Aroma visualization from community tastings
Taste
Tar, Rubber, Vanilla
Most mentioned across 25 tasting notes
- Perfect for
- Caroni fans who love tarry, dirty, fruit-laced heavy rum
- Less suitable for
- Newcomers or anyone wanting a soft, sweet sipper
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1985
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Tar, dark chocolate and old workshop smells — diesel, rubber, glue — sit next to baked apple, dried figs and cherry in this 1985 Velier Caroni. Nose gets nearly everyone: floral, fruity, leathery, "so oily, so fresh." The palate turns dirtier and drier, a touch thinner and more bitter than the aroma promises. Classic Trinidad heavy rum for people already deep into the style.
The community says- Incredible nose
- Tar and fruit
- Long complex finish
Offers & prices
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Offers & prices
No shop currently delivers to Germany.
Auction results: 954–1,447 € (13 sales in 24 months, incl. buyer's premium, latest 07/2026). How the range is built ›
The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1985 taste?
From community reviews · summarized with AI
Tarry, fruity old Caroni with a huge nose Loved almost across the board — an intense, complex Caroni with a stunning nose. A few felt the palate runs thinner, drier and more bitter than the aroma, but that's nitpicking at a high level.
Aroma profileCaroni fans who love tarry, dirty, fruit-laced heavy rum
Newcomers or anyone wanting a soft, sweet sipper
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
25 of 44 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›
Buying advice
Is it right for you?
Yes, if you're after bold, mature, oaky rums for sipping neat.
Similar in style and available now.
Woodier
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Drier
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 19829.2/10 (39)2,200.00 €
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Milder
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What does the community say?
44 community reviews
Rating scale & review checks
On RumX, 7 means “Good” and 8 means “Very good”.
See the full rating guideHow 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.
26 selected written reviews
The distribution above includes all 44 ratings, including those without text.
Review by Jakob
Epic Velier Caroni Tasting 2023: What a nose! In a blind comparison with the other 85s, the complex aromatic structure also convinces on the palate, a truly impressive release. Excellent.
Review by cigares
Tasting of Caronis Velier 1985. A lively, powerful nose, a mechanical workshop with diesel and tar. Lots of fruit that is not overpowered by empyreumatic notes. Baked apples and a hint of pastry. An absolutely splendid nose! Massive fruit first, then mechanical workshop notes, then vegetal notes. An incredibly complex palate that goes through several stages. Then another pastry side, Foursquare. The finish is long, complex and elegant. The aromas disappear slowly and harmoniously. Red fruits (black cherries and blackberries) make their appearance. A hint of smoke also appears in the empty glass. A rum of remarkable complexity and depth, and by far the best of the Caronis 1985 series.
Review by Joachim Guger
Something different on the Caroni front for a change! In the nose first very nutty. Then fruit, at the end very floral (lavender!). The typical dirtyness is very, very restrained. Everything at the highest level. In the mouth then very woody, yet warm, full and good. Usual level, drops a bit in the mouth. Edit: In addition to the extreme fruitiness workshop odors, which I know in this form of no other Caroni.
Review by Johannes
Epic Velier Caroni Tasting: complex, menthol, already clearly alcohol, but compared to the others an excellent overall package.
Review by Maxence
Excellent "Old School" Caroni ! Nose is absolutely flawless : complex, expressive and perfectly balanced. Palate is slightly less complex and a bit dryer than the nose but still very high quality. This one was a bit disapointing right after opening the sample but, few months of oxydation later, it is magnificent ! 🥰
Review by Oliver
Very nice, toasty, dark nose. Very good overall package!
Review by TheRhumhoe
A Caroni of the highest order, with a highly sophisticated olfactory profile. Tar and rubber mingle with wood and oak, followed by spicy notes, then toffee, toffee and hazelnut to round things out. Fruits, notably exotic and cherry, follow after aeration. On the palate, the rum is typical of the distillery, powerful, intense and oily, with perceptible spicy notes (licorice, aniseed), an elegant woodiness and aromas of tar and burnt rubber. Dark chocolate, toffee and caramel round out the palate, with a light fruity touch. The finish is very long and continues on the dark, burnt and spicy profile. A hint of menthol makes itself felt. A very good representative of the late distillery.
Review by Timo Groeger
Nice 40 euros here in a glass, but whatever? ;) One of the best Caronis I've ever had. Awesome tarry and medicinal, super tasty stuff. Thanks for nothing, congrats you good-for-nothing :) Werder, awesome team
Review by LukaŽiga
9,1:On the nose, industrial with rubber and tar, bicycle tube, some menthol, toasted wood notes like caramel, dark chocolate, toffee, hazelnuts, oaky, some fermented hints with creamy, buttery tones, citrus, tropical, peaches, cherry, dark molasses with licorice, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, black berry, dried apricots arise, confectionery with pastry, spicy allspice, meaty touch and coffee. 8,9:On the palate, the attack is intense, industrial with rubber and tar, petrol and menthol hints, metallic patina, fruity with peaches, citrus and tropical fruits, fermented creamy tones pop up, the oak is toasted with caramel, toffee, roasted nuts, leather, dark chocolate, spicy with clove, vanilla, tannic, dry, molasses is floral. 9,1:The finish is long, dry&tannic, industrial with rubber and tar, menthol, oak is toasted with caramel, dark chocolate, coffee, pastry, crème brûlée, burnt, spicy, smoky, molasses is dark with licorice, black tea, flowery and fruits are dried, citrus and tropical. Edit:16.10.26
Review by DutchRumPirate
I tasted this Caroni with a friend on a special occasion. A wonderful aroma on the nose: floral, fruity, and leather. I can keep sniffing it. It's a soft yet complex aroma. Sweet floral notes. These notes also emerge on the palate: floral and leather, but the barrel is also prominent. A wonderfully long finish, fruity with leather/tar and woody notes. I'm absolutely in love with this. A winner!
Review by Skyfly
Awesome 1985 HTR - very restrained dirty aromas on the nose, but more fruit and hazelnut. On the palate then intense tar and rubber aromas, accompanied by dark notes, caramel and menthol. A crazy combo that surprisingly works well. On the finish again dark aromas and pleasant menthol.
Review by Martin Augustin
Slightly dirty notes on the nose, complemented by lots of nuts and some vanilla. Very agreeable. Absolutely awesome taste. Dirty Caroni notes, complemented by licorice, vanilla, chocolate, caramel and citrus fruits. Super long and warm finish. A slightly dirty and super complex Caroni. Wow!
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Caroni is a distillery from Trinidad, producing at the height of its glory a rum that was added at a ratio of 1:10 into naval blends. It was too strong and strange to be pleasant on the tongue. In 2000 the distillery ended production and was closed. Only in 2010 did tasters appear who liked the rum precisely for 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 Serge
Great, dark nose with a delicious mix of tar, rubber, vanilla, wood, licorice, nutty roasted notes and red and tropical fruits. On the palate, there is also some spice and light coffee and a little menthol on the finish.
Review by Djehey
Phew... Definitely good. The low ABV (for a Caroni) really allows you to fully appreciate it! And in my opinion, it's very complete: the garage aromas of course but also a roasted woodiness, a gourmandise on toffee and caramel, and a fruity note in the background. Certainly on the dark side but normal given the age. But there's even this menthol at the end of the mouth that balances it all. Superb. My birth year, and naturally a bottle I dream of having....
Review by zabo
What an epic evening with flight after flight that were indescribable. I'll spare myself any individual commentary on this, because sometimes I don't have the words. Many thanks to Jakob. All in all, as you can see from the ratings, they were all excellent and only differed in nuances. All top level 🤤😋
Review by Filip Šikula
Very, very insightful. The nose starts out technical. Glue, oil, grandpa's workshop. On the palate, the same thing comes through, again glue and workshop, then a little sweetness and chocolate on the beautiful finish. One of the best caronis I've ever had. Svincany caroni tasting 19.12.2024
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Yesterday we had a great evening in my friends man-cave. Lots of laughter and wonderful rums. This one released a lot of flavours with a drop of water added.
Review by Quentin Rum
Thiner than usuel, but so classy, so oily, so fresh and fruits, lighly herbal and precious wood
Review by Christoph H.
A very nice, round, sweet and pleasant Caroni nose. Reminds me a lot of the Last, but the dirty aromas seem even more dominant here. The nose is first flooded with extreme sweetness like raisins, dates, caramel, nougat and toffee. But also tropical fruits like passion fruit and orange peel are present. Then the dirty aromas like kerosene, motor oil and bicycle inner tube come in and become more distinct the longer the rum breathes. The rum really has a crazy, but not overdone maturation behind it. On the palate, the rum is much dirtier than the nose suggests. Sweetness and fruit take a bit of a backseat, wood and bitterness increasingly take over. If one expects similar pleasantness as with the Last at this point, some might be disappointed. It also feels a bit thinner and less oily. An exceptionally good Caroni from the 80s, which are generally rather rare in good quality. In terms of price-performance, however, one would rather go for a Last, as it is, in my opinion, the best comparison.
Review by mto75
First admire the extremely dark color, definitely makes an impression :-) On the nose initially rather dried fruits (dried fig), sweetish, beeswax / furniture polish (almost a bit like old 91er KFMs). With more standing time also some dirty notes, slight freshness, but nothing sharp, all very well integrated, somehow calm in itself. On the palate workshop, tannins / bitter, leather, also here everything super intertwined. Great Caroni!
Review by Mentalo
The first 1985 Caroni I’ve had in the glass so far. Initially dominated by woody and dirty notes. In the finish fruity, berry notes come through more strongly. All in all a nice Caroni.
Review by Roman Nussbaumer
Very harmonious nose, tar and fruit, also some vanilla. Terrific to drink. Tar and dark chocolate. The highlight from my point of view is the long finish with the emergence of berry notes.
Review by Adrianv
Amazing nose! Old style Caroni. Black fruits, smoke, spicy, baked pastry, some wood, glue, bike tube, all nice&dirty. Very good rough Caroni. I did not taste 85 vintage yet but this one is fantastic.
Review by Buddudharma
Very nice Caroni, strongly reminiscent of Last due to its pronounced caramel or toffee note. Wonderful intensity and balance in the first sip, but a little too dry and bitter in the finish for a top note. But of course that's complaining on a high level, this is really great stuff!
Review by JFehr
Chocolatey, roasted, tar and a bit of coffee. Very round. A classic Caroni.
This selection contains no written reviews in this rating range.
Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 9.2/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by The Dunder Hut
Caroni 85 Crosstasting, what an intense Monster, Rubber and tubing, diesel and old dried fruits in the nose, again the baked apple. Then just a lovely dirty caroni on the palate, again the baked apple that give some fresh fruit in it. also herbs like mixed herbs. and then dark chocolate to finish, the kind that gets fruity on the palate. Wow!
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
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Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1985 at live auctions
A bid is not a final price: the house sets the buyer's premium, shipping and any customs duty.
All live auctions ›Community shelf
53 bottles logged by 48 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
11% opened, 1 emptied.
What did the community pay for Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1985?
Community paid 505–2,380 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 1,020 €. Price history with 13 auction results in RX+ ›
53 purchased · 46 tasted · 31 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1985
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Velier, at 58,8%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
All releases in this series
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1974
Velier Caroni Light Trinidad Rum 1982
Velier Caroni Light Trinidad Rum 1982
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1982
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1982
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1982
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1983
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1983
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1984
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1984
Velier Caroni Old Legend Trinidad Rum 1985
Velier Caroni Blended Trinidad Rum 1985
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1985
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1985
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1985
Velier Caroni Blended Trinidad Rum 1988
Velier Caroni Light Trinidad Rum 1989
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1989
Velier Caroni Blended Trinidad Rum 1991
Velier Caroni Blended Trinidad Rum 1991
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1992
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1992
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1992
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1992
Velier Caroni Blended Trinidad Rum 1993
Velier Caroni High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1994
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1994
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1994
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1994
Velier Caroni Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1994
Velier Caroni 100% Trinidad Rum 21 1996
Velier Caroni 100% Trinidad Rum 15 HTR 1998
Velier Caroni 100% Trinidad Rum 17 HTR 1998
Velier Caroni 100% Trinidad Rum 12 HTR 2000
Velier Caroni High Proof Trinidad Rum (EU) HTR 2000
La Maison & Velier Caroni High Proof Trinidad Rum (US) HTR 2000
Velier Caroni Millennium Magnum HTR 2000
Velier Caroni 30th Release Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 31st Release High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 32nd Release Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1998
Velier Caroni 33th Release High Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum HTR 1998
Velier Caroni 34th Release 100 Proof Heavy Trinidad Rum 1996
Velier Caroni 35th Release Heavy Trinidad Rum (Trespassers) HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 36th Release Heavy Trinidad Rum Guyana Stock HTR 1994
Velier Caroni 37th Release Heavy Trinidad Rum Guyana Stock HTR 1994
Velier Caroni 38th Release Tasting Gang Blended Trinidad Rum 1996
Velier Caroni 39th Release (The Last) Heavy Trinidad Rum 1996
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