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FD69437D-E2B2-4B99-83B1-DDEEFE7B9719Trinidad Caroni The Little Distiller
The Little Distiller Caroni Ultimatum Rum HTR 1998 70cl bottle
Bottle
Aged rum · 20 years · 64,1%

The Little Distiller Caroni Ultimatum Rum HTR 1998

The surprise here is the fruit: for a Caroni, strawberry and red berries lead before the tar shows up. The nose stays fairly fruity with the classic bicycle-tube rubber, then the palate turns dirtier — tobacco, leather, spice, oily rubber over wood. One reviewer summed it up as "red fruits and a bit sweeter than expected." A rounded, unusually accessible 1998 HTR.

The community says
  • Strawberry-berry fruit
  • Classic Caroni tar
  • Keep in mind: Slightly soft

Offers & prices

No shop currently delivers to Germany.

Auction results: 210–321 € (4 sales in 24 months, incl. buyer's premium, latest 08/2026). How the range is built ›

Buying advice

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The look inside the bottle

How does The Little Distiller Caroni Ultimatum Rum HTR 1998 taste?

From community reviews · summarized with AI

Fruity, accessible entry-level Caroni Loved as an easygoing entry into Caroni — strawberry, rubber and tar in balance. A few enthusiasts find it a touch soft and short, wanting more grit, but scores stay high.

Perfect for

People curious about Caroni who want a fruit-forward, gentler way in

Less suitable for

Diesel-and-tar purists who want maximum dirty funk

Experience level · Expert (4/5)

Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat

Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Flavor profile
Sweet & dessert
Wood
Dried fruit
Roasted & dark
Funk & ester
Vegetal & floral

Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family

17 of 35 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums

Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›

What does the community say?

8.6/10 Very good

35 community reviews

Rating scale & review checks

On RumX, 7 means “Good” and 8 means “Very good”.

See the full rating guide
  • Community: 310,000+ ratings from members, not from shops. No purchase required.
  • Calculation: One member, one vote. The score is the median, so extreme single ratings carry less weight, and appears from 4 ratings.
  • Checks: Automated checks look for unusual patterns. Our team and moderators review reported ratings.
How ratings are made and how we check them ›

The website shows a selection of written reviews. The distribution also includes ratings without text. All published reviews are available in the RumX app.

Rating distribution

19 selected written reviews

The distribution above includes all 35 ratings, including those without text.

Review by Mirco

Most helpful positive review

Mirco
Apr 2025796 reviewsSwitzerland
8.4/10

Very nice continental Caroni. Still no comparison to any tropical Velier. This one can also excite rum and Caroni beginners, as it offers typical dirty notes, but these are subtly integrated.

Review by crazyforgoodbooze

Most helpful mixed review

crazyforgoodbooze
Sep 20222,663 reviewsGermany
7.9/10

Rather sweetish berry profile and not too dirty. Lots of caramel and strawberry cream candy. Overall, however, it's a little too thin and too soft and goes away too quickly.

Review by DomM

DomM
Jun 20261,055 reviewsGermany
8.3/10

Also a more approachable early 98 Caroni showing distinctive notes of berries. Enjoyable but lacks some of the more dirty notes. Rather Bourbon forwards.

Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓

Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
Nov 2023718 reviewsGermany
8.9/10

Very pleasant, relaxed Caroni. I could drink it every evening. It was worth it that I was able to buy a bottle on the first market this year at a reasonable price. Update 2023-11-29: Tasted again, this time against RX17793. The Ultimatum is much stronger and dirtier and I like it better. The 89 points awarded at the time still stand.

Review by cigares

cigares
May 20251,175 reviewsSwitzerland
8.9/10

A nose proudly showing its HTR origin from Caroni. Notes of tar and diesel are clear, behind which other aromas (tropical fruits and fermented vegetal side) bring beautiful complexity. A lively attack where the alcohol supports the aromas without mixing them. The fruits dominate here with apple, starfruit and even a cherry side. The mechanical workshop aromas support and deepen the other aromas. The finish, long as desired, is complex and perfectly extends the palate, giving this rum a lot of harmony. Re-tasted and I still find it delicious.

Review by Tschusikowsky

Tschusikowsky
Jan 2024571 reviewsSwitzerland
8.6/10

Relatively fruity on the nose but with chocolaty Caroni notes. Much dirtier in the mouth, rubber, slightly cinnamon, tobacco, leather and milk chocolate. The finish is oily and complex if you let it breathe for a long time. Good round 98 Caroni. Very accessible but still present in the profile.

Review by Jakob

Jakob
Oct 20221,670 reviewsSwitzerland
8.0/10

Walks somewhat between worlds - on the nose still quite fruity, plus typical Caroni gum notes. On the palate then noticeably more intense, tar and heavy spice notes come to the wood and rubber and move the fruit notes clearly in the background. The fruits come into play again in the finish - quite independent in profile, a decent Caroni, but overall lacks a bit of finesse.

Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰

Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Jun 20257,267 reviewsDenmark
8.8/10

19.06.2025 Retasting and I stick to my initial score. --------------- #5099 Sunday - The last shots before our partners are picking us up 😊 24.01.2025 - 26.01.2025 A nice weekend in my sisters summerhouse with old friends and colleagues tasting a lot of rums. I can only recommend like we did, no phones allowed and then only music in the background 😊 Colour Dark. Nose Medium intense, wood, light roasted, faint smoke, light rubber, spice, faint tar, faint cherry. Palate Wood, balanced, warm, light roasted, rubber, faint caramel, light cherry, light dried fruit. Finish Long, balanced, wood, faint smoke, rubber, light dried fruit, faint cherry. Empty glass Light rubber, wood, vanilla, faint chocolate, faint smoke.

Review by Oliver

Oliver
Sep 20221,236 reviewsGermany
8.5/10

The perfect starter caroni. Interesting strawberry-cream-candy note.

Review by Rowald Sweet Empire

Rowald Sweet Empire
Sep 2024430 reviewsNetherlands
8.8/10

A somewhat fierce Caroni by the Dutch bottler Van Wees. Lots of Diesel/petrol and tar in the nose. Outspoken and classic Caroni. Not too much fruit just blazing rubber, glue. Taste: yes this is the legendary stuff. Tar. Chemicals. Diesel. Heavy. Dust. All that weird normally undrinkable stuff put into a drink thats somehow drinkable and even great. There's some fruit there. You don't drink Caroni to drink the "best" rum, you drink it because it's "unique" or "weird". This is exactly that!

Review by Leo Krüper

Leo Krüper
Nov 2025982 reviewsGermany
8.2/10

Sharp-edged 98er

Review by Cinci

Cinci
Mar 202344 reviewsGermany
8.6/10

Beautiful Caroni with the classic gummy notes supported by wood and strawberry notes. The nose is dominated by the smell of bicycle inner tubes. Alcohol should be more nicely integrated.

Review by Djehey

Djehey
Jun 2026514 reviewsFrance
8.7/10

I wouldn’t necessarily have guessed it was a Caroni: the fruitiness is well present and the mechanical workshop notes are rather in the background. Nevertheless, I quite like it, especially an impression of strawberry that follows throughout the tasting. Very different from the 97 tasted in parallel, much more on those petroleum notes!

Review by Werner10

Werner10
Apr 2023141 reviews
8.5/10

Red fruits and a bit sweeter than expected.

Review by Basti

Basti
Aug 2025557 reviewsGermany
8.8/10

Delicious, easy-drinking Caroni with perfectly integrated alcohol.

Review by Johannes

Johannes
Dec 20253,221 reviewsGermany
8.6/10

Surprisingly round, yet complex Caroni!

Review by Dave

Dave
Dave
Apr 20217 reviews
9.4/10

What a horny board! Dirty aromas that are typical of Caroni, but also red berries and spices. Very nice :)

Review by DutchRumPirate

DutchRumPirate
Apr 2025197 reviewsNetherlands
9.3/10

During an evening, a surprise suddenly came along. For the first time in my life, I came into contact with Caroni. I was hyper and excited. This was really a special evening for me that I would never forget. The nose: simply wonderful. Strawberries, something sweet and complex. The taste: This was really enjoyable for me. Strawberries, leather, tar, nasty. Asphalt-like. For me, a new flavor experience. And I loved it!! Finish: more tar, leather and it stayed wonderfully long. How much I enjoyed this and this is for me the starting signal to taste many more Caronis and hopefully get some myself. The next morning a friend called me who also tasted this that evening. We both had the same experience: As if we had slept all night with a piece of leather and rubber in our mouths. We are sold, and to put our money where our mouth is: Several Caroni samples from fellow RumX members are already on their way to me to experience. I understood that the Caroni from Ultimatum Rum would be a nice entry-level. I can't wait to see what other Caronis will let me experience.

Review by Pavel Spacek

Pavel Spacek
Mar 20251,886 reviewsCzech
8.2/10

Caroni combined with FSQ - nice for me!

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Community shelf

20 bottles logged by 14 collectors.

Both drunk and collected.

25% opened, 2 emptied.

15 sealed 3 open 2 emptied

What did the community pay for The Little Distiller Caroni Ultimatum Rum HTR 1998?

Community paid 190–267 €.

Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 229 €. Price history with 4 auction results in RX+ ›

20 purchased · 35 tasted · 9 wishlist · as of

Details about The Little Distiller Caroni Ultimatum Rum HTR 1998

A rum from Trinidad, bottled by The Little Distiller, at 64,1%.

DistilleryCaroni
CountryTrinidad
Raw materialMolasses
ABV64,1%
Age20 years
Vintage1998
Limited edition259 bottles
MarkHTR
Sugar0 g/L
Volume70cl
Cask #41
Single cask

Read on in the RumX Guide

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Every score is the median of members’ ratings, from 0 to 10. A 7 is already a recommendation to buy.

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