301 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 295 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
69 purchased · 56 tasted · 14 wishlist · as of
Details about Bristol Caroni HTR 1997
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Bristol Classic Rum, at 61,5%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
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