Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Caroni 5th Employees Dhanraj „Dan“ Maharaj HTR 1996
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Sip this one slowly and neat — at 66.3% it needs 15 minutes in the glass to open. Then you get classic 1996 Caroni: tar, rubber and leather over oily caramel, with roasted, charred wood running through the palate. Several tasters call it the best of the 5th Employees series, though most agree it sits mid-pack among 1996 Caronis rather than at the very top.
The community says- Tar and rubber
- Long oily finish
- Great alcohol integration
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No shop currently delivers to Germany.
Auction results: 132–1,381 € (18 sales in 24 months, incl. buyer's premium, latest 09/2026). How the range is built ›
The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Caroni 5th Employees Dhanraj „Dan“ Maharaj HTR 1996 taste?
From community reviews · summarized with AI
Dirty, roasted 1996 Caroni at cask strength Loved as a proper dirty Caroni — tar, rubber, roasted caramel, long finish. Most rank it the pick of the 5th Employees, but agree the cask leans it a touch too woody.
Caroni fans who want tar, rubber and roasted wood at full proof
Beginners and anyone who dislikes heavy, dirty, high-ABV rum
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
Relative to this rum's strongest aroma family
27 of 57 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.
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Sweeter
Velier Caroni 5th Employees Deodat „Breeze“ Manmohan HTR 19969.0/10 (74)1,095.00 €
49 rated both: 24 scored it higher, 14 scored Velier Caroni 5th Employees Dhanraj „Dan“ Maharaj HTR 1996 higher, 11 gave both the same score.Rated better
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What does the community say?
57 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.
20 selected written reviews
The distribution above includes all 57 ratings, including those without text.
Review by Mirco
Very successful Caroni with a typical 1996 profile. Dirty notes such as tar, rubber and bitumen are present but well integrated. Dark spice, some oak and a subtle fruitiness in the background. Powerful, balanced and with beautiful depth.
Review by Jakob
Epic Velier Caroni Tasting 2023: The sweet 1996 profile is there, the long time in the barrel is already clearly recognizable with more present roasted aromas. Very good Caroni in the lower mid-range of the vintage.
Review by Oliver
Clear winner at the bottom of the 5th Employees. But not in the Caroni top class.
Review by Johannes
For me from the series the best!
Review by Martin Augustin
Only very slight Caroni aromas are recognizable on the nose. These come through better on the palate. Rubber, leather and caramel. Pleasantly warm finish. A really good, but not an excellent Caroni.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
This one caught me off guard because it was completely different from the rest. The nose had the wood with rubber and tar with fruit, vanilla and caramel, but I also found a minty note in there. Not as heavy in the typical Caroni flavours as the others. The palate complex and well balanced and at the same time soft and dry, an eye opener for me. Smoky wood and rubber, tar and fruity notes follow with chocolate and nice herbal notes trailing behind. The finish is very dry with rubber, dried fruit and chocolate. This one needs to rest for at least 15 minutes or more to release its full potential.
Review by Simon Leroux
More balanced than the others from the 5th Employees series. Not very marked for the Caroni side but intense, woody and pleasant.
Review by Joachim Guger
A very warm and full Caroni nose. The oily caramel gives the aura of a tropically aged Demerara. Very, very solid, not particularly complex. An insanity in the mouth, oily, full, very complex. A spice bazaar. The rum lingers long in the mouth, which is very nice. An insanity also what was delivered with the fifth Employees. I liked the Dan best, closely followed by the Breeze. Also a pity that hardly any of these bottles will ever be opened.
Review by mto75
Tasted the 5th Employees series all three together again. On the nose Dan and Breeze are very similar, with dried fruits, caramel, wax and polish. The Roop seems a bit fresher (more floral) if you can even call it that for Caroni 😉 On the palate Breeze offers a bit more complexity than Dan, which is very much on the roasted-charred side. Breeze, on the other hand, can boast more 'workshop' and more sweetness. Roop also dances out of line on the palate, it doesn't come across as brutal.
Review by Filip Šikula
Seventh and last employee of the evening. On the nose, it's leather, tar and then sweet notes of caramel and bitter chocolate. On the palate, it's beautifully complex, lots of mint and rubber. Definitely the biggest pleasure with this piece is in the finish, which is very very long and reveals new and new things.
Review by Sebastian Kornett
For me the best of the 5th Release but I have to say I really like all three.
Review by Beach-and-Rum 🏖️🌴
A 1996 Caroni that somehow already has the typical markers but it doesn't really stand out among the sometimes very good bottlings. The alcohol is a bit too present for me here as well. Quite tasty but in the world of Caronis it only makes the midfield.
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 emerge who took a liking to the rum precisely 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 Maxence
Another very strong 1996 vintage from the Employees serie. Very good alcohol integration and excellent aromatic depth. Nose is slightly too woody and spicy (cask influence) but the palate is very round. A balance between both profiles on nose and palate would have given an incredible rum. Of course, this is still extremely high quality rum.
Review by zabo
The 1996 vintage is simply great. A nice dirty Caroni bottling that warms well. You can't go wrong here, just good, I like that, although it doesn't quite reach the top group of the other 1996s, it still doesn't miss by much.
Review by JFehr
Sparkling, nutty, herbal, chocolaty and slightly bitter finish. Pleasant sweetness
Review by Tomas Hajlich
Yes, yes and yes. This is Caroni as we hear about it. Technical, heavy and with a long finish. On the first sniff you can nicely feel the aging, leather and technicality. After a glass it nicely drags out to oily. After drinking, a beautiful and heavy Caroni!
Review by Buddudharma
Very mature, dark Caroni with great alcohol integration and above-average dirtiness. Excellent!
Review by Adrien B
Nose almond, leather, Cleopatra glue, morello cherry, freshness Palate: powerful, true to the nose, long length, rancio, freshness,
Review by Ed Stark
There are not enough words to describe this rum. Wow 😍
This selection contains no written reviews in this rating range.
Expert reviews
2 critics scored it, averaging 9.1/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by Zucker und Zeste
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Expert review by In Spiritus Veritas
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Velier Caroni 5th Employees Dhanraj „Dan“ Maharaj HTR 1996 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
68 bottles logged by 56 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
5% opened, 3 emptied.
What does Velier Caroni 5th Employees Dhanraj „Dan“ Maharaj HTR 1996 cost?
Community paid 54–1,520 €.
Current best price: 1,095.00 € – within the typical community range.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 980 €. Price history with 18 auction results in RX+ ›
68 purchased · 59 tasted · 17 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Caroni 5th Employees Dhanraj „Dan“ Maharaj HTR 1996
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Velier, at 66,3%.
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 6th Employees Ricky “Dirty Harry” Seeharack HTR 1996
Velier Caroni 6th Employees United HTR 1996
Nobilis Hampden No. 2 C<>H 1993
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