310,000+ honest rum ratings Europe’s largest rum selection: 6,400+ rums RumX app: 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store

310,000+ honest rum ratings

They come from members of the RumX app, not from us or the shops. Moderators, community reports and automated checks keep them clean. The score is the median.

How the score is made ›

Europe’s largest rum selection: 6,400+ rums

From 40+ specialist shops in one place, all ready to order right here. When several shops carry the same rum, we sort by total price including shipping to your country.

How we rank ›

RumX app: 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store

On Google Play 4.7 out of 5. In the app you rate rums yourself, and from your fifth rating on the Match Score shows which rums suit you.

Get the RumX app ›
E1FEAB0D-6000-499A-BB73-740EED30734CTrinidad Caroni Velier
Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Ganesh „Buju“ Ramgobie 1998 70cl bottle
Bottle
View 2
Aromas
Aged rum · 22 years · 67%

Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Ganesh „Buju“ Ramgobie 1998

"One of the best 1998s I've tasted," a few members say — and this is classic dirty Caroni: tar, rubber, leather and wood up front, with dried fruit and mango sneaking in behind. At 67% it comes out hot and needs ten minutes to open. Very woody and bitter, not remotely an easy sipper, but the fruit-and-funk payoff wins people over.

The community says
  • Classic tar and rubber
  • Well-aged dried fruit
  • Keep in mind: Very hot

Offers & prices

1,268.03 €incl. VAT
incl. VAT 70cl · 1,811.47 €/l
Total 1,293.03 € + 25.00 € shipping from IT
Sold by Barrel Antique from IT Delivery to Germany,
Add to cart
Returns & cancellation Secure payment Sold by Barrel Antique
  • Secure payment. You pay via RumX with PayPal, Klarna or card. Your payment data is encrypted and we never store your full card details.
  • Clear seller. Sold and shipped directly by the partner shop. And you're never on your own: RumX handles support and communication with the shop, so you always get excellent service, whichever shop you order from.
  • Honest shop ratings. The stars show your service experience with the shop, not the rum score. They come from RumX users, and critical ones stay visible.
  • Returns & cancellation. Your purchase contract is with the shop, so returns and cancellations run through them under their own policy and your statutory rights. If anything goes wrong, RumX helps you sort it out.
Who's behind RumX
Visa Mastercard Klarna 10 more payment methods

Compare all 7 offers

Total prices incl. shipping to Germany

Sorted by total price · How we rank
Prices and availability as of

The look inside the bottle

How does Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Ganesh „Buju“ Ramgobie 1998 taste?

From community reviews · summarized with AI

Dirty, woody 1998 Caroni at full proof A well-aged, properly dirty 1998 Caroni. Tasters love the tar, leather and wood, though several call it very bitter, hot on the nose, and less rounded than the top Employees releases.

Aroma visualization from community tastings Aroma profile
The top aromas from 56 community tastings — visualized by AI
Perfect for

Caroni fans who want the dirty, tarry style

Less suitable for

Anyone wanting a smooth, easy sipper — it's hot and bitter

Experience level · Connoisseur (5/5)

Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat

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

Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family

20 of 56 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.

What does the community say?

8.9/10 Very good

56 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

17 selected written reviews

The distribution above includes all 56 ratings, including those without text.

Review by Jakob

Jakob
Oct 20241,671 reviewsSwitzerland
8.5/10

Epic Velier Caroni Tasting 2023: Tropical fruits, bitter notes of wood and dark spices, but also some subtle sweetness. Not an outstanding Caroni, but still a very good rum.

Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰

Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Feb 20267,276 reviewsDenmark
9.0/10

26.02.2026 Retasting and I still like it a lot. Also love the glasses though they're hard to clean 🙃 ------------ Another nice release with all the lovely Caroni flavours from opening the bottle. The roasted note on this one is really nice. Lightly fruity with leather and vanilla in the back. Love it :-)

Review by Joachim Guger

Joachim Guger
Feb 2025532 reviewsAustria
9.0/10

I think No smoking and 17 Extra Strong are very good, so the expectations of this 98 are very high. Immediately after pouring, the nose is very alcoholic, but after 10 minutes it's ready to go... Plenty of wood and bitter spice. Mango and dried fruit. Polish and rubber, less tar. Slightly animalistic (hippopotamus poop). Naturally very impetuous. I really like it. The mouth continues in a similar way. Woody, already very bitter and dried fruit. Plenty of strength. Very nice finish. Bitter, wood, spice and mango. Very good Caroni, which I would classify in the lower mid-range in terms of quality. Overall not an easy sipper, as it's already very woody. 🤩🤩

Review by Mirco

Mirco
Dec 2024798 reviewsSwitzerland
8.7/10

Decent bitter notes, but these are integrated. Some fruit but even more spice and wood. Typical Caroni essence is definitely not missing. Doesn't seem particularly round compared to the complex Caronis. If you're looking for dirty Caronis, you've come to the right place.

Review by Pavel Spacek

Pavel Spacek
Dec 20241,886 reviewsCzech
8.9/10

... Caroni is a distillery from Trinidad, producing rum at its peak that was added at a ratio of 1:10 to naval blends. It was too strong 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. And 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.

Review by Christoph H.

Christoph H.
Mar 2024103 reviewsGermany
9.1/10

Wonderfully composed and perfectly matured 98 Caroni. The barrel aging did a really good job here without overshadowing the typical Caroni flavor. This interplay makes it an absolute exception for me, 98 at its best! Very smooth, very tasty, very awesome! It could be a bit more complex, but that's complaining at a very high level.

Review by zabo

zabo
Aug 20241,992 reviewsGermany
9.0/10

Today a few employees were tested. Yunkoo, Buju, Nitz and Brigade. As a conclusion, all very tasty Caronis. For me only the Brigade is the one that lost a bit of connection here, the others are all very close together. My ranking today would be: 1. Yunkoo 2. Nitz 3. Buju 4. Brigade

Review by Maxence

Maxence
Maxence
Jun 2024186 reviews
9.1/10

This Caroni has almost a perfect balance between round and dirty notes. It is very complex and expressive. An impressive release 🤩 Probably one of the best I have ever tasted from 1998 vintage. Kudos to Velier 💥

Review by Filip Šikula

Filip Šikula
Oct 2026842 reviewsCzech
8.8/10

Second employee of the evening. This time we go for a sweeter profile. On the nose roasted wood, dried banana and leather. On the palate dried fruit, wood and hints of vanilla dominate. Beautiful complex rum. Long and intense finish.. Svincany caroni tasting 19.12.2024

Review by Skyfly

Skyfly
Jul 20261,051 reviewsGermany
8.7/10

3rd Employees Tasting: a very good Caroni, but not round enough on the palate and finish. (Dried) fruits and dirty aromas are present but not as multi-layered as in others. Long warm finish.

Review by Oliver

Oliver
Apr 20231,236 reviewsGermany
8.1/10

Beautiful nose. On the palate, unfortunately, too alcoholic and astringent for me.

Review by Tschusikowsky

Tschusikowsky
Aug 2023571 reviewsSwitzerland
8.9/10

A very good Caroni. One of the best 98 vintages I've tasted. Chocolate, fruit, lots of rubber and, like the Last, a cassis flavor came through for me.

Review by Banana Joe

Banana Joe
Apr 2026250 reviewsGermany
8.9/10

At first it comes across as alcoholic, very sharp on the nose. Definitely needs some time, then the sharpness fades and h You have a nice, dirty representative from 1998 in the glass. Already very woody, bitter, but I don't find it so bad here. One of the spicier Caronis, fruit aromas only come out at the end.

Review by Michael Schou

Michael Schou
Jul 2026460 reviewsDenmark
9.5/10

#1724 31-01-2026 - Rate 9.5 The finish to a great Watehouse tasting at Nobilis with extra treats and now a finish before off to bed. And what a way to finish. Perhaps the grade reflects a good night and that we were in a good mood. Nose of tar, rubber, leather and wood with a hint of citrus. Palate of rubber, tar, polish, wood and citrus. Long finish dominated by tar, leather and wood. 19-07-2026 - Rate 9.5

Review by Vidaa Wz

Vidaa Wz
Vidaa Wz
May 2026121 reviewsFrance
8.5/10

Here we find the Buju bottling from the employee collection, not necessarily a fan of 1996, this one shows Caroni garage notes of oil and a nice bunch of fruits, candied, not disturbing in this single cask.

Review by Richard Krupa

Richard Krupa
Richard Krupa
Mar 2025883 reviewsCzech
8.7/10

Tastes technical and strong, but very good.

Review by Michal S

Michal S
Jul 2026352 reviews
8.9/10

A somewhat more accessible Caroni, instead of the omnipresent tar and other technical shades there is dried fruit and wood in the nose and taste. Added to these are spices, vanilla and roasted notes. Well integrated alcohol, but the 67% is noticeable.

Rate it in the app

Expert reviews

2 critics scored it, averaging 8.9/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.

Community shelf

129 bottles logged by 91 collectors.

A collector's bottle.

6% opened, 4 emptied.

121 sealed 4 open 4 emptied

What did the community pay for Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Ganesh „Buju“ Ramgobie 1998?

Community paid 336–1,403 €.

Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 786 €. Price history with 20 auction results in RX+ ›

129 purchased · 57 tasted · 23 wishlist · as of

Details about Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Ganesh „Buju“ Ramgobie 1998

A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Velier, at 67%.

DistilleryCaroni
CountryTrinidad
BottlerVelier
Raw materialMolasses
ABV67%
Age22 years
Vintage1998
Limited edition1,296 bottles
Volume70cl

Read on in the RumX Guide

All releases in this series

You may also enjoy

Rum enthusiasts who like this rum have also given the following rums high ratings:

Price alerts · in the RumX app
Never miss a price drop.

Set a target price in the app, and we'll let you know as soon as the rum becomes available at that price from one of our partner stores. This works for any rum on your wish list.

★ 4.8/5 on App Store & Play Store
Oliver, founder of RumX Oliver · Founder

By rum lovers, for rum lovers

I'm Oliver, and RumX began in 2018 as a small passion project in Stuttgart, back then under the name Rum Tasting Notes.

Oliver, Stuttgart

About RumX ›YouTube channel (German, English subtitles)
As featured in
Stern Stuttgarter Zeitung Rumporter fizzz About Drinks
Rating guide

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

Share of 11,217 rums with at least 4 ratings, calculated on October 25, 2026. Scale and calculation in detail ›