Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996
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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
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No shop currently delivers to Germany.
Auction results: 696–1,057 € (13 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 Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996 taste?
From community reviews · summarized with AI
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 profileCaroni fans who love the tar-and-rubber dirty style
Anyone new to rum or put off by high proof and oak
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
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 ›
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.
Sweeter
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54 rated both: 25 scored it higher, 16 scored Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996 higher, 13 gave both the same score.Fruitier
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26 rated both: 21 scored it higher, 5 scored Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie HTR 1996 higher, 0 gave both the same score.Rated better
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What does the community say?
59 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.
21 selected written reviews
The distribution above includes all 59 ratings, including those without text.
Review by Giorgio Garotti
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
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
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 !
Review by Jakob
Epic Velier Caroni Tasting 2023: The great age is recognizable by the pronounced barrel influence, which nevertheless still allows enough tension in the profile so as not to be completely overlaid. In the midfield of the 1996 Caronis, which overall describes an excellent rum.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
The caramel is lighter on this one, but still nice and round in the overall profile. The nose has roasted wood, tar and rubber right off the bat with fruit caramel, vanilla and chocolate trailing closely being. In the back there is leather and some nuttyness. The palate is intense, complex and lightly bitter with roasted wood, tar and rubber followed by fruit, caramel and burnt sugar. I also find menthol and leather in there. The finish is long and lightly bitter with roasted wood and a medicinal note i can't put my finger on.
Review by Oliver
In the nose not quite as restrained as "Breeze". On the palate, however, also too woody and dry.
Review by Johannes
More on the dirty side, but still high quality!
Review by Martin Augustin
Impressive nose on one hand of toffee, caramel, yellow fruits and wood, on the other hand with restrained dirty notes of glue, tar and rubber. Wow, brilliant dirty taste with pronounced tar and some rubber. Still sweet with caramel, brown sugar and barrel. The finish is long with tarry notes and a great freshness of citrus fruits, as well as warm notes of dark chocolate. Great taste explosion of a very good 96er Caroni.
Review by Aussierumfan
A lovely 1996 Caroni! A massive nose with notes of wood jump out. Strong in the palate with a lovely sweetness along with medicinal notes. Tar, rubber and wood and is also quite spices. A long lingering finish.
Review by Joachim Guger
Very fresh, heavy caramel, cough syrup, resin, wood, and then the typical tar and rubber notes. Heavy, full, and perfectly melted. Wooooow!! Very spicy and full in the mouth. Lots of wood and spices in the finish. Phenomenal nose, very fresh. Afterwards, great but very wood-dominated. Which is not surprising.
Review by mto75
Tasted together with the Breeze. The Breeze seems a bit rounder, more caramel on the nose and somehow brings associations of floor wax (from those 'weird' tubes they used to have). The Roop comes across a bit fresher and sharper, bergamot and pinewood in the background. Both are still rather reserved on the nose, but the workshop notes hit the palate brutally, simply delicious 🤤 Also on the palate, I find the Breeze a bit more balanced. The alcohol is not quite as well integrated in the Roop.
Review by Rumclub Latvia
Superb Caroni
Review by Christoph H.
Preliminary conclusion: for a Velier Caroni, quite nice. The 96 vintage is definitely still recognizable as such. However, the rum is already very on the dirty side, whether I would have really guessed 96 blind, I don't know. This makes the rum on the one hand very exciting and varied, on the other hand the alcohol hovers so much over everything that not much seems to come through on the nose anymore. On the palate, in my opinion, a lot of menthol and herbs come through. Good rum, but clearly lags behind the competition.
Review by Simon Leroux
Little disappointment here, not very Caroni. Very far from the Last.
Review by Michael Schou
#1760 28-03-2026 - Rate 9.5 I Think this is the second best Caroni I have ever tasted. Only beaten by Dirty Harry. Love the raw power in the nose and taste. High ABV and full intensity. Amazing 96’ Caroni
Review by Filip Šikula
Fifth employee of the evening. On the nose there are many sweet notes, crème brulee, coffee and chocolate, but followed by rubber and rubber. The palate has a sweet profile with hints of technique and fruit notes. The finish is long and woody with leather.
Review by Pavel Spacek
Really mild for 66%... Caroni is a distillery from Trinidad that produced rum at the height of its fame, 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. The distillery ended production and was closed in 2000. 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 Djehey
Here I am in front of a rum monument whose bottles are untouchable for me... Surprisingly, the nose reveals itself fruity and pleasant for such an alcohol degree. The Caroni aromas seem rather discreet to me. For 66°, the palate is so easy that it's disconcerting. Again, fruits take center stage. Then tar and wood aromas mingle. The finish is long and I find that all these aromas last well together with a dirty and burnt side.
Review by Sebastian Kornett
Wow damn tasty. The palate gives what the nose promises.
Review by Schleepie
A really great Caroni. Oily consistency, the longer it stays in the mouth the more syrupy it gets, lots of dark chocolate, a bit peppery at the start, alcohol nicely integrated. Long finish, lots of barrel (positively). Great!
Review by Buddudharma
Great 1996 with nice balance. Not quite on par with the best releases in terms of depth and precision, but still obviously a brutally high level.
This selection contains no written reviews in this rating range.
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.
Velier Caroni 5th Employees Roopnarine „Roop“ Toolsie 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
69 bottles logged by 55 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
5% opened, 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 €. Price history with 13 auction results 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%.
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 Mahesh “Sonny Black” Bridgelal HTR 1996
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