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A4C885D2-5E37-4924-B18B-F8BE8DEE9349Trinidad Caroni Velier
Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996 70cl bottle
Bottle
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Aromas
Aged rum · 25 years · 66,1%

Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996

The first surprise is how easy 66% can drink — several tasters call it mild and deceptively smooth for the proof. Then the classic Caroni workshop notes hit: tar, rubber, old leather and burnt sugar, wrapped in dark chocolate and a heavy oak that runs long. Sweet caramel sits underneath the dirty side. A few feel the wood dominates and it lands mid-pack among the '96s.

The community says
  • Classic Caroni funk
  • Alcohol well integrated
  • Long oaky finish

Offers & prices

1,095.00 €incl. VAT
incl. VAT 70cl · 1,564.29 €/l
Total 1,095.00 € Free shipping
Whiskytempel Ø 2.5 days delivery time
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Delivery to Germany
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Buy Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996: Compare all 8 shop offers

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The look inside the bottle

How does Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996 taste?

Summarized by AI from community reviews.

Dirty, tarry 1996 Caroni at cask strength A very good 1996 Caroni — tar, rubber and dark chocolate over caramel, with the alcohol well tucked in. Some find it wood-heavy and less distinctive than sibling releases.

Aroma visualization from community tastings Aroma profile
The top aromas from 59 community tastings — visualized by AI
Perfect for

Caroni fans who love the tar-and-rubber dirty style

Less suitable for

Anyone new to rum or put off by high proof and oak

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

31 of 59 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums

Which glass for which rum? The community guide ›

Recommendation

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What does the community say?

9.0/10 Excellent

59 community reviews
21 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app

Top 10% of Trinidad rumsTop 19% at Caroni

Rate it in the app
Distribution of all 59 ratings
9–10 44%
8–9 56%
7–8 0%
6–7 0%
5–6 0%
4–5 0%
0–4 0%

See the full rating guide

Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0

Review by Giorgio Garotti

Giorgio Garotti
Feb 2026212 reviewsItaly
9.0/10

An excellent Caroni, very balanced, the flavors are strong and distinct! The barrel notes are very noticeable and also leave a bitter part throughout the tasting that some may like or not! The alcohol is perfectly integrated and invites you to drink!

Review by Mirco

Mirco
Feb 2026796 reviewsSwitzerland
9.0/10

Intense tar meets sweet caramel and old leather, supported by dry oak and rubber. The nose is complex and multi-layered, while the palate combines industrial notes with spicy depth. The finish is medium-long, characterized by dark chocolate, tropical fruit and charred wood notes. An elegant Caroni that strikes a balance between raw power and finesse.

Review by Maxence

Maxence
Maxence
Jan 2024185 reviews
9.1/10

Perfect 1996 vintage profile with sweet and typical Caroni notes in the background. Alcohol integration is perfect as well. One of my favourite Employees for sure !

Expert reviews

Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.

Expert review by Zucker und Zeste

Here I find the bitterness of burnt sugar and at the same time some sweetness of caramel. Subtle menthol, but not as blatant as in other Caroni from the Employeer range. Rubbery and somewhat metallic on the finish. The alcohol is also very elegantly integrated here. A great rum, but not quite as far ahead as the Manmohan.

Community shelf

69 bottles logged by 55 collectors.

A collector's bottle.

5% opened, 3 emptied.

65 sealed 1 open 3 emptied

What does Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996 cost?

Community paid 54–1,568 €.

Current best price: 1,095.00 € – within the typical community range.

Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 850 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ ›

69 purchased · 60 tasted · 25 wishlist · as of

Details about Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996

A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Velier, at 66,1%.

DistilleryCaroni
CountryTrinidad
BottlerVelier
Raw materialMolasses
ABV66,1%
Age25 years
Vintage1996
Limited edition741 bottles
MarkHTR
Sugar0 g/L
Volume70cl

Read on in the RumX Guide

Caroni

Distillery

Caroni 

Avg Rating 8.8/10 over 620 Rums

No closed distillery is chased harder than Caroni. The Trinidad distillery shut down in the early 2000s and not a drop has been made since, but its heavy, oily, almost diesel-like rum became a collector obsession, carried to the world by Velier. Every bottle now comes from a finite, shrinking stock, even though auction prices for some Velier Caronis have fallen since 2022.

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Rating guide

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

Share of 11,149 rums with at least 4 ratings, calculated on October 13, 2026. Scale and calculation in detail ›