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Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Vijay „Vijay“ Ranmarine 1996
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Blind, several tasters guessed Guyana, not Trinidad — that's the surprise here. It carries the classic Caroni tar, rubber and hydrocarbon markers, but softened by dark chocolate, coffee and tropical fruit, plus a creme brulee sweetness that grows with air. One reviewer called it a "hybrid tout en finesse." Give it real time in the glass to open up.
The community says- Classic Caroni tar
- Chocolate and roast
- Very long finish
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How does Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Vijay „Vijay“ Ranmarine 1996 taste?
Summarized by AI from community reviews.
Roasted, tarry Caroni with a softer side Loved for its roasted, tar-and-chocolate Caroni core with unusual softness. A few felt it doesn't quite reach the best 1996 bottlings, and the alcohol can read hot before it settles.
Aroma profileCaroni fans who want a softer, chocolatey take
Beginners and anyone put off by tar, rubber and high proof
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
18 of 46 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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What does the community say?
46 community reviews
21 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Top 6% of Trinidad rumsTop 11% at Caroni
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Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
17.02.2026 Retasting this nice bottling and I still like it a lot 😊 ------------ Wow, they just keep scoring high. Again typical Caroni flavours nd once rested you really get the roasted notes. Lightly fruity with vanilla and a bit of caramel. Intense yet well balanced.
Review by Dr.Django
Save the coolest guy of all employees pictured for rum bottles. For me, he was the best in crosstasting with the Buju. Today, unfortunately, in single tasting, but just as good. Top of the league, Caroni at it's best!
Review by zabo
Spontaneously tried two randomly selected Caronis on the terrace with Jarek while swapping samples. In the duel were the RX6598 and the RX7335. Without question, these are two top bottlings. However, I liked the 2000 bottling a little better than the 1996, as it was fruitier and fresher without skimping on the "dirty" Caroni.
Review by Serge
Nice toasty notes, vanilla, caramel, tar, baking spice and some fruit (banana, baked apple and a dark fruitiness) on the nose. Very nice. Top nose 👃 On the palate, beautiful dark chocolate but also quite a lot of wood. From the feel of it, I think it could have been bottled 1-2 years earlier.
Review by Jakob
Epic Velier Caroni Tasting 2023: The age makes itself recognizable in quite tart-bitter notes, which nevertheless do not overpower the rum. Very good, but not enough for the absolute top class from 1996.
Review by Oliver
Very elegant nose. On the palate great roasted and chocolate notes.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A more subtle Caroni with aging between Trinidad and Guyana. This influence is found on the nose, with on one side notes of tar and rubber, wood and leather, then darker and more fruity notes on the other. The whole is homogeneous and balanced. The palate oscillates between the power of Caroni (hydrocarbons, rubber, smoky notes) and the softness of Guyana (chocolate, coffee, tropical fruits), offering a complex and delicate profile, surprisingly gourmand and sweet after aeration. The finish is more subtle and thin than usual for Caroni, with the dark profile of Guyana rums taking over here. A rather atypical Caroni due to its aging, but a hybrid full of finesse that aims to be complex and gourmand.
Review by Tschusikowsky
Kaboom! This one really got me. Full-on Caroni steamer with lots of power and flavor. Excellent! Retasting 2026: really good Caroni. I still like it very much. The classic markers are present. Here I like the chocolate, espresso notes that come in and a pleasant sweetness at the core. Then for me more tertiary: the herbs. But overall it's a great interplay. Delicious bottling
Review by Skyfly
3rd Employees Tasting: Pleasant 96 Caroni, but not top class. Besides the dirty aromas, I find (especially on the nose) the chocolate and caramel also strongly pronounced, which is personally too intense for me.
Review by Mike H.
I let this one rest for an hour before sampling it. All classic Caroni are present in the nose with a touch of lovely sweetness. I could smell it for hours. I’m the mouth the rum has similar notes with a touch of chocolate added.
Review by Tom Buteneers
I did not like it at the start: very alcoholic and astringent. Needed a lot of time in the glass. After quite some time it became clearly better. A lot of burnt/roasted flavors in the profile. Curious to assess it again given the higher score that it has been given.
Review by Romain de L
Nose under my expectations. Interesting but flattish. Hints of caramel, of hydrocarbures, Caroni. Overwhelming attack - very strong but well integrated and balanced. Plays a line with bitterness but remains perfect. Quite a play. Very long finale, fresher, stays with you… Tried again yesterday with friends - everything remains true - even the slightly disappointing nose - but really really good and incredibly long finale. Definitely worth a drink 😉
Review by Jakob Mmmmhhh
Very mild representative. Caroni notes in the background but present, instead fruit and crème brûlée. Overall somehow disappointing though.
Review by Maxence
This 1996 Employee bottling takes its time to reveal itself on the nose, initially leaning toward a dry and overly woody profile that does not quite suit my liking. With patience and aeration, however, it finds a better balance, opening up to more round, fruity notes. The palate, unfortunately, suffers from a somewhat erratic alcohol integration, which undermines an otherwise well-structured aromatic profile. It's a very good rum, but its few shortcomings keep it anchored at the lower end of the 90-point spectrum.
Review by Pavel Spacek
... Caroni is a distillery from Trinidad, producing at the time of its greatest glory rum, which was added in 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 Mopar Rules
Honestly, I don’t get the rubber, tar and workshop flavors with those Caronis. Maybe I sm too often buried under the hood of an old car? Anyway, this is a really nice Caroni (well, the Veliers are more likely good stuff) but more on the intense side with dark chocolate and espresso flavors. It’s more robust and rich like my beloved demeraras compared to the more complex and balanced Caronis. I like 👍
Review by BnBrt
Nose after a little quarter of an hour rest very pleasant. Reminds me of crème brûlée and makes you want to go for it. On the palate the same vanilla notes of crème brûlée. Bitterness just right to my taste. Very long and pleasant finish, fresher and more fruity. Very different from the usual Caroni markers I usually find.
Review by Filip Šikula
Svincany Caroni tasting 19.12.2024
Review by Buddudharma
Very nice 96er, which in its expressiveness and nuance does not quite reach the best bottlings of the vintage.
Review by Michal S
A very technical representative of Caroni, perhaps too uncompromising for my taste. In taste and aroma tar, rubber, woody, roasted notes, in the finish tobacco, bitter chocolate. I recognize the qualities, but I only recommend it to people who know what they are getting into.
Review by John Coffey
Disoriented because blind tasting, I was far from imagining a Caroni but rather a Guyana or even Belize... The nose is sublime though.
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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 Barrel Aged Thoughts
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Expert review by Who Rhum The World
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Expert review by In Spiritus Veritas
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Expert review by Tasting Bro's
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Community shelf
87 bottles logged by 70 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
3% opened, 2 emptied.
What does Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Vijay „Vijay“ Ranmarine 1996 cost?
Community paid 367–1,683 €.
Current best price: 1,445.00 € – within the typical community range.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 933 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›
87 purchased · 47 tasted · 28 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Vijay „Vijay“ Ranmarine 1996
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Velier, at 64,5%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
All releases in this series
Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 1st Employees Dennis „X“ Gopaul HTR 1998
Velier Caroni 2nd Employees David „Sarge“ Charran 1996
Velier Caroni 2nd Employees Kevon „Slippery“ Moreno HTR 1998
Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Vijay „Vijay“ Ranmarine 1996
Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Ganesh „Buju“ Ramgobie 1998
Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Nita „Nitz“ Hogan 2000
Velier Caroni 4th Employees Balas „Brigade“ Bhaggan 1998
Velier Caroni 4th Employees Dayanand „Yunkoo“ Balloon 1998
Velier Caroni 4th Employees Basdeo „Dicky“ Ramsarran HTR 2000
Velier Caroni 5th Employees Dhanraj „Dan“ Maharaj HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 5th Employees Deodat „Breeze“ Manmohan HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 6th Employees United HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 6th Employees Mahesh “Sonny Black” Bridgelal HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 6th Employees Ricky “Dirty Harry” Seeharack HTR 1996
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Velier Caroni 2nd Employees David „Sarge“ Charran 1996
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