Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996
Fans of Caroni put this near the top of the Employee series, with a couple noting it's not quite the absolute peak. Expect the classic dirty markers — tar, rubber, bicycle tube, tobacco — wrapped around dried fruit, cassis, caramel and dark chocolate. At 66.5% it's heavy and full, with a menthol edge and a very long finish. A few call the bite a touch much.
The community says- Classic Caroni tar
- Complex and layered
- Long spicy finish
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Buy Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996:
Compare all 5 shop offers from 1414.34 €
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996 taste?
Aggregated from 54 community reviews.
Heavy, tarry Caroni with dark fruit A tropically aged 1996 Caroni tasters rate highly — tar, rubber and dark fruit with real depth. Most say it's one of the better Employees; a few find it slightly too fierce.
Caroni devotees who love tar, rubber and heavy tropical aging
Newcomers, or anyone who finds high-proof heat and rubbery funk off-putting
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
18 of 54 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 9.3 sits in the “Excellent” band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Community voices
What does the community say?
0% rate it between 6 and 8. 19 selected write-ups from 54 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Jakob
Epic Velier Caroni Tasting 2023: Exquisite and stylish HTR representative from 1996. Rich sweetness with powerful rubber and tar notes. Balanced, drinkable and yet with rough edges. A highlight in the already impressive Employees series.
Review by Oliver
An extraordinary Caroni! For me, a real highlight from the Employee series. However, it has a tad too much bite for a top rating.
Review by Aussierumfan
Wow! Well this one has to be one of the best Caronis I have tasted to date! It's just so well balanced! Alcahol is perfectly integrated. Very complex, with all the right caroni notes and nothing out of wack. Tar and rubber, but a lovely tropical fruits and burnt wood as well! Dark chocolate and a lovely sweetness at all times. A long satisfying finish. To me this is just stunning. 1996 is definitly a vintage to look out for!
Review by DomM
Very nice bottling out of the 1996 vintage. Powerful with cacoa notes, dirt and fruits.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Had a very nice Caroni tasting yesterday and what a tasting :-) This one had all the typical Caroni flavours in it while also being heavy, intense and complex. When it was released the bottle wasn't too expensive but the prices have already skyrocketed.
Review by Tschusikowsky
chocolate, gum, casis, herbal, spicy, wood, methol, plastic Rubber, plastic, very fruity, pear bread, smoky, chocolate, wood, cedar, peach, Very good balance here too. Alcohol well integrated for 66.5%. Complexity and balance go hand in hand. Absolutely great Caroni.
Review by Mirco
Wunderbarer 1996 Velier Caroni aus der Employee Reihe. Jedoch nicht ganz die Spitze der Serie. Top Teer und Guminoten gepaart mit Früchten, Holz und Gewürz. Schön kantig, was ihm Ausdruck verleiht, toll!
Review by Maxence
This one takes time to open up. A bit too dry at the beginning, it becomes so round and well balanced with tropical fruits, caramel, molasses and pastries. In addition to this, alcohol integration is perfect. Another great 1996 Employee 🥰
Review by Tom Buteneers
Caroni highlight
Review by Christoph H.
One of my favorite caronis. Although there are caronis that have been in the barrel longer, the tropical aging has already hit properly here, both in smell and taste. Personally, I like it. On the nose, typically 96, furniture polish, bicycle inner tube, dried fruit, coconut, plum. Also lots of honey and caramel. In the mouth very powerful, heavy, dry and mouth filling. A slight sweetness with some honey and burnt sugar. Lots of barrel, roasted flavors, kerosene, polish and spiciness, hardly any fruitiness. Many could be the already over the zenith, I personally love him
Review by Beach-and-Rum 🏖️🌴
Der hat mal wieder ordentlich Dampf unterm Kessel. Sehr komplex ohne in eine Richtung zu stark abzuweichen. Eine der besten bisher von mir verkosteten Caronis aus der Employee Serie. Für eine noch bessere Bewertung hat er etwas zu viel Punch. Vielen Dank Oli für das Sample.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Brutally medicinal herbal Caroni.
Review by Jarek
Ohhh… Danke an Tobias, der mit uns die Flasche aus besonderem Anlass öffnete. Was für eine Nase! Da ist die fruchtige Seite mit schwarzer Johannisbeere und Pflaume, aber natürlich auch die dreckige Seite mit Teer und Gummi. Dazu Leser und die Süße von Karamell, sowie leichte Mentol-Note. Am Gaumen weniger Frucht, dafür kommen Holz, Lakritze und schwarzer Tee dazu. Schöner Abgang der die würzigen und dreckigen Noten nochmals betont.
Review by Serge
Danke an Tobi fürs Öffnen dieser nicht alltäglichen Flasche in unserer FTG Runde. Frisch geöffnet stehen erstmal Holz, Teer, Gummi, Tabak, etwas Menthol, Gewürz, Sandelholz und Tee im Vordergrund. Mit etwas Standzeit kommt Rosine dazu. Nach noch einer Weile dann noch etwas dunkle Frucht (Cassis evtl. Sauerkirsche). Ein toller Rum und ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass der sich in der Flasche nochmals entwickelt.
Review by Harald
Caroni 1996 Employees First Release John "D" Eversley Heavy Rum (HTR) - Full Proof Distilled: 1996 Bottled: 2018 Aged 22 Years 66.5% One of 1192 bottles from 5 casks Color: Bright cherry mahogany, oily Aroma: Creamy sweet and aromatic with fruit aromas of pineapple, plum and Mon Cherie cherries. Aromas of gingerbread, hot chestnuts, cocoa, chocolates, tobacco, cloves, leather, sandalwood and floor wax intermingle to create an intense, powerful smell. Superb! Taste: Sweet and creamy in the mouth at first, then spicy. Then very spicy on the swallow. Strong and intense flavor with a lot of licorice. This is almost too many impressions at once: first sweet, then chewing tobacco and licorice, then tea extract, then pineapple, then bitter old wood with tree bark decoction. Finish: Very long, warms from deep inside. Licorice, black tea and wood extract. Aftertaste dry and slightly bitter at the same time. Conclusion: A fantastic tropically aged Caroni, though not quite up to the very best to my taste. 91 points
Review by Buddudharma
06.04.2025: Direktvergleich zwischen RX203 (John „D“ Eversley), RX1403 („Fire“ Old Whisky) und RX38 (Last Caroni). Der Last ist in jeder Hinsicht großartig, sehr balanciert, ausgewogen, mit perfekt integriertem Alkohol und langem Abgang. Wenn man Kritik üben wollte, wäre es, dass er fast zu gefällig ist und zu wenig Ecken und Kanten hat. Hier zu kritisieren ist aber fast etwas häretisch, der Rum ist eine Sensation. Der John „D“ Eversley ist im Vergleich in der Nase und im Antrunk etwas fragiler, floraler, mit etwas mehr Minze und etwas weniger Süße und Karamell. Dann kommen jedoch die bekannten Caroni-Marker in aller Intensität, mit beeindruckender Tiefe und Komplexität. Im Vergleich zum Last etwas mehr Ecken und Kanten, was mir gut gefällt, dazu ein etwas cremigeres Mundgefühl. Ewiger Abgang, bei dem die schwere Süße richtig zum Tragen kommt. In Summe ebenfalls eine Sensation und für mich leicht vor dem Last. Der „Fire“ vereint dann die besten Eigenschaften der beiden Vorgänger. Unglaublich gute Alkoholintegration, hier zwickt nix bei fast 71%, fantastische Komplexität, tolles Mundgefühl, die richtige Menge an Ecken und Kanten, und einen ewigen Abgang, der auf Basis schwerer Süße alle Nuancen nochmal durchscheinen lässt. Gehört zum Besten, was ich jemals verkostet habe.
Review by roudy petersen
Wow !!very impressive ! To try at least one
Review by DeMaddin
Kraftvoller Caroni,, schöne Fruchtigkeit, Kräuter , Gummi, dreckig , mit Ecken und Kannten. Top
Review by Pavel Spacek
Sour and technical
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Expert reviews
3 critics scored it, averaging 9.4/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by Single Cask Rum
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Details about Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996
A rum from Trinidad, bottled by Velier, at 66,5%.
Community purchases
109 bottles logged by 85 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
8% opened, 5 emptied and repurchased.
What does Velier Caroni 1st Employees John „D“ Eversley HTR 1996 cost?
Community paid 388–2,000 €.
Current best price: 1414.34 € – within the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
109 purchased · 56 tasted · 46 wishlist · as of
About the Caroni distillery
The Caroni distillery is located in Trinidad. Rums from Caroni have been reviewed 10,324 times with an average of 8.8/10.
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Velier Caroni 1st Employees Dennis „X“ Gopaul HTR 1998
Velier Caroni 1st Employees Dennis „X“ Gopaul HTR 1998Hot, tarry cask-strength Caroni for sipping
Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Vijay „Vijay“ Ranmarine 1996
Velier Caroni 3rd Employees Vijay „Vijay“ Ranmarine 1996Roasted, tarry Caroni with a softer side
Velier Caroni 2nd Employees Kevon „Slippery“ Moreno HTR 1998
Velier Caroni 2nd Employees Kevon „Slippery“ Moreno HTR 1998Fierce, tarry Caroni that needs air
Velier Caroni 2nd Employees David „Sarge“ Charran 1996
Velier Caroni 2nd Employees David „Sarge“ Charran 1996Heavy, tarry Caroni with dark sweetness
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Oliver · FounderBy 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.
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