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Velier Caroni 100% Trinidad Rum 17 HTR 1998
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Sip this neat, and give it 15 minutes to open — a few drops of water tames the 55% and pulls out extra fruit. Expect the classic Caroni signature: tar, rubber, diesel and polish wrapped around dried fruit, vanilla and orange peel. Several tasters call it the best of the Extra Strong trilogy, clearly beating the 12 and 15. Dirty, but rounder and easier than most.
The community says- Classic Caroni markers
- Well-integrated alcohol
- But: Bit light-bodied
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How does Velier Caroni 100% Trinidad Rum 17 HTR 1998 taste?
Summarized by AI from community reviews.
Dirty, balanced Caroni with tar and dried fruit A widely loved 1998 Caroni — tar, rubber and dried fruit, well balanced and rated above the 12 and 15. Some find it a touch light and toned down versus high-end bottlings.
Aroma profileFans of dirty, empyreumatic Caroni tar and rubber
Anyone who dislikes rubber, diesel or smoky notes
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
72 of 210 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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Recommendation
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What does the community say?
210 community reviews
48 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 Joe95
The best of the Extra Strong series for me, beautiful empyreumatic notes typical of Caroni, but also roasted nuts, tobacco and dark chocolate. Perfect integration of the alcohol and magnificent length.
Review by Mirco
Most helpful positive review
Nice representative of dirty 1998 Caronis at a good PLV. Of course, it cannot compete with high-end Caronis, but it is still convincing. Typical Caroni with tar, menthol, rubber and some diesel.
Review by rs-spirits.de
Most helpful mixed review
Very good rum, too smoky for me personally. No every day rum, you need time for that.
Review by Oliver
Wonderful Caroni with (still) very good value for money.
Review by Jakob
Epic Velier Caroni Tasting 2023: A more than solid standard. Great aromatics, the tropical aging comes into its own and adds depth - in the spectrum of Velier Caronis this only reaches the lower midfield, but across all Caronis to be found in the extended top group.
Review by Mirko Frosini 🇮🇪
Everything I love in a rum! I can't imagine a world without Caroni!I dread to think how good the vintages from the 80s must be! I know Velier is trying to reconstruct the still by interviewing everyone who had worked at the distillery.
Review by Joachim Guger
A classic Caroni with lots of orange peel. Not as ripe and full-bodied as some other Velier releases, the body is a bit slimmer and reminds me of a good Agricole. With that Caroni vibe, mind you. A rum that’s really fun, glass after glass. Edit: Back in the glass after years. The pronounced orange 🍑, diesel, and old oil notes are wonderful. 🔥 It really shines on the finish, which takes about 30-60 seconds, then a phenomenal spice and diesel come through, and it lasts for a long time… He’s no Heavy Weight Champion, but he’s a great, very well-balanced, easy-drinking Caroni.
Review by Rene Nielsen
A very nice Caroni. Nose: dried fruit, tar, iodine, little smoke. Taste: dried fruit, raisin, a little oak and tar, again some smoke. Complex and smooth. Very tasty and easy too drink - i like it
Review by cigares
The first time I tasted this rum blind I didn't recognize Caroni, it didn't have enough oxidation to reveal its full potential. A complex nose of tar, smoke and red fruits. A palate with a very broad and deep aromatic palette. A finish as expected from Caroni, infinite and complex. The end of the bottle is delicious!
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Whisky Live in Paris 27.09.2024-30.09.2024. Retasting and I still like it a lot, the price tag has gone through the roof since release 😊 ===================== This one beats both the 12 and 15 year versions by far. A true Caroni from the nose to the finish. The alcohol is almost too dominant so I added a few drops of water which also released a lot of extra flavours after resting for 15 minutes. The nose is typical Caroni with rubber, polish and fruits mixed with vanilla. The palate continues with the rubber and clearly charred barrel as well as fruit and spices. The finish is long and also has the rubber and burnt/charred barrel to it.
Review by Tschusikowsky
Simply great fun. Too bad this profile won't always be available. Relatively deep flavor profile, rather dirty, especially for the vintage. However, the fruity components also come into their own on the finish. Very solid Caroni in the upper mid-range.
Review by Serge
For me better than the 15yo of the same vintage - even if 1998 is not my favorite vintage. Relatively dirty and with (also) continental fruits compared to the 15 yo, the extra ABV scores (even if it's still at the lower limit).
Review by LukaŽiga
8,7:On the nose, the first impression we get are notes from roasted wood like nuts, caramel and some spice like vanilla. Citrus flows underneath with orange peel, there are dried fruits and molasses with flowery notes and tobacco, from industrial notes, there is just a rubber, a bit of polish. After airing the rum, the molasses is more vegetal, minty, but with honey, the fruits are yellow and there are some pear, surprisingly banana, lemon peel, mocha. 8,7:On the palate, the attack is tasty, round with fruity and woody notes like dried and yellow fruits, later citrus, the wood is charred, spicy, dry with nuts, nougat, caramel and vanilla.From industrial dirty notes we find some rubber and petrol, menthol. After resting the rum, the molasses is herbal and minty, the fruits diverse with orange peel, pear, mango, banana and peaches. 8,4:The finish is long, but less round as before with bitter industrial notes, tannins, still nicely fruity with yellow, dried fruits, citrus, as the wood is spicy, charred, dry. Edit:23.3.25-oxidation, resting helps, an upgrade
Review by DomM
Deep and rich on the nose. Well balanced yet rather dirt forwards, making it a very interesting 98 nose for my preferences. Compared to the 15y, the nose has more depth and complexity to it, ie the clear winner for me. Powerful on the palate as well. Compared to the 15y, reduction in ABV is way less harmful here. Dirt, choclate and some dried fruit providing good complexity and intensity overall.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A Caroni with a very seductive profile. The nose is initially quite soft, revealing notes of vanilla, dried fruit, menthol, pepper and a delicate woodiness. The nose then reveals typical empyreumatic aromas, with notes of smoke, rubber, tar, leather and tobacco. A floral breeze and orange zest graze the nostrils as the rum airs out. One of the most appealing and varied noses among caronis. On the palate, the rum is initially very delicate, followed by grimy notes of tar, rubber, smoke, roasted hazelnuts, spices and a perceptible burnt woodiness. Tobacco and leather confirm the trend on the palate, while dried fruit and red berries try to get in on the action. Despite the rather low 55 degrees for a Caroni, the profile is very pleasant, dirty, expressive and elegant. The very long finish returns to Caroni's dirty side, with lots of empyreumatic notes (burnt sensation, rubber, tar), spices, wood, roasted hazelnuts and a bitterness that nails the taste show. A very good representative of the distillery that has disappeared, which can still be found despite the rise in speculation.
Review by Beach-and-Rum 🏖️🌴
Today, the 17-year-old was allowed into the glass for the first time. The tropical maturation had a considerable influence on the rum. Fruitiness, oak, vanilla and rubber vie for supremacy. The result is a complex rum with a long-lasting, warm finish. The alcohol is slightly noticeable, but not unpleasant. For me, it's a whole lot better than the 15-year-old. Very tasty and reasonably affordable by Caroni standards.
Review by DutchRumPirate
Caroni Rum tasting with a friend. On the nose: Delicious fruity notes, fresh, complex, and with those unique "dirty" notes. On the palate: Flowers and fruit initially emerge, followed by notes of leather and rubber. Finish: Simply delicious. Average length. A delightful Caroni, but if you're experienced with the "higher end" Caroni, you'll notice that this version is a bit more toned down. Or put another way: This is a delicious V8-cylinder Caroni, but without the turbos.
Review by Thunderbird
This is a Caroni of the dark, spicy and strong kind. I still find it relatively soft and mild on the palate. On the palate, however, it shows its full potential of tar, gas station and spice. But definitely not unpleasant, quite the opposite: it harmonizes and can be enjoyed wonderfully. If dark berry aromas were still present, this could have been a 10-point candidate for me. As it is, it only scratches the 9
Review by alex
Very good and very fine, the usual markers, it's always a pleasure to come back to this juice. Beautiful roundness, nice aromas of fruits, vanilla, caramel, salty... It's really very good ❤️
Review by Mike H.
Much better than the 15 years. The flavors are much more pronounced in nose and mouth. Still a touch on the light side but everything that I love about Caroni can be found in this rum.
Review by Felix Reiber
Wonderfully complex nose with many spices and intense Caroni notes. Compared to the 15-year-old, here come red fruits and dark chocolate. On the palate, it is convincingly intense and complex. Wood, leather, roasted aromas, and many spices (e.g. cinnamon) take off. Then dark caramel, barrel, tobacco, and espresso. Something fruity like ripe apple or pear is in the background. The long, spicy finish is just as complex and aromatic. Marked by herbs, barrel, tannins, and roasted nuts, everything ends with a nice woodiness and spices. There is a certain similarity to the brilliant 100th Anniversary, but in my opinion, the 17-year-old differs by some chocolate and/or espresso. Very tasty and highly recommended.
Review by Jussi Piirainen
On the nose, quite mellow and pleasant smell of demerera/Barbados rum crossover. On the taste, wow Absolute perfect balance rich and complex flavour. Burnout feels like pleasant tease on your tongue. Finish is quite long for me and very pleasant dark chocolate notes. On the high end rums, this clearly the best one that i have ever tasted. To me has all the element that i want from a neat sippin rum. First Caroni rum that i have tasted and this one lives up to its hype.
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Caroni is a distillery from Trinidad, producing at the time of its greatest glory rum, which was added at a ratio of 1:10 to the naval blend. It was too strong and strange to be pleasant on the tongue. In 2000, the distillery ceased production and closed. Only in 2010 did tasters appear who took a liking to the rum because of its special taste. And the interest grew. Caroni belongs to the category of "you need to try before you die" rums. I recommend it, Caroni is a truly unique rum.
Review by Christoph
If you polish a car with orange extract on a freshly tarred road, it would probably smell like this and of course it works in a lacquer and leather outfit. On the palate then the spilled espresso on the hood where the cigarette was previously stubbed out, which basically continues in the finish.
Review by Maxence
Good 1998 vintage. Perfectly represents Caroni style in an accessible version !
Review by Frank
Pleasantly spicy and leathery on the nose. Sour, sulfured fruit like dried apricot. Tobacco and vanilla and also smoky. Lovage and a light honey sweetness. Strongly spicy-sweet on the palate. The sweetness reminds me of marzipan. Now the slightly dirty aromas come through. Rubber and plastic, but surrounded by lovage and vanilla. Sour fruit maybe currant. Clearly more body and amount of Caroni than the 12-year-old brother.
Review by Benoit Mahe
Always a pleasure to find. Well-balanced, with a strong Caroni character and a pleasant gourmand touch.
Review by Christoph H.
Nice warm and round on the nose. Nicely fruity with fresh and dried fruits. Also sweet aromas with caramel, honey and vanilla. Of course, the distillery character with tar, kerosene, machine oil, smoke and polish is also present. Everything is well balanced, nothing stands out. There are more spectacular Caronis, of course. Still, this bottling has been a price-performance hit for some time and not without reason a classic
Review by Speedflo
I got to try this Caroni legend today. Very strong and intense in flavor from nose to palate, which is due to the tropical aging. Typical dirty notes of tar, rubber, menthol. This rum likes to breathe for 15 minutes in the glass, before that the alcohol is very present.
Review by Mentalo
Here the typical Caroni dirty notes come out very well. Very slight fruit notes, hardly any sweetness. In my eyes clearly better than the 15-year-old. Hits the Caroni notes on point, even if it falters a bit beyond that.
Review by Hufschmid Pius
Great finish, the first sips a surprise. The longer in the mouth the more pleasant.
Review by lars
Unfortunately no nice photo this time - but with light rain it's all the cozier! This one has clearly more depth than the 12-year-old and I like it a lot despite a blocked nose. Somehow, besides the typical notes, there's a slight fruitiness that rounds it off a bit. The alcohol content is also very pleasant.
Review by Jeremy Roger 🇫🇷
Very fruity nose! Intoxicating! First glass of the bottle, so let's see what happens next. Rubber marked orange and red fruits. Delicious! Rubber well present on waking 😛
Review by Sebastian Kornett
My first Caroni. Definitely something different than what I usually try.
Review by Martin Spooner
The nose is still relatively restrained with rubber and tar. On the palate, then nice round Caroni aromas. Unfortunately not as dirty as I like it, but still very nice complexity present. Very, very easy to drink.
Review by Arthur Moreau
A classic that's as enjoyable as ever.
Review by Manuel
Very very good Caroni with well integrated alcohol and light sweetness in the finish. Otherwise very spicy. Unlike other Caroni bottlings, still affordable. I can highly recommend the Caroni, very good value for money.
Review by Rene Pfeiffer
Nose: caramel, vanilla, orange peel, roasted, dirty. Palate: woody, coffee, slightly sweetish. On the finish clear bitter notes, but very pleasant. Alcohol is also very well integrated.
Review by Zorman 🇩🇰
Delivered on all the things I expect from a Caroni: Tar, diesel and earthy tones, but at the same time well rounded. Alcohol is well integrated.
Review by Henry Davies
For my tastes better than the 21. A more well rounded and balanced Caroni, with great bicycle tyre and tar as well as more interesting molasses and fruity notes. The nose is all Caroni with tar and varnish ebbing into a softer and easier to drink nose. Finish is medium length and very easy going all considered. A great rum and one that highlights the quality of the Velier Caroni picks
Review by Émile Shevek
On the nose it's very powerful and intense, complex. Deep and warm aromas embrace in this rich Caroni. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of dirty notes.
Review by bur2000
The very first impression on the nose was "Rum", the classic rum aroma, delicious. Then vanilla and rubber, a bit tarry. Occasionally a smoky bacon comes through... But overall very fresh and light, even floral. Also a cool smell that reminds me of hard water. On the palate then very pleasant, soft, oily and workshop-like, as well as a nice vanilla aroma from the wood. The alcohol is very discreet. I usually like the nose of rums more than the taste, but this one is even better on the palate and always makes you want more. The finish is medium length, nicely intense and leaves the workshop and vanilla behind. After a while, short fruity impressions come through, grapes. I like it very much, soft and round without being boring or flat. Wonderful aroma of vanilla and rum. The ABV is just right. Tasting updated because the second sip was noticeably different and more complex. #22:250307
Review by Mopar Rules
well balanced, warm and smooth rum, decent influence of the cask, roast notes, herbs and chocolate. But sorry, I don’t find these dirty notes of rubber and tar that seem to have created in part the myth Caroni. May be ‘cause I smell too much rubber, Oil and gas on the weekends
Review by Tomas Hajlich
Caroni! Mnam! Very good Caroni, typical in the nose. Technically heavy scent, wood, and you can sense the age in the nose including tropical aging :) very beautiful scent but it's not that pronounced, dilution probably plays a big role but the taste is better! Beautiful heavy finish :)
Review by Worst
Excellent Caroni from 1998 without a doubt. Despite its trademark that already reveals itself on the nose with the classic notes of paraffin, we notice that this slightly dirty side integrates perfectly with notes of cocoa and balsamic. On the palate very round, we find cocoa and tobacco. Very long finish. Excellent rum.
Review by Nika
For me, this is one of the less enjoyable Caronis. The fresh fruity vibe is definitely there, but that is not what I go for primarily.
Review by Adrien B
Quite lively, tense, nice length in the finish, fresh and dirty.
Review by Michael Schou
Rate 8.3 Tasted it a few times back in 2015 or 2016. Was not a big fan of Caroni back then. A lot has changed 😉 31-07-2025 - Rate 8.9 A lot has happened during the last 8 years. Are more found of Caroni. Notes of leather, wood, glue, tar and smoke. Palate is round and nice, mostly wood and leather with a hint of tar and dried fruit. Long finish whit hints of tar, leather and wood.
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Expert reviews
3 critics scored it, averaging 8.7/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by The Dunder Hut
One of the staple 1998s that is always the comparison, especially thinking about the original price. This is easy going and a good start to discover the dirty world of caroni. Still a staple to return to
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
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Expert review by Barrel Aged Thoughts
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Expert review by In Spiritus Veritas
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Community shelf
785 bottles logged by 464 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
11% opened, 26 emptied.
What does Velier Caroni 100% Trinidad Rum 17 HTR 1998 cost?
Community paid 98–392 €.
Current best price: 360.90 € – within the typical community range.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 323 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
+7 additions in the last 3 months.
Additions per month over the last 12 months; dark bars: the last 3.
785 purchased · 218 tasted · 123 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Caroni 100% Trinidad Rum 17 HTR 1998
A Column Still Rum from Trinidad, bottled by Velier, at 55%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
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