11BC7450-2ABB-46FD-BC5A-8659049CAF5FTrinidad Caroni Bristol Classic Rum
Bristol Caroni HTR 1997 70cl bottle
Caroni · Trinidad · 61,5%

Bristol Caroni HTR 1997

8.6/10 50 community reviews ↓
Loved by cigares , Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰 & 44 more

For experienced palates: a powerful 18‑year Caroni at 61.5% with classic dirty notes of tar, rubber, leather and workshop, wrapped in dark chocolate, dried fruits and bitter orange. Loved for balance, depth and price (at release).

  • Classic Caroni dirt
  • Great ABV integration
  • Complex dark fruits
Currently no offers for delivery to Germany.
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Details about Bristol Caroni HTR 1997

CountryTrinidad
DistilleryCaroni
ABV61,5%
Volume70cl
Age18 years
Vintage1997

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How does Bristol Caroni HTR 1997 taste?

Aggregated from 50 community reviews.

Intense, dirty Caroni with balance For experienced palates: a powerful 18‑year Caroni at 61.5% with classic dirty notes of tar, rubber, leather and workshop, wrapped in dark chocolate, dried fruits and bitter orange. Loved for balance, depth and price (at release).

Perfect for

Seasoned enthusiasts who love dirty, tarry Caroni profiles with dark chocolate, dried fruits and bitter orange at full cask strength.

Less suitable for

Beginners, anyone sensitive to high ABV or who dislikes smoky, oily, rubbery notes and doesn’t want to pay current Caroni prices.

How is Bristol Caroni HTR 1997 rated?

RumX's 0–10 scale is strict , 8.6 lands squarely in the "Very good" band. 100% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →

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Rum reviews

A selection of the most popular reviews from our community. You can view the complete list in our app.

Based on 50 ratings

Review by cigares

Sep 2024911 reviewsSwitzerland
9.1/10

Dégustation de quelques Caronis de chez Bristol. Fin d’une bouteille, une excellente chose pour apprécier un Caroni. Le verre embaume la pièce avant même de mettre le nez dessus. Un nez fort et doux à la fois avec de l’orange amère, du chocolat noir et un parfum de vin rouge et bien sûr les parfums typiques de la distillerie. Une attaque vive mais aussitôt après débarquent les fruits et les arômes d’atelier mécanique. Une finale longue et savoureuse où revient l’orange amère et le chocolat. Un rhum dur et fermé à l’ouverture de la bouteille, mais savoureux avec de l’oxydation et même encore meilleur avec beaucoup d’oxydation et magnifique en fin de bouteille. Un des meilleurs de la dégustation.

Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰

Jan 20235,487 reviewsDenmark
8.6/10

A slightly older tasting. A very nice Caroni where you have the traditional rubber and tar notes as well as some fruit and chocolate. Really nice balance between the flavours and also pretty good ABV integration. Pretty good price at release and the empty glass was really nice.

Review by Joachim Guger

Jan 2022446 reviewsAustria
9.1/10

A really great Caroni! Classic Caroni notes with a light red wine character. Of the weaknesses of the 1997 batch is here absolutely nothing to notice.A serious alternative to the black bottles. Meanwhile, however, already difficult to get. This rum is my recommendation next to the 17 and 21 Extra Strong to dive into the Caroni world.

Review by Timo Groeger

Oct 20241,724 reviewsGermany
8.8/10

Beautiful Caroni from Bristol. Typical, great nose, where you can recognize rubber, tar and leather. The palate also has rubber and tar, but there is also a nice fruitiness (dried fruit) and some wood. Very successful.

Review by SaibotZtar

Jan 2024511 reviewsGermany
8.7/10

Sehr guter 1997er Caroni... ausgewogen und gut trinkbar Alkohol top eingebunden. Schöne Balance zwischen Frucht,Schokolade und den typischen dreckigen Notes (Teer,Gummi etc) Im Abgang schmeckt es etwas nach Karamell dunklen Früchten.

Review by Dr.Django

Apr 2025331 reviewsGermany
8.6/10

Ein Tasting mit vier 1997er Caronis, die alle den typischen dreckigen Caroni Stil sehr inzensiv in sich haben. Der Alkohol ist bei allen sehr gut eingepflegt. Der Bristol fällt etwas ab, da am Gaumen eher verhalten und im Abgang relativ kurz. Zudem schlichter als die anderen. Der V&M ist sehr fruchtig dreckig und wirkt gaumenschmeichelnd, fast schon elegant im Vergleich zu den anderen. Trotzdem sehr dreckig, da ist wohl jemand auf dem Weg zum Abschlussball mit seinem Sakko in eine tiefe Ölpfütze getreten. Der Rum Cask ist am Gaumen eine andere Liga, als die zuvor genannten, voluminös und voller Power, beginnend mit einem rotfruchtigem etwas sauren Anflug von Aromen. Der Abgang ist wie bei den anderen beiden mittellang bis lang. Das Beste zum Schluss. Der Berry Bros ist hier eindeutig mein Favorit. Voluminös, sehr komplex, dreckig und extrem fruchtig zugleich mit einem ewig langem Abgang! Für mich der beste 1997er, den ich bislang im Glas hatte. Geiles Teil!

Review by Skyfly

Aug 2025459 reviewsGermany
9.0/10

Super complex Caroni that is really fun in a glass! Rubber, tar, wood, smoke, tobacco and leather accompany you from nose to finish. The sweet/fruity aspects are provided by dried fruit and caramel. First-class alcohol!

Review by Mentalo

Jun 2024440 reviewsGermany
8.7/10

Der Alkohol ist gut integriert. Eine gute Balance aus Süße, fruchtigen Noten und dreckigen Noten. Dazu noch etwas dunkle Schokolade. Eine schöne 1997er Abfüllung von Bristol mit recht langen Abgang.

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Expert reviews

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

Expert review by The Fat Rum Pirate

"From what I understand John was one of the first people (before Luca Gargano, I have read) to get his hands on stocks of Caroni. He certainly got a winner with this 1997 vintage. If you like your Caroni the I can't recommend this enough. A classic from Bristol Classic."
Read full review →

Community purchases

104 bottles logged by 52,000+ RumX members. The ratio of closed / opened / emptied, indicates whether this rum is meant to be drunk or is a collector's item.

55 Closed In collections, sealed
4 Opened Being poured right now
9 Emptied Finished, came back for more
19% Open rate Share that isn't sealed

Also on the wishlist of 14 members.

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About the Caroni distillery

The Caroni distillery is located in Trinidad. Rums from Caroni have been reviewed 10,122 times with an average of 8.8/10.

To Caroni →

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8.5 /10 · 50 reviews
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Rating guide

RumX's 0–10 scale is strict. Here's what each band means.

9.0–10.0 Excellent Stash as many as you can afford. Tell no one.
8.0–8.9 Very good Bank a backup. Tell everyone you meet.
7.0–7.9 Good Buy one and recommend it to your friends.
6.0–6.9 Pleasant Solid, super glad I drank it.
5.0–5.9 Average Totally acceptable.
4.0–4.9 Drinkable Not vocally complaining.
3.0–3.9 Poor Wish I was drinking something else.
2.0–2.9 Very poor Nothing nice to say.
1.0–1.9 Unpleasant No, that's not for me.
0.1–0.9 Inedible Pour it out.